#Foodsafety

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Note: This website is intended to provide general information about legal issues, crop insurance, farm policy, and other risk management issues and should not be construed as providing legal advice. It should not be cited or relied upon as legal authority. For advice about how the issues discussed here might apply to your individual situation, you should consult an attorney.

Welcome to the Maryland Risk Management Education Blog, provided by the University of Maryland Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics. This blog provides readers with information on risk management issues important to Maryland agriculture, upcoming events, and new materials that may interest readers.

Produce Safety Rule Grower Training for the Lower Eastern Shore in December

Nicole Cook

Nov 22, 2022
3 min

Produce Safety Rule Grower Training for the Lower Eastern Shore in December

It’s been four years since growers on Maryland’s lower eastern shore have had a chance to attend an in-person Produce Safety Rule (PSR) Grower Training near them. The last one was at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) in December 2019. Now, UMES Extension and the Maryland Food Safety Network are very glad to announce that we are hosting a PSR Grower Training in Princess Anne on December 7th and 8th, and the training will be a hybrid format, which means people c

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$200 Million From USDA To Help Small Specialty Crop Growers With Food Safety Requirements

Nicole Cook

Jun 28, 2022
4 min

$200 Million From USDA To Help Small Specialty Crop Growers With Food Safety Requirements

This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Are you a small or very small specialty crop producer? And have you had to pay costs to comply with regulatory food safety certification requirements or buyers’ food safety certification requirements? Then keep reading because the USDA has just announced plans to provide up to $200 million to help specialty crop growers offset eligible costs associated with obtaining or renewing re

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FDA PROPOSES CHANGES TO PRODUCE SAFETY RULE AGRICULTURAL WATER REQUIREMENTS

Nicole Cook

Jan 11, 2022
4 min

FDA PROPOSES CHANGES TO PRODUCE SAFETY RULE AGRICULTURAL WATER REQUIREMENTS

This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. On December 6, 2021, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) published a new proposed rule that revises the pre-harvest agricultural water requirements for covered produce (other than sprouts) (Subpart E of the Produce Safety Rule (PSR)). This is the latest step in the FDA’s implementation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The FDA is holding two virtual public meetings abou

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What does the FDA think is a “reasonably foreseeable hazard” in produce safety?

Nicole Cook

Jun 1, 2021
4 min

What does the FDA think is a “reasonably foreseeable hazard” in produce safety?

This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Farms subject to the FSMA Produce Safety Rule are required to take all measures reasonably necessary to identify, and not harvest, produce that is likely to be contaminated with a “known or reasonably foreseeable hazard.” But, what qualifies as a “reasonably foreseeable hazard?” According to the FDA, growers in central California should now consider a particular strain of E. coli a

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Need A Farm Food Safety Plan? Tune In to Final Food Safety Friday “How-To” Webinar

Megan Todd

Oct 20, 2020
3 min

Need A Farm Food Safety Plan? Tune In to Final Food Safety Friday “How-To” Webinar

This is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. This year members of the Maryland Food Safety Network undertook an ambitious task, namely to breakdown the Produce Safety Rule into a monthly "how-to" webinar series. The series will culminate with a final webinar next month (November 20th at noon) to help growers take what they have learned in each webinar of the series and put into their own food safety plan. The Maryland Food Safety Networ

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Nicole Cook

Sep 1, 2020
4 min

A Time To Prepare

This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. September is National Preparedness Month (as declared by the Department of Homeland Security) and National Food Safety Education Month (as declared by the Centers for Disease Control). As we continue to combat COVID-19 and other disasters, this September is an especially good time to update (or create) your farm’s food safety and disaster plans! Keep reading for tips and resources to

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Need Help Applying Preventative Food Safety Practices?

Sarah Everhart

May 26, 2020
3 min

Need Help Applying Preventative Food Safety Practices?

By Sarah Everhart The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. In my recent post on Produce Safety & COVID-19, I provided a brief overview of an exciting new food safety webinar series and this post will provide a more thorough description of why the series was created and how growers can benefit from tuning in. The Maryland Food Safety Network is hosting a monthly webinar series for farm operators on how to comply with key provi

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Sarah Everhart

May 5, 2020
4 min