#Foodsafety

More on Scare Guns and the Right-to-Farm Law

Maryland Circuit Court Judge Reverses Final Maryland AFO Permit

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Welcome to the Maryland Risk Management Education Blog, provided by the University of Maryland Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics and features the work of the Maryland Crop Insurance Education program and the University of Maryland - MPowering the State's Agriculture Law Education Initiative, a University of Maryland Extension Signature Program. This blog provides readers with information on risk management issues important to Maryland agriculture, upcoming events, and new materials that may interest readers.

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

Nicole Cook

Jun 2
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

Produce Food Safety & COVID-19

By Sarah Everhart The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. We all need some good news these days, right? So let’s start with the good news. The good news is that according to FDA, there is currently no evidence of food or food packaging being associated with the transmission of COVID-19. The virus is spread through respiratory droplets or by touching an object with the virus on it and then subsequently touching your mouth, n

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Have You Taken The Food Safety Training You Need?

Sarah Everhart

Dec 17, 2019
2 min

Have You Taken The Food Safety Training You Need?

By Sarah Everhart The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. There will be several Produce Safety Rule Trainings throughout the state this winter, hosted by a team of experts from the Maryland Department of Agriculture and the University of Maryland, for producers who need to comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Farmers who grow produce that is often consumed raw (e.g. berries, leafy greens, tomatoes, cucumbers

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FSMA Inspections Are Underway. Are You Ready?

Nicole Cook

Nov 19, 2019
3 min

FSMA Inspections Are Underway. Are You Ready?

By Nicole Cook This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. Nearly 10 years after the Federal Food Safety Modernization Act, or “FSMA,” was signed into law, and nearly 5 years after the Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) published the final Produce Safety Rule (“PSR”) implementing FSMA, the new routine inspections to verify compliance with the PSR have begun. Routine inspections of produce farms (other than sprout operations

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Recent FDA Guidance on FSMA Produce Safety Rule and Preventive Controls Rule

Nicole Cook

Oct 23, 2018
7 min

Recent FDA Guidance on FSMA Produce Safety Rule and Preventive Controls Rule

By Nicole Cook This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. If you’ve been following this blog for news about updates about the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), then yout know that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been busy over the past year issuing new guidance on its FSMA’s Produce Safety and Preventive Controls rules. Regulatory agencies, like the FDA, issue “Guidance” and “Fact Sheets” to answer specific qu

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What Happens If I Sell Someone Else’s Food and People Get Sick?

Nicole Cook

May 29, 2018
5 min

What Happens If I Sell Someone Else’s Food and People Get Sick?

By Nicole Cook This article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. If you follow this blog, you know we often write about managing food safety risks identified on your farm. Most often, that means thinking about managing the risks related to the food you grow or make on your farm. Many farmers, however, also sell produce or value-added foods provided by other farms or businesses. In this post, we’ll look at how to manage the busine

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FDA Releases Draft Guidance For Determining Whether A Business Qualifies As Small Business With FSMA

Nicole Cook

Mar 29, 2018
3 min

FDA Releases Draft Guidance For Determining Whether A Business Qualifies As Small Business With FSMA

By Nicole Cook The article is not a substitute for legal advice. See here for the site’s reposting policy. On March 19, 2018, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released draft guidance to assist businesses in determining whether they qualify as a “small business” under the Preventive Controls for Human Food and Preventive Controls for Animal Food regulations. The FDA published final rules on September 17, 2015, to implement the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Hazard Ana

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Admin

Feb 2, 2018
2 min

Weekly Roundup Feb. 2nd

By Sarah Fielder Warmer Winter Causing Drought in Mid-Atlantic Region Less snow this winter in the Mid-Atlantic region is leading to drought conditions according to the National Weather Service. To learn more about drought conditions in the Washington region click here http://wapo.st/2EqbXsw. First Organic Distillery Certified in Maryland McClintock Distilling is the first certified organic distillery in Maryland. The distillery is in Frederick and every aspect of the distil

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