Farms covered under the Produce Safety Rule must take several steps to comply with this new regulation. Details on these steps, compliance dates and exceptions are provided throughout this website. In general, produce farms must do the following:

1. Employ an individual who has completed an FDA-recognized Produce Safety Rule Grower Training Course.
2. Implement required Produce Safety Rule food safety practices on your farm.
3. Be able to prove that you are following and documenting all required food safety practices.

Produce Safety Program inspectors operate on behalf of the U.S Food and Drug Administration and are authorized to take action if a farm is found to be out of compliance with the Produce Safety Rule. The Produce Safety Program’s priority is to educate farmers on how to comply with the Produce Safety Rule.

Minor violations will be handled through on-site education, in line with an “Educate Then Regulate” commitment. More egregious conditions may result in voluntary or mandatory product recalls, public notification, administration detention or seizure of product. These actions could cause serious economic or legal consequences for the farm.

Additionally, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) works in conjunction with CDFA’s Produce Safety Program and continues to serve in its role to ensure the safety of California’s food supply. If there is significant and imminent threat to public health, a PSP inspector will inform the FDA and CDPH for evaluation.

Produce Safety Rule compliance dates vary depending on the size and sales volume of a produce farm. Farms designated by the U.S. FDA as "large" are required to comply with the Produce Safety Rule beginning January 26, 2018. Smaller operations will be phased in over the next few years. Below is a chart summarizing the compliance dates for produce farms of all sizes.

If you are not sure if your operation is regulated under the Produce Safety Rule, please visit this flowchart prepared by the FDA. Specific questions may also be submitted directly to FDA's Technical Assistance Network (TAN).

For additional information, a list of exemptions from the Produce Safety Rule can be found at FDA’s website.

A full copy of the Produce Safety Rule is available online . Other helpful information and guidance is also available. FDA has announced it is currently prioritizing the finalization of guidance documents to assist farmers in developing on-farm food safety practices. If you are a member of a commodity group or other produce industry association, you may reach out to them for additional information on required food safety practices.

All farms covered under the Produce Safety Rule must have an individual employed on the farm who has completed an FDA-approved Produce Safety Rule Grower Training, or equivalent course. In addition, all personnel engaged in the supervision of personnel who handle (contact) covered produce or food contact surfaces must receive training as specified in the Rule.

The Grower Training course provides training to ensure a responsible party employed by the farm understands required food safety practices, can train other employees, and can recognize conditions that could lead to contamination of covered produce and take appropriate action to correct those conditions.

The Grower Training need only be taken once; however, the certificate of completion belongs to the individual and not the farm.

Information on the Produce Safety Rule Grower Training Course and how to register.

The Produce Safety Alliance has a list of all approved classes being conducted throughout the U.S. along with information on how to register. The cost of these courses can vary.

All farms with greater than $25,000 in average annual produce sales (averaged over the last three years) are now required to comply with all provisions of the Produce Safety Rule and are subject to inspections through the Produce Safety Program.

In order to assist the Produce Safety Program in this process and to determine which farms may be exempt from the PSR, we’re asking farmers to fill out and return a questionnaire.

The PSP’s role is to educate California produce farmers on how to comply with the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule (PSR) and then regulate farms to ensure that they are compliant. Our vision is safe produce through 100% compliance with the law. With more than 20,000 farms producing crops that are covered by the PSR, of which approximately 12,000 are identified as large farms, not every farm will be inspected in any given year.

Produce Safety Rule inspections are being done on behalf of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CDFA has created the Produce Safety Program, a new unit within its Inspection Services Division that will employ FDA-credentialed inspectors to perform Produce Safety Rule inspections on California produce farms. You can learn more about the inspectors here.

At this time, the Produce Safety Program is scheduling farm inspections based on a random selection of farms and commodity harvest periods following verification of the farm’s status. To assist in this effort, California produce farms are asked to complete the farmer questionnaire.

Yes. The Produce Safety Program does not intend to conduct unannounced routine inspections under the Produce Safety Rule. Please see the link for what may trigger an unannounced inspection.

The Produce Safety Program has put together a brief description of What to Expect During an Inspection. Another way to understand what to expect is to request an On-Farm Readiness Review (OFRR). OFRRs are a personalized discussion about your farming operations and designed to give you a better understanding of what you can expect from a routine Produce Safety Inspection.

For more information about OFRRs, check here: https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/producesafety/educate.html.

No.

All interested parties may sign up to receive news and updates about the Produce Safety Rule program. You may also wish to follow the Produce Safety Program on Facebook.

Many commodity groups and produce associations have been very active in developing a broad understanding and knowledge of the Produce Safety Rule and can be a great resource to their membership. Contact your commodity group or produce association if you have additional questions.

Questions can also be directed to CDFA by sending an email to producesafety@cdfa.ca.gov.

Specific questions may also be submitted directly to FDA's Technical Assistance Network (TAN).