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Your Input Is Bringing Change to Food Safety Rules

Read more of Mike Taylor's Blog on the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act!

 


PSA Milestones
Interested in what we've been up to since 2010? Check out our interactive timeline to track the progress of the PSA!
 
 

 

 

January 23, 2014 
Hello Produce Safety Alliance Members!
 
Welcome everyone to 2014! It seems completely unreal, but we are happy to share some new and very real things that are happening with the PSA in the new year!
Update: FDA to Re-open Comment Period for Key Provisions of the Proposed FSMA Rules Affecting Farmers

Just before the holiday break, FDA Deputy Commissioner for Foods and Veterinary Medicine, Michael Taylor, published an announcement that the FDA will re-open key provisions that affect farmers for comment by early summer of 2014. Yes, you heard us right....ANOTHER comment period is coming! These provisions include water quality standards and testing, standards for using raw manure and compost, certain provisions affecting mixed-use facilities, and procedures for withdrawing the qualified exemption for certain farms. Not sure it was due to all of your GREAT comments the first time, but we are happy to give you the credit anyway!

 

It will be reopened after the FDA has completed their initial review of over 17,000 comments submitted (Wow, you people were busy!) during the first open comment period. The PSA will send announcements through our listserve when the proposed rule has been re-released including information about where and how to comment, so be sure to keep up with our announcements to stay informed.

 

Extension of Comment Period for on Notice to Determine Scope for the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on Proposed Produce Safety Rule

The comment period has been extended to March 15, 2014  for the 'Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Rule: Standards for Growing, Harvesting, Packing and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption'. The purpose of the public scoping process for the EIS is to determine relevant issues that will influence the scope of the environmental analysis, including potential alternatives, and the extent to which those issues and impacts will be analyzed in the EIS.

 

What does this really mean? It means that if you think any of the proposed parts of the proposed Produce Rule will negatively impact the environment on your farm or around your farm, submit your comments in one of the ways outlined below.

 

Written comments can be submitted to the following address:

Division of Dockets Management (HFA-305)

Food and Drug Administration

5630 Fishers Lane, Rm. 1061

Rockville, MD 20852

 

Electronic comments can be submitted at:

http://www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=FDA-2011-N-0921-0321 

  

PSA Curriculum Update

Shortly after the New Year, we released the final PSA module into the hands of our Executive and Steering Committees for review. We have received very helpful feedback on all seven modules so far and are feverishly working on editing the curriculum accordingly. We have entrusted this review process to the very capable and experienced hands of several farmers, members from the produce industry, Extension educators, and regulatory officials who were our Working Committee Co-Chairs.  You remember those folks...capable of wrangling our vast Working Committees and identifying risks on the farm so we could develop our learning objectives. 

 

Don't remember or maybe forgot?  No worries, all of the Working Committee progress can be found on the PSA website. As we finalize the content, stay tuned through our listserve announcements for more information on the PSA Train-the-Trainer series including dates and locations of training workshops.

 

As a reminder, the PSA learning objectives are posted on our website and serve as the primary framework as we develop content for the curriculum.
Contact Us!

Our general listserve is still the best way to stay in touch with the PSA! To sign up, please visit our website at http://producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/ or use the link included at the bottom of this e-mail message

 

Already signed up? Please share this newsletter with friends and colleagues who might also be interested in produce safety - we are always looking to expand the PSA's reach!

 

As always, please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, comments, or ideas.

 

Take care,

 

Gretchen & Betsy

Gretchen L. Wall, M.S.

Produce Safety Alliance Coordinator 

Elizabeth A. Bihn, Ph.D.

Produce Safety Alliance Director 

Cornell University - Dept. of Food Science

186 Stocking Hall

Ithaca, NY 14850

Phone:  607.255.6806

Email: glw53@cornell.edu

Hedrick Hall - NYSAES
630 W. North Street
Geneva, NY 14456
Phone: 315.787.2625
  
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