New federal regulations are coming, and it’s time to take the first steps to comply. That was the message that the Almond Alliance of California and the Walnut Board had for growers at the recent Tree & Vine Expo in Turlock.
“Much of these rules are good ag practices,” said Kelly Covello, president of the Almond Alliance of California, seen in the photo above. “You’re probably already doing a lot of this on your farm, you’re just not documenting it yet.”
After that reassurance, she broke down the regulations for the growers present.
The FSMA rules, an acronym that stands for the Food Safety Modernization Act, will begin in January for the biggest farming operations with the most revenue.
The California Department of Food & Agriculture will be a key part of the rollout, and has published materials to get growers up to speed.
“Everybody in this room that has a growing operation is going to need to get training,” Covello said. “You guys are going to need to get the training sooner rather than later. It’s one and done–one day of your life you need to spend going to one of these courses.”
The new rules require at least one person with a training certificate at each farm.
Covello’s advice to growers is to start getting engaged to learn about the rules.
She told growers to talk to her organization, or to their handler or processor. Blue Diamond has already begun publishing resources advising growers on the changes, she said.
Growers can find out more at a session on Dec. 5 at the Almond Conference in Sacramento.
The California Walnut Board presentation also covered the rules. Abhi Kulkarni, the Walnut Board’s assistant technical director, dived deep into the new regulations.
Kulkarni speaks in Turlock
Who is covered by the new rules, and when do they need to comply?
Large operations with more than $500,000 a year in sales over the previous three years are the first to be regulated. They should comply with rules in January 2018, Kulkarni explained, with inspections taking place in January 2019.
Small businesses with $250,000 to $500,000 in sales must comply in January 2019, and very small businesses with $25,000 to $250,000 have until January 2020.
More on the inspection schedule: large operations can volunteer for mock inspections in 2018, as the CDFA gets ready to ramp up for the real thing.
The number show that inspections won’t take place for all farms overnight: The inspections team currently has nine members, who will be responsible for 200 to 300 inspections per year. Even at that rate, they have their work cut out for them, as Kulkarni said that there are 25,000 large farms to cover.
Kulkarni talked about one area the regulations will change that goes beyond training: the Produce Safety Rule, or PSR, includes water testing requirements for any water that touches produce, including spray, hand washing and equipment washing.
For surface water, 20 tests are needed over two years, with five a year after that. For ground water, four tests are required in the first year, with one a year going forward.
For further details of the PSR, check out this resource.
The rules also include food safety training for employees, and cover compost and manure use.
The Walnut Board also advised growers to get ready by attending FDA-funded grower training classes that will take place around the state.
Training sessions will be conducted in early 2018, including:
- January 22 in Modesto
- March 1 in Sacramento
- March 15 in Tulare
- March 22 in Chico