FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule Implimentation in California

The California Department of Food and Agricutlure CDFA has identified 20,000 produce farms in California they believe are covered under the Produce Safety Rule that is part of FSMA. California has more produce farms by far than any other state in the nation and the job of inspecting them is huge. Inspections will be conducted through the Produce Safety Program, a new unit within CDFA’s Inspection Services Division.

However, this unit will only be able to inspect a very small percentage of farms in any given year. Through partnerships with industry organizations like the California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement -who are already using CDFA inspectors to verifiy Produce Safety Rule compliance - CDFA provide verification of an additional 300 farms per year.

Learn about the different types of lettuce & leafy greens: