Dec 9, 2019

Small farms routine inspections start provided flexibility by FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is providing flexibility for when states may begin conducting routine inspections of small farms, other than sprouts operations, under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule.

Routine inspections of small farms, other than sprouts operations, subject to the Produce Safety Rule, will generally begin in Spring 2020; however, the FDA is clarifying that states receiving competition A/B funding as part of the State Produce Implementation Cooperative Agreement Program (CAP) may begin routine inspections as early as  Jan. 1, 2020. This clarification is being made after several requests from states to have greater flexibility to align routine inspections with the winter growing season where applicable. Individual states will make final decisions on whether to initiate their first routine inspections of small farms at the earlier date in January 2020.  States that want to begin routine inspections of small farms, other than sprouts operations, on Jan. 1, 2020, should prioritize completing their planned inspections of large farms subject to the rule before conducting routine inspections of those small farms.

The major compliance date for small farms, other than sprouts operations, subject to the Produce Safety Rule arrived on Jan. 28, 2019; however, FDA had previously announced that routine inspections would not begin until Spring 2020. The delayed start to routine inspection follows a similar delay for the start of routine inspections of large farms (other than sprout operations), both done to provide the FDA and its state partners additional time to conduct education and outreach.

On Farm Readiness Reviews (OFRR)External Link Disclaimer, offered in collaboration with the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA), will continue to serve as a helpful tool to farmers as they determine how prepared they are to comply with the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule.

Additional information about inspections, the rule and any related resources can be found on the Produce Inspections webpage at FDA.gov.

For More Information

• What to Expect of a Regulatory Inspection Fact Sheet
• Draft Guidance for Industry: Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption
• FDA Voices: Paving the Road to Produce Safety Rule Inspections
• About On-Farm Readiness ReviewExternal Link Disclaimer
• FSMA Technical Assistance Network