Get Ready For The Produce Rule [opinion]
December 3, 2015 
Rosemary Gordon
Two months ago, we learned about the long prison sentence a Peanut Corp. of America (PCA) executive received in the 2008 food-borne illness case involving his company’s peanut butter paste. The executive in question, Stewart Parnell, was sentenced to 28 years. According to reports, he was convicted on numerous counts of fraud, conspiracy, and for introducing adulterated food into interstate commerce.
Nine people died and more than 700 got sick after eating PCA’s Salmonella-tainted paste. Parnell’s conviction on felony charges in a food poisoning case is reported to be a first, and his sentence is said to be the longest for this type of case.
Obviously the PCA case isn’t even comparable to anything that has occurred in the fresh produce industry, but it does drive home the food safety message.
We all know how critical food safety is to any operation that handles food. Now that the Final Produce Rule, which is part of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), is upon us — Oct. 31 was the deadline for the
Final Produce Rule to be released from FDA — there is no time like the present to focus on your food safety plan.
As a grower, you are diligent about providing your customers with the safest produce possible, and some of you may think the Produce Rule doesn’t apply to you because you are considered a small grower.
The truth is, however, no matter what your size, you need to review these rules and what they will mean to your operation. We know there is no such thing as “zero risk,” but we all need to do what we can to reduce the risk of a food-borne illness outbreak.
Cornell University’s Betsy Bihn, director of the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA), has been encouraging growers for some time to get a leg up on what will be required under the law. The proposed rule outlines staggered implementation times, which will give some growers up to four years to comply, but we all know how time flies.
Small operations may not be required to comply with the law per se, but for those selling in the marketplace, buyers have the last say, and they may ask you to be in compliance if you want them to purchase your product.
So what can you do right now? Take note of where you can make improvements on your farm. Plus, read our story on the topic, and heed the advice given by Bihn and Gretchen Wall, PSA coordinator.
No grower wants to be the cause of a food-borne illness. Make sure you do your part because pathogens don’t discriminate based on the size of an operation.
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