The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) can feel like a giant to contend with and many farmers scratch their heads wondering how to move forward. Many small-scale producers and diversified operations receive special exemptions from the general compliance obligations of FSMA. But, the rules are tricky – it took the FDA four years to finalize its own rules!
If you need a quick answer to “Does my farm have to comply?” check out our free resource, Managing Food Safety Liability Risk Basics, which includes basic information on FSMA and when farms must comply with FSMA’s two rules of concern to most direct-to-consumer and small scale farmers – the Produce Rule and the Preventive Controls Rule. But, basics won’t cut it for many, and you’ll also likely need our FSMA Compliance Flowchart, which explores FSMA’s Produce Rule and Preventative Controls Rule in much more detail.
Our 59pg. print resource, Farmers’ Guide to Food Safety Liability, is a comprehensive guide to food safety on the farm, including a food safety checklist, a “My Farm To Do List” which is a food safety action plan complete with notes and a timeline for accomplishing tasks, and a list of additional food safety resources. It also includes a section on FSMA compliance (see. Pgs. 37-40) as well as a detailed flowchart to determine whether FSMA applies to your farm. We also have two supplemental versions of the Farmers’ Guide to Food Safety Liability that include state-specific information about food safety laws. One is for farmers in Idaho, Montana and Washington: Farmers’ Guide to Food Safety Liability: ID, MT, and WA and the other is for farmers in Wisconsin: Farmers’ Guide to Food Safety Liability: WI.
If you’d like to watch while you work with a comprehensive two-hour webinar on FSMA, check out Food Safety Liability and Regulations: FSMA and Beyond.
