With seeds sprouting and harvest season just around the corner, the Colorado Department of Agriculture’s Produce Safety Program will host a public webinar to review cleaning and sanitizing practices, with a focus on food contact surface contamination.
Cleaning and sanitizing equipment, tools and buildings are an important step in preventing foodborne illness outbreaks.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Produce Safety Rule ended harvest and post-harvest agricultural water enforcement discretion for both large and small farms who use water during or after produce harvest. The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) staff inspects farms to ensure compliance with subpart E of the Produce Safety Rule, which sets standards for how to test, treat, and monitor the water used during the harvest and post harvest activities, such as harvesting, packing, holding, and transporting of the produce.
Harvest and Post Harvest Water enforcement discretion has ended for both large and small farms.
If you have questions or concerns about how this will affect your farm, you can talk to CDA's Produce Safety Program staff to find out what this rule change will mean for you.
Farm owners and operators in Colorado have a chance to learn more about the requirements of Harvest and Post Harvest Water in subpart E of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Produce Safety Rule on agricultural water requirements for covered produce.