The Colorado Produce Safety Program registers and inspects facilities that grow, harvest, pack, or hold produce that is commonly consumed raw. Foodborne illnesses pose a serious health risk to individuals and to the viability of businesses and industries impacted by an outbreak. The program inspects farms and facilities to ensure proper food safety practices, established through scientific methods, are followed and documented to help protect human health.
The program is supported through a grant from the FDA. Registration and inspections are conducted at no cost to the farm operation.
For more information or assistance please reach out to Sarah Musick, Produce Safety Rule Coordinator at sarah.musick@state.co.us or 303-869-9282.
Duane Sinning
Produce Safety Program Administrator
Upcoming Events
Ag Water Field Day
Join the Produce Safety Rule staff to learn about the PSR Ag Water requirements for Pre-Harvest, Harvest and Post Harvest Water.
Date: April 30
Time: 10 am to 2 pm
Location: CSU Western Campus
3170 B 1/2 Road, Grand Junction
Ag Water Town Hall
This virtual town hall will address Harvest and Post-Harvest agricultural water, helping farms understand what inspectors will be looking for during the inspection season.
Date: March 26
Time: 11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Register for the Ag Water Town Hall
Packing and Holding Webinar
Are you uncertain whether your farm is involved in packing or holding produce under the Produce Safety Program? This webinar will explain what qualifies as packing and holding according to the regulations.
Additionally, the Produce Safety Rule team will discuss the role of agricultural water in your packhouse and cooler.
Date: April 29
Time: 12 pm - 1 pm
Food Contact Surfaces and Bathrooms Webinar
When assessing risk, any surface that comes into contact with produce can be divided into zones. Zone one, or food contact surfaces, are the most important areas to keep clean. Food contact surfaces include equipment as well as the hands of workers who may be touching the produce.
This webinar will cover the requirements for when workers should wash their hands and what should be provided to them.
Date: May 14
Time: 12 pm - 1 pm
Register for the Food Contact Surfaces and Bathrooms webinar
A Strong Produce Safety Culture
Reducing the risks of a foodborne outbreak begins with a strong produce safety culture mindset.
The Produce Safety program supports efforts to raise awareness of the potential sources of contamination to reduce those risks. Those efforts include supporting the educational assistance Colorado State University Extension extends to farms for produce safety training and through non-regulatory on-farm readiness reviews that provide compliance assistance.
Those training and educational efforts, along with the registration and regulatory inspections facilitated by the Produce Safety program, help ensure that Colorado’s produce industry continues to provide consumers with safe and nutritious fresh produce.
Read the 2024 Produce Safety Program Annual Report
Read the 2023 Produce Safety Program Annual Report
Read the 2022 Colorado Produce Safety Rule Program Annual Report.
Contact Us
For more information, questions, registration requirements or to request an On-Farm Readiness Review (OFRR), please contact the program at cda_produce.safety@state.co.us
Program Staff
Sarah Musick, Produce Safety Rule Coordinator
303-869-9282 or sarah.musick@state.co.us
Duane Sinning, Program Manager
303-869-9284 or duane.sinning@state.co.us.
The FDA website also contains important background information on the Food Safety Modernization Act and the Produce Safety Rule. That information can be found at: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-safety-modernization-act-fsma/fsma-final-rule-produce-safety
Ag Water Town Hall
Harvest and Post Harvest Water enforcement discretion has ended for both large and small farms. CDA's Produce Safety Program held a Town Hall meeting to discuss what this rule change will mean for Colorado's farmers.
View the recording of the 2024 Town Hall below or on the CDA YouTube channel
You can find more information about the proposed Ag Water Rule here.
Records Requirements
Learn about the recordkeeping requirements of the Produce Safety Rule. The webinar was for fully under the Produce Safety Rule and those that fall under the exemptions, such as Qualified Exempt, Commercial Exempt, and Discretionary Exempt.
Registration and Exemptions Webinar
With the implementation of the Produce Safety Rule in Colorado, all farms including those that are Qualified and Commercial Exempt are required to register with the program.
This webinar covers what a farm needs to know about registration, exemptions, and requirements.
Cleaning and Sanitizing Produce Safety Rule Practices Webinar
Cleaning and sanitizing equipment, tools and buildings are an important step in preventing foodborne illness outbreaks. This webinar goes over what cleaning and sanitizing steps farms can take, with a focus on food contact surfaces, which have the highest potential for coming into contact with produce and being a source of contamination.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) implemented the Produce Safety Rule under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) to establish science-based standards related to produce safety. Unless they are otherwise exempt, farms that grow, harvest, pack, or hold “covered produce” must comply with the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. Like other state departments of agriculture, the CDA assists the FDA in implementing the rule in Colorado. This includes conducting inspections and partnering with CSU Extension Services to provide grower education and training initiatives. Many Colorado farmers are already familiar with the Produce Safety Rule through grower training and on-farm readiness reviews.
FSMA Final Rule on Produce Safety can be found here
In 2019, the Colorado General Assembly passed HB19-1114, which authorized CDA to adopt the Produce Safety Rule under state authority. This bill was supported by Colorado producers and passed largely because Colorado produce growers preferred to have the CDA conduct the inspections over a federal agency.
Registration will occur annually in November and December. Farms are encouraged to create a new registration or update their existing registration at any time during the year. Registration can be completed online or you may request a paper application. To request a paper application, please contact the program staff listed below. The online registration is a simple 5-minute process in which you will provide basic contact information and information on the types of produce you intend to grow, harvest, pack, or hold in the upcoming season.
No, there is no cost to register. The CDA’s Produce Safety Program is funded through a cooperative agreement with the FDA.
No, CDA will not ask for any financial information or business records when you register. However, we will ask you to categorize the size of your farm, based on your average produce sales for the previous three years; 2021-2023:
Exempt from the Rule (Below $31,924)
Very Small Farms ($31,925 - $250,000)
Small Farms ($250,00 - $638,490)
Large Farms (greater than $638,491)
Yes, your information will not be available to the public and will not be shared with the FDA. The exception would be an outbreak of a foodborne illness linked to your farming operation where the CDA and FDA are working together to address public health and safety.