Addressing Concerns Of FSMA's Produce Safety Rule

By Sam Lewis

FSMA’s Produce Safety Rule became final on October 31, 2015. This rule covers nearly every aspect of the growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of produce for human consumption. Because there are so many new criteria, it comes as no surprise that there is confusion among produce growers about how to comply with them. Here, Nye Hardy, a former director of food safety at Dole Fresh Vegetables, answers my questions about becoming compliant with FSMA’s Produce Safety Rule and the effects it will have on the produce and food manufacturing industry.

Food Online: How will FSMA’s produce safety rule affect the industry? What will its impact be in the short and long term?

Hardy: Like everyone else, I can only guess, and I’m going to go conservative here and say, short-term, it will probably be very similar to other regulatory roll-outs. It may sound something like, “Here, do it this way… oh, wait, we didn’t mean that. We meant this. Okay, do it this new way. You can’t?  Well, how can you do it?  Okay, let’s do that…”

I don’t mean that in a sarcastic way — it’s the way we all handle brand-new scenarios — we give it our best shot and then make adjustments to handle what bubbles up. It’s just that the federal government has to do it on stage with no actual rehearsal and with an audience expectation that there is a definitive way to do these things. As an industry, we need to be patient and cooperative with the process.

Meanwhile, as has been shown in the past, and for that long-term scenario, those entities (customers, third-party auditors, producers, and training companies) which are not under the same constraints and limitations as government can move a more lot quickly to update and improve best practices — and they will.

Food Online: Under FSMA’s Produce Safety Rule are there specific pathogen tests for specific produce types or is it more of a one-size-fits-all approach?

Hardy: Let’s be optimistic, and say that testing programs need to fit the specific and unique needs of your business. That’s good science, good business, and perhaps very good for a functional pathogen-reduction program, as well.

Food Online: What challenges do growers face in pathogen testing turnaround times? How can growers get results faster?

Hardy: A pathogen testing program always needs to be “Test-Hold.”  That means that after testing, the product is not moved until acceptable results are received. If you ship out products and then find out they have pathogens, you have created a recall situation for yourself.

So, this means that growers need to plan for a delay between testing and getting the results. Communication of this process this has to be planned into the business flow. Most laboratories accept overnight mail and do testing within a day or two.

Food Online: There is confusion regarding the education and experience of a Qualified Individual (QI). For growers, what education and experience do you think best fits what FSMA is requiring?

Hardy: Let’s start with experience. If growers have good agricultural practices in place, they probably have 70 to 80 percent of the experience they really need; if they have done a GFSI-compliant audit, which moves it up to 90 to 100 percent.

For education, it is not going to be realistic to ask everyone in agriculture to instantly produce a two- or four-year college degree. That education component is going to have to be acquirable through industry-specific programs, such as webinars, one-day or one-week workshops, and conference attendance.  Some junior colleges and extension programs are creating food safety certificate programs, which I think provide a better depth of understanding of food safety.

Food Online: What complications will FSMA’s produce safety rule bring to growers that they aren’t currently aware of?

For those of us already involved in food safety programs, there will be slight rearrangements in how we do things. For those of us who are new to food safety programs, there is going to be an intimidating — but not impossible — learning curve.

For those new folks out there, it is not something you have to do by yourself; nor should you. If you have large customers, they may already have a food safety system you can adopt or adapt, as well as technical assistance. If that isn’t available for you, there are many qualified food safety consultants and trainers who can fast-track you to a working program.

About Nye Hardy
With 22 years of experience in production agriculture, a B.A. in biology, and a Master’s degree in Food Safety, Nye Joell Hardy was most recently the director of food safety at Dole Fresh Vegetables. She now works privately as a food safety consultant, as well as a food safety technical and regulatory writer. Hardy specializes in writing training classes, food safety plans, and more. If you have questions or comments, she can be reached by phone (831-262-9208) or by email (badwolf@redshift.com).