Establishing a Texas Produce Safety Program

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Project Summary/Abstract Project Title: Establishing a Texas Produce Safety Program Project Description: The overall purpose of this project is to establish a Texas Office of Produce Safety to encourage the safe production of fresh fruits and vegetables and to promote compliance with the requirements of FDA Regulation “Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption” commonly known as the Produce Safety Rule. The Texas Department of Agriculture proposes to use funds allocated under a cooperative agreement to create the necessary infrastructure and conduct grower outreach, education and inspections based on the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). Project Goals: Establish a Texas Office of Produce Safety which will be responsible for the implementation of FSMA in the State of Texas including collection of farm inventory data, training, inspection and compliance. Expected Outcomes: TDA expects to develop a program that is managed efficiently, captures the targeted produce operations and provides consistent education and successful on-farm inspections. Project Objectives: 1. Establish a process to develop and maintain a produce farm inventory; 2. Evaluate existing statutory and/or regulatory authority related to produce safety, and determine necessary changes supportive of the requirements in Produce Safety Rule; 3. Assess, plan and invest in program infrastructure including information technology and human resources; 4. Provide education, outreach, and technical assistance to farming operations; and 5. Design and implement a compliance program for applicable produce safety regulations in Texas. Five (5) Year Budget Total: $6,550,000 for Competition A and B.