The First State has adopted regulations for produce safety compliance.
The Food Products Inspection arm of Delaware’s Department of Agriculture now has statutory authority to enforce the federal Produce Safety Rule.
The state’s food products inspection administrator Andrea Jackson says the rule is part of the Food Safety Modernization Act, “The Produce Safety Rule established science-based, minimum standards for safe growing, harvesting, packing and holding of fruits and vegetables for human consumption," said
Jackson says Delaware has been working on implementing the Produce Safety Rule for the past three years, “It’s happening because of the FSMA Regulations that were enacted in 2011. So this has been a very slow process. So it’s nothing new; we’ve been working with the growers in Delaware for three years now.”
Jackson says federal regulations require all Delaware farms growing produce to register with the state Ag Dept. And Ag Dept. personnel can enter any farm or facility that grows, harvests, packs or holds produce for human consumption to conduct inspections - as well as request and review records and test samples to verify compliance with the Produce Safety Rule.
