Under legislation passed by the Kentucky General Assembly earlier this year, the Kentucky Department of Agriculture will begin implementing new produce safety rules across the Commonwealth.
Agriculture Commissioner Dr. Ryan Quarles states that House Bill 420 allows the Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) to serve as the primary agency for produce safety rules instead of the Food and Drug Administration in Washington, D.C. He adds the new law eliminates the need for federal inspection of Kentucky produce farms and places inspectional oversight under KDA field representatives who work in cooperation with the University of Kentucky (UK) and the Kentucky Food Safety Branch.
Quarles explains that Congress passed the Food Safety Modernization Act, a law that tasked the U.S. Food and Drug Administration with implementing new food safety protocols aimed at increasing food safety across the nation and allows states to enter into a cooperative agreement with the federal government to implement the rule.
The new rules require fruit and vegetable growers averaging $25,000 or above in annual sales during the previous three years, which is adjusted for inflation, to complete a farm survey with the KDA and a seven-hour Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) Grower Training course. However, Quarles notes that with in-person produce safety training delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, free virtual training hosted by the KDA and UK will be offered online in June and July.
Four day-long grower training courses will be offered via the Zoom online platform from 7AM until 4PM CST on June 9 and 16, and July 16 and 30. The deadline to register online is one month before each course, or Saturday, May 9 for the June 9 course.
To register for a course you can contact the UK’s Food Systems Innovation Center at 1-859- 257-1546. Each course is limited to the first 20 registrants on a first-come, first-serve basis. Those registering must have a computer with a microphone and speaker, internet access, and valid email identification, and be present through all seven hours of instruction.
Previous completion of the Kentucky Produce Best Practices Training (PBPT) cannot be used as a substitute for the PSA grower training, however, the PSA training can be used in lieu of the PBPT training for farmers’ market sampling certificates.
For more information you can contact KDA Produce Safety Program Manager Mark Reed at mark.reed@ky.gov or Ryan Burnette in KDA’s Office of Agricultural Marketing at ryan.burnette@ky.gov.
