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Final Food Safety Regulations Released

Part I: The Preventative Controls Rule governing food processing facilities by Steve Gilman Interstate NOFA Policy Coordinator

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After an intense three-year legislative process formulating the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) begun in Congress in 2009, followed by an unusual two full rounds of public comment correcting the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) controversial proposed rules, the final Preventative Controls Rule regulating food facilities was issued in late-September, 2015.

At this writing, still to come in mid-November is the final FSMA Produce Rule regulating on-farm food safety. Among the hundreds of pages, the most contentious issues to pay attention to will be the agricultural water quality standards and testing frequencies; the interval between manure and compost application and harvest; extent of record-keeping requirements and reinstatement of farmers’ qualified exemption. There’ll also be a finalized implementation schedule. Depending on how farm and processing operations are classified scale-wise, compliance deadlines will be phased in over the next 5 years. On a parallel track is the development of provisions for requisite food safety training for farmers.
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We’ve Got Our Policy Work Cut Out For Us

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Thanks to an outpouring of support from Members responding to the End of the Year policy funding appeal, the NOFA Interstate Policy Program is alive and functioning, albeit on a part time basis. More support is needed, however, as you’ll see below.

Trump Agenda
Now that we’ve gotten an all-too-clear look at the details of the Administration’s and Congress’ self-serving political agendas – it’s plain to see that much of what NOFA has stood for and worked on since our beginnings in the early 1970’s is under full frontal assault. Many hard fought advances in organic and sus-tainable agriculture, good food availability, environmental protection, health care, climate stability, social justice, and personal freedom are now targeted by a slew of special interests who are now powerfully placed at the top.
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Coalition for Sustainable Profits declares war on National Organic Program at US Senate

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Theo Crisantes says it is time to limit the power of the NOSB.

Another blow against Real Organic came last week with the Senate testimony of the misnamed Coalition For Sustainable Organics, which I will henceforth refer to as the Coalition for Sustainable Profits. Only through the extraordinary success of their latest and most expensive lobbyist, Anne MacMillan, was the Coalition able to testify before Congress twice in the last month.

Senate Agriculture Chairman Roberts said at the hearing that the federal National Organic Standards Board and organic regulations were rife with “uncertainty and dysfunction,” and asked “producers” for recommendations on how to improve the advisory board.

“These problems create an unreliable regulatory environment and prevent farmers that choose organics from utilizing advancements in technology and operat-ing their businesses in an efficient and effective manner,” Roberts said in his opening statement during a hearing on local and international markets for organic foods and specialty crops. “Simply put, this hurts producers and economies in rural America.”
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