Food Safety: Farm-to-Table Resources for Marylanders

Updated: October 3, 2025

The University works to help mitigate various food safety risks
across the food supply chain to help meet the
College of Agriculture & Natural Resources Strategic Initiatives

Such as:

Encourage entrepreneurship in food production, accessibility, availability, and processing
Improve the health and well-being of populations through sharing knowledge of food production, processing, access, and consumption.
Decrease chronic diseases and disease transmitted from animal to humans.

Ultimately our goals are:

To improve the safety of Maryland’s food supply from farm to our table.
Reduce foodborne illness and protect all Marylanders from preventable infectious diseases.

Find a local event near you

Current programs focused on food safety across the food supply chain are:

Farm ResourcesTips: Familiarize yourself with your department of agriculture and county/city Extension Ag Agent, or specialist.
Program	Federal/National Resources	State Resources	University Resources
Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)	USDA-AMS Part One: Food Safety Considerations when Procuring Local Foods for Your Cafeteria Part Two: Procurement Regulations Surrounding Local Meat, Poultry, Eggs, and Dairy Products for Your Cafeteria	MDA-GAP	UME-GAP PSLA (Plant Science & Landscape Architecture) ALEI (Agriculture Law Education Initiative) Clearing House FAQ for value-added producers (ERB-2022-0635)
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)-Produce Safety Rule (PSR)	FDA-FSMA-PSR	MDA-FSMA-PSR	PSR Compliance Resources PSLA ALEI Produce Safety Alliance Clearing House ProduceTRAINer (Worker training)
FSMA-Sprout Safety Alliance (SSA)	FDA-FSMA-SSA	MDA-FSMA-SSA	Sprout Safety Alliance Clearing House

Industry/Manufacturing/Processing ResourcesTips: Familiarize yourself with your Environmental Health Services (county/city) and State health department, or local Extension Agent or specialist
Program	Federal/National Resources	State Resources	University Resources
Resources	FDA-FSMA-Preventive Controls 2.0 Better Process Control School Process Authority Directory-AFDO	COMAR-subtitle 15 FOOD SMADC (Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission) CIAC (Chesapeake Ag Innovation Center)	Maryland Rural Enterprise Development Center Clearing House UMES: Help with herb drying in Maryland ALEI: Adding value to specialty crops-Regulatory decision trees for MD producers
Licensing	Guidance for Industry: Food Labeling Guide	MDH-Cottage fillable label guidance	Food Processing in Maryland FAQ for value-added producers (ERB-2022-0635)
Seafood & HACCP			Seafood Quality & Safety

Retail ResourcesTips: Familiarize yourself with your Environmental Health Services (county/city) and State health department, or local Extension Agent or specialist
Program	Federal/National Resources	State Resources	University Resources
ANSI Credited food manager programs	ServSafe	Restaurant Association of Maryland	UME-Proctor/instructor SafePlates

Consumer ResourcesTips: Familiarize yourself with your local Extension Agent or specialist
Program	Federal/National Resources	State Resources	University Resources
Food Preservation (canning, drying & freezing)	National Center for Home Food Preservation		UME-GIEIPI PSU Extension-Vamos a Conservar Alimentos
Consumer Food Safety Education	CDC-communication FDA USDA HealthyPeople2030 Partnership for Food Safety Education		Kitchen Kaizen *Inquire for specific classes (for example: pregnant women, older adults, diabetes). Email Dr. Shauna Henley at shenley@umd.edu

Prevent Foodborne Illness

Foodborne illness can sporadically strike an individual or occur as an outbreak. It is estimated that 17% (1 in 6) American’s will domestically experience an episode of foodborne illness each year (Food Safety, 2019). Where young children (5 years and younger), pregnant women, older adults (65 years and older), and immunocompromised people (eg. diabetes, cancer, HIV/AIDS, organ transplant…) are more susceptible of acquiring a foodborne illness (Byrd-Bredbenner, Berning, Martin-Biggers, & Quick, 2013).

The World Health Organization states “Foodborne diseases are caused by contamination of food and occur at any stage of the food production, delivery and consumption chain. They can result from several forms of environmental contamination including pollution in water, soil or air, as well as unsafe food storage and processing (n.d.).” It is important for Marylanders to practice safe food handling behaviors to protect themselves and others from preventable infectious diseases across the food supply chain.