University of Maryland Extension

Food Safety

Base Name: 
foodsafety

MDA Agricultural Site COVID-19 Guidance

Download and print the following documents around best practices for COVID-19 guidance and your Agricultural Site. Topics include: MAINTAIN A HEALTHY WORKFORCE FARMS AND ON-FARM DELIVERIES AND PICK-UPS AGRICULTURAL WORKFORCE TRAINING TEMPORARY WORKER HOUSING COVID-19 GUIDANCE SAFE BUSINESS...

Preventive Controls Rules (PCR) Overview

Preventive Controls for Human Food (Part 117), and Preventive Controls for Animal Food (Part 507) Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human & Animal Food The Preventive Controls Rule for Human Food and the Preventive Controls Rule for...

Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) amended the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) of 1938, giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to mandate preventive-based controls across the food supply chain. FSMA is the first major legislative reform of FDA's food safety authorities...

PCR Facility Registration & Compliance Dates

The owner, operator, or agent in charge of any domestic or foreign facility that manufactures/processes, packs, or holds food for human or animal consumption in the U.S. must register with the FDA, unless an exemption applies. Decision Tree: Food Facility Registration: Who, How, and When? Food...

PCR Applicability & Exemptions

Just like with the Produce Safety Rule, the PCRs also exempt some facilities and allow certain facilities to qualify for modified (reduced) obligations, depending upon the volume of annual sales and destination of products. The National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition has a useful flowchart to...

Agricultural Water

Agricultural water is defined in the Produce Safety Rule as water used in covered activities on covered produce where water is intended to, or is likely to, contact covered produce or food contact surfaces. The general requirement in the PSR is that all agricultural water must be safe and of...

Food Safety Contacts

Who can I contact if I need more help? Several agencies and organizations can help producers who have more questions about the laws, how to comply with the laws, how to attend an approved FSMA training, accessing resources and programs that will make compliance simpler, and more. The Maryland...

Preventive Controls Rules (PCR) Overview

Preventive Controls for Human Food (Part 117), and Preventive Controls for Animal Food (Part 507) Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis, and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human & Animal Food The Preventive Controls Rule for Human Food and the Preventive Controls Rule for...

Comparison of GAP and PSR Certification Requirements

Maryland growers who already voluntarily comply with the requirements of a Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) program often ask what more they will have to do under the Food Safety Modernization Act’s Produce Safety Rule (PSR). They might wonder if they are already satisfying the legal obligations...

Qualified Exempt

A farm growing covered produce may be eligible for a qualified exemption and modified requirements if it meets two requirements: (1) The farm must have food sales averaging less than $500,000 (adjusted for inflation ) per year during the previous 3 years; and (2) the farm's sales to qualified end-...

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