Produce Safety Rule Inspections Will Begin Soon

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb recently issued a statement affirming that Produce Safety Rule inspections will begin this spring. Last year FDA chose to delay routine inspections to allow more time for farmers and state regulators to receive training on the rule. Routine inspections for large farms (i.e., farms with more than an average $500,000 in produce sales during the previous 3-year period) were delayed until spring 2019, and routine inspections for small farms, other than sprouts operations, were delayed until spring 2020. In his statement, Commissioner Gottlieb confirmed that routine inspections for large domestic and foreign farms will commence this spring, as planned.