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Food safety top of mind at Great Lakes Expo

A vegetable industry leader says specialty crop farmers should be prepared to implement food safety changes next year.

Executive Director of the Michigan Vegetable Council Dave Smith tells Brownfield the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act will place stricter rules on growers to try to reduce the outbreak and spread of food borne illnesses.   “The concern that some have is that it’s one more thing that we have to do and it does add some cost to doing business, but we understand the importance of it.”  As the largest reform to food safety in over 70 years, the Act was signed into law in 2011 and this June FDA finalized most regulations which Smith says will be phased in overtime starting with the largest scale growers.

Smith says while he’s unsure if a new administration would make updates to food safety regulations he doesn’t believe FDA’s changes will go away anytime soon.  “If there are issues that don’t make sense hopefully we can clarify some things, but regardless of administration I think the Food Safety Modernization Act is setting the rules of the game that we know that we have to be compliant with.”

Smith says specialty crop growers from across the country will be learning about how the regulations affect them at this week’s Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market Expo as well as hear from industry experts on research, labor and marketing.

AUDIO: Interview with Dave Smith