Designing Wisconsin's Program For Implementing The Fda Produce Safety Rule

PROJECT SUMMARYProject Title: Designing Wisconsin's Program for Implementing the FDA Produce Safety RuleProject Background: Outbreaks of illness caused by consumption of fruits and vegetables(produce) contaminated with disease-causing microorganisms have a measurable andimportant negative effect on public health in the US, due to costs of medical treatment, loss ofproductivity, and, in too many instances, mortality. The FDA has promulgated a ProduceSafety Rule intended to foster the implementation of preventive measures that reduce thelikelihood of microbial contamination throughout the produce industry. Broad compliancewith this rule will require education, outreach, technical assistance, inspection, and enforcementactivities beyond the scope of existing FDA programs. State food safety regulatory agencies canassist the FDA in this public health initiative by leveraging existing programmatic resources tocreate state-run produce safety regulatory programs.Project Goals: The proposed project will establish Wisconsin's produce safety regulatoryprogram to implement the FDA Produce Safety Rule. Project personnel will: 1) conductlegislative research to determine how to establish a statutory and regulatory foundation forprogram activities, 2) perform a jurisdictional self-assessment to determine available andneeded resources, 3) develop a dynamic inventory of produce farms in Wisconsin that aresubject to the Produce Safety Rule, 4) create educational, outreach, and technical assistanceprograms to guide grower compliance, and 5)develop the infrastructure, along with inspectionand compliance procedures, necessary to implement a fair, effective, efficient, and sustainableproduce safety regulatory program.