KENTUCKY DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE PRODUCE SAFETY RULE COMPLIANCE PLAN

1Project SummaryThe Kentucky Department of Agriculture (KDA) proposes to explore andestablish a produce safety program in the Commonwealth of Kentucky throughthe support of this U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) funding opportunity.The KDA will seek the authority to conduct on-farm inspections inCommonwealth of Kentucky on behalf of FDA and ensure that produce growersof the Commonwealth are made aware of, trained as needed, and inspected asrequired by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Final Rule on ProduceSafety: Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Producefor Human Consumption (Produce Safety Rule) effective January, 2018. ThisKentucky produce safety program is intended to encourage the safe productionof fresh fruits and vegetables, to promote the understanding of the ProduceSafety Rule and to ensure compliance with the requirements of the ProduceSafety Rule by covered Kentucky entities. This cooperative agreement is toestablish and maintain a statewide program for farmer education, technicalassistance, development of an inventory of covered farms, and farm inspections,after seeking authority under Kentucky law.With the funding made available through this grant, KDA and its partnerorganizations will conduct education, outreach, identification of covered farmsand technical support, while KDA will solely conduct activities associated with on-farm inspections after KDA staff complete FDA-required training.Through this program, KDA will conduct a state self-assessment and policychanges to ensure a clear state regulatory foundation under Kentucky state law(Kentucky Revised Statutes, or KRS), that is well-understood by regulators, theregulated, and the produce community as a whole. KDA will pursue regulatoryauthority for KDA to act as the lead agency with FDA credentials for theimplementation of the Produce Safety Rule. The education and outreachconducted by the three partner agencies associated with this project will enablethe regulated community to better prepare for this federal regulation. Thesupport of both Competition A and Competition B will be necessary to fullydevelop Kentucky?s plan for FSMA Produce Safety Rule implementation.