Maryland Department of Agriculture Produce Safety Fda Cooperative Agreement

Project Summary/AbstractProject Title: Planning and creating a Maryland Produce Safety Program to Implement the FoodSafety Modernization Act Produce RuleProject Description: Develop a plan to implement the FDA's Produce Safety Rule in Marylandthat includes developing an inventory of regulated produce farms; providing outreach, technicalassistance and education to regulated farms; and designing and implementing a compliance programfor FDA's Produce Safety Rule. The Maryland Department of Agriculture and the University ofMaryland Extension will collaborate to achieve the goals of this project.Project Goals: The overarching goal of this proposal is to develop a strategic plan to alignprograms and regulations with the FDA's Produce Safety Rule to provide effective implementationof a Produce Safety program in Maryland. Specific goals include establishing inventory of coveredfarms; providing outreach, education and technical assistance to farmers; completing an assessmentof Maryland's regulatory authority for produce safety; assessing and obtaining the resources neededto develop a successful program and implementing the program.Expected Outcomes: The plans and activities outlined in this proposal will create federal-statepartnerships and resources to implement an effective produce safety program that is aligned withthe FSMA Produce Rule, provides farmers with the knowledge to comply with the rule and resultsin consistent inspections of farms and a decrease in foodborne illnesses due to produce in Maryland.Project Objectives:1. Develop and maintain an inventory of produce farms covered under the rule that includes amechanism to share the data with FDA. 2. Assess current regulations and resources to planactivities (regulatory authority, training, technical support, information technology, laboratorycapabilities, and inspection/enforcement/compliance) and obtain the necessary resources to developa Maryland produce safety program that is aligned with FDA's Produce Rule. 3. Implement a planthat includes prioritized regulatory oversight of covered farms, inspections, sampling, enforcement,training and technical assistance.Budget: Year one, $500,00.00; Year two, $725,000.00; Year three, $755,00.00; Year four,$770,00.00; Year five, $875,000.00, TOTAL: $3,625,000.00 over five years.