What this blog is:
- An open forum for farmers to share what type of operation they run, where they farm, and how FSMA is impacting their operation for better or for worse
- An opportunity for American farmers to learn about colleagues in different parts of the country, to see the differences and the similarities, and to foster an increased pride and camaraderie among our food producers
- A centralized repository of information that will be shared with our Congressional delegates as they evaluate the efficacy of FSMA
- A political forum. We love talking politics, but not here. Please stick to specific ways in which FSMA affects you.
- A venue for personal attacks. Farmers are considered the salt of the earth. Let our conduct on this blog reflect that. This site is about telling your story, not editorializing on the stories of others.
- A guide for FSMA compliance. Please contact FDA or your local enforcing body for all questions about FSMA compliance. The stories shared here are descriptive, not prescriptive.
And with that, let the storytelling commence!
We have seen this leviathan coming for nine years now and figure it is unstoppable! So we have been widdling away on capital expenditures we felt we would eventually have to do to comply. To wit; we built a certifiable vegetable washing/processing facility. All Stainless Steel tables and Tubs, fiberglass panel walls, floor drain, covered/sealed lighting. Cost us $12k with plumbing to a grey water well. Going forward, we are putting in a pump station to pump Sanidate (a hydrogen~Peroxide sanitizer ~ cert. for organic use)... to kill any possible e~coli that may come in on cut salad mixes and spinach.
ReplyDeleteOur feeling is, that if by some miracle the law goes away, the public and big box stores like whole foods are just going to demand we follow a similar protocol no matter what! I feel when push comes to shove the current requirement to have 9 three ring binders to keep track of daily "over the top" logs of say, employee lunch table cleanliness! Will hopefully fade into obscurity and the inspectors will eventually stick and monitor the real effective principles that reasonably will impact food safety. If you look at the history of federal laws like OSHA, back in the early seventies every contractor in America thought they would be regulated out of business in a year. Now thirty years hence, the inspectors visits are infrequent and they only apply their scrutiny to a small amount of the actual law.
Thanks for your post, Skip!
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