Many of us remember that around this time last year the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was in the process of trying to finalize a myriad of rules relating to food safety under the auspices of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This represented the first time since 1938 that significant food safety reform had been undertaken in the United States. Needless to say that rarely, over the course of 70+ years, do things stay the same — our food system being no exception.

The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), signed into law in 2011, envisions tremendous changes to food safety policy, particularly regarding harvesting, handling, and processing of fresh produce. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has been given the task of drafting rules to implement FSMA. The FDA’s first draft of these rules would put severe and prohibitive cost burdens on many small and mid-size farm operations through its provisions related to use of manure and compost, water testing, simple value-added processing techniques, and other provisions. The good news is that FDA is actively encouraging comments on these rules. The comment period is open until November 15, 2013. Comments on how FSMA will impact you as a farmer or a consumer can be submitted during this time. As people who support local farmers and the access to fresh, healthy, and affordable foods that they help provide, you have the opportunity to voice your opinions on these rules and make sure that the FDA implements fair food safety provisions on all producers. The Michael Fields Agricultural Institute, with collaboration from community partners in Milwaukee and Madison, has organized training workshops to help you submit comments to the FDA.