What It Is and Why It Matters (and do you have to do it?) Agricultural Water Assessment What It Is and Why It Matters (and do you have to do it?)   The FSMA Agricultural Water Assessment can feel intimidating at first. It is a detailed evaluation of pre-harvest agricultural water, and that alone can be enough to make growers feel overwhelmed or start looking for an exemption. Instead, think of the Ag Water Assessment as a research project focused on your farm’s water system.

Diving into the food safety considerations of mushrooms. Photo by Willie Crosby / Small Farms Quarterly Produce Safety Spotlight: Mushrooms! The edible mushroom market is a billion-dollar industry in the United States, and is covered under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule , the same as other fresh produce.   Recalls, Outbreaks, and Misidentifications of Mushrooms One of the earliest documented outbreaks tied to mushrooms occurred in the United States in 1989. Four separate outbre

Diving into the food safety considerations of tomatoes. Produce Safety Spotlight: Tomatoes Red, orange, yellow, green, purple, pink - a...

This month we dive into more scientific research that demonstrates the relationship between pathogen survival and crop characteristics,...

One requirement of the Pre-Harvest Agriculture Water Assessment is that farmers are required to identify crop characteristics of the...

Food-grade sanitizers added to produce wash water may reduce the risk of spreading pathogens. Image source: Michigan On-Farm Produce...

Diving into the food safety considerations of microgreens Image source: https://minnesota.agclassroom.org/ Introduction - Microgreens,...

Knowing crop characteristics will be necessary for completing the Agricultural Water Assessment, a new part of the FSMA Final Rule on...