Food Safety Resources Guide for FSMA and CQP compliance
Welcome to the Food Safety Resources Guide 2024, a comprehensive tool designed to support New Entry's mission of enhancing our local and regional food systems by empowering the next generation of farmers. In pursuit of our mission, New Entry is committed to revising and enhancing existing food safety educational materials and curriculum. We integrate the latest standards, including the FSMA Produce Rules for exempt and qualified exempt producers, and specific MDARCQP compliance guidelines as we scale our operations. Our focus is on accessing large and growing intermediated markets, ensuring that our producers are equipped to thrive in a competitive landscape.
The Food Safety Resources Guide is a crucial component of our project: “Training beginning, socially disadvantaged, and organic specialty crop producers in food safety / FSMA compliance to access intermediated markets.This initiative is made possible through the generous support of USDA/NIFA under Award Number 2021-70020-35676.
FSMA Produce Safety Rules: The Produce Safety Rule, established by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) in 2016, lays out rules for growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables. These rules are based in scientific understanding, with the intention of preventing foodborne illness.
Commonwealth Quality Program (CQP): Commonwealth Quality, a brand designed by the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources, serves to identify locally sourced products that are grown, harvested, and processed in Massachusetts using practices that are safe, sustainable, and environmentally friendly.
Every year, New Entry serves over 300 producers through our core training programs, where we prioritize the infusion of food safety curriculum. Additionally, our Food Hub plays a vital role in our mission, supplying a 200-member traditional box CSA program, partnering with farm-to-school and farm-to-institution accounts, and supporting hundreds of low-income families and seniors with fresh, healthy, locally produced fruits and vegetables. The Food Hub also offers post-harvest wash/pack and aggregation support to producers, further enhancing the quality and safety of our offerings.
As we continue to evolve and adapt to the changing landscape of agriculture, New Entry remains steadfast in our commitment to promoting sustainable farming practices and ensuring food safety for all. We invite you to explore the resources provided in this guide and join us in our journey towards a healthier, more equitable food system.
This 9-week online course covers essential topics related to sustainable crop production, enabling participants to grow food while caring for the soil at the farm or in the garden.
Are you interested in starting your own farm business but need to learn technical skills to get started, the Crop Production Course is for you!
This 8-week online course covers essential topics related to sustainable crop production, enabling participants to grow food while caring for the soil at the farm or in the garden.
Join New Entry Sustainable Farming Project and representatives from MDAR for a discussion of what the Commonwealth Quality Program is, the requirements for a produce safety audit, and the benefits it offers for small farms in MA.
This two-hour long event is an opportunity for growers and buyers to network alongside knowledgeable agricultural service providers to help participants:
- Build relationships
- Better understand costs/pricing
- Comply with food safety requirements
- Learn about developing contracts
Having a food safety mindset does not necessarily mean having state-of-the-art equipment. This workshop will discuss key areas of food safety and discuss scale appropriate ways to minimize risk and embed safe practices into your daily operations.
This guide can be used to assist trainers who want to make good farm recordkeeping practices accessible to farmers with limited English and/or low literacy skills. It covers the reasons for and benefits of keeping good records for harvest and post-harvest activities, including compliance with food safety requirements. It explains what kinds of information need to be recorded and provides recommendations for when and how to collect that information. Tools which allow farmers with low-literacy skills to keep good records of on-farm activities are provided. This teaching resource was developed by Craig Demi of the Southside Community Land Trust in Providence, RI in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions).
This guide can be used to assist trainers who want to make good farm record keeping practices accessible to farmers with limited English or low-literacy skills. It covers the reasons and benefits of keeping good records for planning and planting, including compliance with food safety requirements. It explains what kinds of information need to be recorded and provides recommendations for when and how to collect that information. Tools which allow farmers with low-literacy skills to keep good records of on-farm activities are provided. This teaching resource was developed by Craig Demi of the Southside Community Land Trust in Providence, RI in partnership with the Institute for Social and Economic Development (ISED Solutions).
