New Survey Results Highlight Variation in Food Safety Practices Prior to the Produce Rule

The Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011 included a new Produce Rule that sets specific disease-preventive requirements for produce that is consumed raw in the United States. ERS researchers conducted a survey of produce growers prior to implementation of the Produce Rule to highlight variation in food safety practices.Larger growers have consistently adopted food safety practices at higher rates than smaller growers, but even some growers who will not be required to meet Produce Rule (PR) standards used food safety practices.When surveyed (before the PR was enacted), the majority of growers who would be covered by the PR already tested the water they used, although they may or may not have tested it as frequently as the PR requires or met other required criteria.At the time of the survey, growers who conducted third-party food safety audits spent about 2 to 10 times as much on costs measured in the survey as growers that did not audit