IN YOURORCHARD
The Almond Industry’s Success in Food Quality and Safety:
A Celebration of Progress To-Date and Continued Opportunities
for the Future
The almond industry’s track record of progressive
leadership related to food quality and safety is
impressive. This month marks the 10-year anniversary
of the almond pasteurization program, implemented
on September 1, 2007 with the goal of setting higher
industrywide food safety standards to better prevent the
risk of foodborne illness from almond products. The hard
work has paid off; since the program has been in place,
there have been zero foodborne outbreaks associated
with California Almonds.
The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) has officially
taken effect, and its wide-sweeping rules give the almond
industry another opportunity to showcase its commitment
to leadership. FSMA will help elevate the entire food
industry to higher food safety practices. Several of the
FSMA rules could require action by the almond industry,
many of which have already gone into effect. Below are
summaries of each of the rules and how they apply to
different sectors of the almond industry.
Food safety will always be a continued and collective
effort. Thanks to the leadership and vision of growers,
hullers and processors to implement an industrywide
pasteurization program, good manufacturing practices
and good agricultural practices, the almond industry
is especially positioned for success in FSMA
compliance. Additionally, there have been several
resources and guidance messages developed to
help communicate FSMA requirements for each
stakeholder involved. Please visit Almond Board of
California’s webpages almonds.com/growers/fsma
or almonds.com/processors/fsma for continued updates
and information.
Produce Safety
The Produce Safety Rule establishes federal food
safety regulations for farms covering: agricultural water;
biological soil amendments; worker hygiene and training;
buildings, tools and equipment; growing, harvesting,
packing and holding; and management of domesticated
and wild animals. This applies to almond growers, as
well as huller/shellers and brownskin almond handlers
that meet the primary or secondary farm definition. The
next compliance deadline is January 26, 2018 for large
farms. There are two options for complying with the
Produce Safety Rule:
1. You can utilize the Produce Safety Rule exemption for
commercial processing, or
2. Comply with all applicable Produce Safety Rule
requirements.
Learn about both options in the FSMA Fact Sheets on the
website:
• Is My Operation a “Farm” Covered by the Produce
Safety Rule
?
• What Do Farms Need to Do to Comply with FSMA
?
• What Training Requirements Does FSMA Have
?
3 8
A L M O N D F A C T S
