Food Safety Laws and Standard Operating Procedures for Urban Farmers

“[Urban farm produce] was not necessarily considered an “approved source” for sale to retail food establishments,” she said. “Two laws cleared that up.

By Taylor Chalstrom
Organic Farmer Magazine
March 31, 2021

Excerpt:

As urban farming continues to rise in popularity as a way for urban communities to tackle food insecurity and promote food sovereignty, new laws and standard operation procedures are being put into place to ensure food safety of those products. The California Urban Agriculture Food Safety Guide, produced in December 2020 by UC Berkeley, UCCE and Sustainable Economies Law Center, provides a thorough overview of what those urban farmers or gardeners may be subject to.

“For new urban farmers, it outlines relatively new laws that offer new opportunities for urban farmers and gardeners to grow and distribute foods for sale including the Cottage Food Act and the Community Food Producer Act,” said Jennifer Sowerwine, UCCE metropolitan agriculture and food safety specialist at UC Berkeley and lead author of the guide.

“We tried to take complex regulations and put them into a format that will be more accessible for very small-scale growers,” added Rachel Surls, UCCE sustainable food systems advisor and co-author.

The 72-page guide also explains whether or not urban farmers may be subject to the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), and clarifies that all food grown and sold or donated in urban environments should be following the CDFA’s Small Farm Food Safety Guidelines, according to Sowerwine.

Read the complete article here.