To help produce growers comply with food-safety regulations, Purdue University in Indiana developed an on-farm review program. On-Farm Readiness Reviews are free for growers and provide them with suggestions for how to improve their food-safety practices. A team of representatives from Purdue Extension, the Indiana Department of Agriculture and the Indiana Department of Health visit farms for a two-hour interview and tour. They check growing conditions, harvest practices, packinghouse operations and sources of water. Producers can also undergo mock audits to help prepare them for third-party audits that are a buyer-driven industry requirement. Assisting the growers helps them gain access to new or additional markets. Since the program began in 2019, all inspected farms that completed the on-farm reviews were in compliance and all producers who had mock audits passed their official audits and moved ahead with expanding their operations.
Link to full statement on website: https://landgrantimpacts.tamu.edu/impacts/show/5153