Author: Paul Vijayakumar
Planning Unit: Animal and Food Sciences
Major Program: Local Food Systems
Outcome: Long-Term Outcome
The OFRR (On-farm readiness review) is a voluntary assessment used to familiarize farmers with FMA-PSR (Food safety modernization act produce safety rule) requirements and highlight areas where their current practices may need attention. The goal is to provide individual farms with OFRR created tools that can help to assess their preparedness for the implementation of a new federal rule. The PSR became effective on January 26, 2016. The FDA recognized that PSR is a new regulation and that each farmer has a different level of familiarity and preparedness for the PSR. The OFRR provides an opportunity for farmers, at any level of preparedness, to get individual feedback on their readiness for compliance with the PSR before they receive their first inspection. As a prerequisite for OFRR, farmers should complete the PSA Grower Training, which provides a foundation in produce safety, the PSR, and Good Agricultural Practices. Course attendance will enable a productive discussion about on-farm observations during the OFRR. A team comprised of OFRR-trained UK Extension personnel, the local Cooperative Extension Agent, and a representative from KDA conduct the voluntary, confidential review. The role of the OFFR teams is to educate and help to facilitate voluntary compliance with the requirements of the new rule. From July 2022 until June 2023, OFRRs were conducted in 12 (7 of these farms belonged to Plain Community Growers) different farms in Kentucky. Growers benefited from learning about food safety gaps in their farms, and how to fix them to comply with the new federal FSMA-PSR.
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