A few weeks ago here at PMA we received an update from U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service (ERS) Administrator Mary Bohman describing how funding reductions would affect the services ERS provides our industry for the rest of this year. In that update, she stated “many of these products rely on National Agricultural Statistics Service products that have been suspended because of budget reductions. In addition, reductions in the ERS budget limit our ability to quickly identify whether alternative information sources or approaches can be developed in time to meet the scheduled deadlines.”

For our industry, this means that the quarterly Vegetable and Pulses Outlook and Fruit and Tree Nuts Outlook reports have been suspended and the Vegetable and Pulses Data and Fruit and Tree Nuts Data (both July-September) are not scheduled for update at this time. The fresh produce industry isn’t the only sector that will have less data from which to work; dairy, livestock, poultry, meat, aquaculture, and rice are also on the receiving end of research cuts.

I’m sharing this news with you in case you regularly use of one or more of ERS’s outlook reports that provide market analysis and statistics on fresh produce, or if you use ERS research as part of your business operations. ERS reports are one of many information sources I turn to when researching responses to PMA members’ questions and I’m disappointed that these reports won’t be available this year. I am hopeful that the data points provided by these reports can be obtained through other sources.

We’ll keep an eye on this issue and let you know if any new developments, or alternatives, arise.

In recent comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service proposed rule on nutrition standards for all foods sold in school, PMA Vice President of Government Relations and Public Affairs Kathy Means stated that the rule, when combined with the existing school lunch and breakfast standards, will “expand access to fruits and vegetables and provide more opportunities for students to consume healthful options. It presents USDA with additional opportunities to promote the development of healthful eating habits.” PMA strongly encouraged USDA to go beyond the proposed rule and further promote the consumption of fruits and vegetables.

“We agree with USDA’s proposal that ‘any food sold in schools must be either a fruit, a vegetable, a dairy product, a protein food, a ‘whole-grain rich’ grain product, or a combination food that contains at least ¼ cup of fruit or vegetable,’” said Means in our comments. PMA also agreed with USDA that fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables with no added ingredients except water or, in the case of fruit, packed in 100 percent juice or extra light syrup, be exempt from the nutrient standards rule.

PMA also cited several studies – ranging from Produce for Better Health Foundation research to Cornell University’s Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Program to USDA’s recent evaluation of the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program – to drive home the point that schools are an important environment that can shape children’s health and long-term eating habits. Means stated: “Schools represent a critical venue wherein future consumers can experience a variety of fruits and vegetables if they are presented with these options.”

To view our full comments to USDA, visit the PMA website. You can also share your thoughts with us in the Increasing Consumption Community on PMA Xchange.

You might recall in late October the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) opened its online food facility registration renewal system. FDA did so because one of the new requirements in the Food Safety Modernization Act mandated that all domestic and foreign food facilities renew their food facility registrations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between October 1 and December 31 of each even-numbered year.

However, yesterday FDA announced it intends to exercise enforcement discretion with respect to registration renewals submitted to FDA after December 31 for a period of 31 days, until January 31, 2013. This decision gives industry a bit more time to renew registrations if organizations haven’t completed this process.

FDA also announced the availability of two industry guidance documents: “Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Facility Registration (Fifth Edition)” and “Guidance for Industry: What You Need to Know About the Registration of Food Facilities – Small Entity Compliance Guide.”

The first guidance contains FAQs regarding food facility registration while the second contains information regarding who is required to register and who may be exempt; how often facilities must register and renew registrations; when FDA may suspend a registration, and how facilities may submit their registrations and registration renewals to FDA.

To help our members better understand the food facility registration renewal process, we have updated our overview of the facility registration renewal process, including links to the new guidance mentioned above, on our FSMA resource center. You can find this overview under the What’s New tab in the resource center.

To discuss the Food Safety Modernization Act, visit our FSMA community on PMA Xchange.

Earlier this week, three Food Safety Modernization Act proposed rules (produce safety, foreign supplier verification, and preventive controls) that have been under Office of Office and Management review for nearly a year got some company as FDA sent its proposed third-party accreditation regulation on to OMB.

This proposed rule’s abstract states that FDA “is proposing regulations relating to the accreditation of third-party auditors to conduct food safety audits of foreign entities, including foreign facilities in the food import supply chain.” FDA also notes that certifications of foreign food facilities would be used by importers who wish to participate in the Voluntary Qualified Importer Program for expedited review and entry of product and would be a means to provide assurance of compliance as required by FDA based on risk-related consideration. You can get more specifics about the proposal via the OMB website.

As we noted in the laboratory accreditation and testing section of our FSMA analysis, FDA’s rules on accrediting laboratories will standardize and increase the number of laboratories eligible to perform testing. Laboratories, U.S. and non-U.S., private and governmental, may receive accreditation, and FDA will establish a registry of accredited labs (though distribution of the list may be restricted). The testing is to occur when otherwise required, including upon entry into the country, or when the Secretary determines it is appropriate to address a food safety problem. FDA is to receive the test results, unless the agency determines that receipt of particular tests do not contribute to public health protection.

We’re watching this proposal (and the other three) closely and will let you know new developments as they occur. PMA has previously offered comments to FDA on third-party certification and we’ll do the same once the proposal is published.

In other FSMA news, FDA announced its first use of its registration suspension authority under the FSMA. This new authority enables FDA to take this action when food manufactured, processed, packed, received, or held by a facility has a reasonable probability of causing serious adverse health consequences or death to humans or animals, and other conditions are met.

I’m sharing this with PMA members as it provides a detailed example of the information FDA will make available to the public (including foodborne illness outbreak data, information on recalled products, consumer advice, findings from the agency’s investigation, and more) when it suspends a food facility’s registration.

To discuss the Food Safety Modernization Act, join the FSMA Community on PMA Xchange. You can also visit our FSMA resource center for additional information about the Act and FDA’s progress to date.

Next Thursday, November 15, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is offering a Spanish version of its popular “Getting the Most from the Fruit and Vegetable Market News Retail Report” Webinar from 2-3 p.m. Eastern.

If you’re not familiar with USDA Market News, it is a Web-based resource that provides price and movement data for hundreds of agricultural commodities. It includes information for domestic and international wholesale markets, production areas, and ports of entry. USDA representatives will discuss how to access the Market News Portal, along with components of the Fruit and Vegetable report, including:

• Fresh produce prices at the retail level on a national and regional basis,
• Graphs and overviews of price and market activity data, and
• Analyses of fresh produce inclusion in weekly retail advertised specials at thousands of stores across the country.

Space is limited for this Webinar; you can register online here.

Here at PMA, I periodically use USDA Market News’ services to answer members’ questions and as a research resource. Members can also use our navigating regulatory agencies page to learn more about USDA, FDA, and Customs.

On October 31 at 2 p.m. Eastern, the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service will offer a free Webinar “An Introduction to PACA” in Spanish to help those industry leaders in Spanish-speaking countries better understand how the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) operates to promote fair trade in the industry.

During this session, Patrick Romero from USDA will detail how PACA helps companies resolve business disputes and protects the fruit and vegetable industry and ultimately, your business. Romero has conducted numerous outreach seminars to growers and shippers from the United States, Mexico, Costa Rica and Guatemala.

While this Webinar is free, advance registration is required. You can register here for this session. For additional information about PACA, visit the USDA website.

We’ve talked about USDA’s industry outreach efforts (Webinars on Market News, fresh inspections, etc.) here on Field to Fork before. As part of PMA’s ongoing efforts to help members navigate regulatory agencies, we’ll continue to let you know of future opportunities to learn more about the agency’s services.

A few weeks ago, we told you here that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) delayed opening of its online food facility renewal program – citing complexities related to the clearance and implementation of the online renewal module and related guidance as reasons – and as promised, we said we’d let you know when there was an update.

Today, FDA opened its online food facility renewal system and provided guidance regarding registration requirements for domestic and foreign manufacturers, processors, packers or holders of food. The Food Safety Modernization Act improves the registration process by ensuring, among other things, that the FDA has accurate contact information for each facility. The new registration form also includes new categories of foods. These new categories will help FDA rapidly communicate with the right facilities in the event of an emergency.

To help our members better understand the food facility registration renewal process, PMA has recently added an overview of this process to our FSMA resource center (available under the What’s New tab).

In the meantime, we’re still keeping a watchful eye on the proposed produce safety, preventive controls, and foreign supplier verification rules - which remain under OMB review.

To discuss the Food Safety Modernization Act, visit our FSMA community on PMA Xchange.

When the Food Safety Modernization Act was passed in January 2011, one of the new requirements in the law mandated that all domestic and foreign food facilities renew their food facility registrations with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration between October 1 and December 31 of each even-numbered year. That renewal period was to have begun yesterday; however, in a stakeholder conference call, FDA stated that the online food facility registration renewal module is not available.

FDA representatives cited complexities surrounding the clearance and implementation process for release of the module and related guidance as reasons for the delay. FDA gave no clear sign as to when the module/guidance will be available. The agency advised stakeholders and industry members to visit the FSMA website and sign up for e-mail alerts to be notified when the renewal system is available for use.

I asked if FDA will, once the module is open, adjust the end dates for the timetable to allow industry time to renew facility registrations. FDA responded that they would be making a public statement on this issue soon.

If you would like to learn more about the food facility registration renewal process are encouraged to visit our FSMA resource center. We’ve recently added an overview of this process (available under the What’s New tab) that answers questions about the renewal procedures and why they are important.

In the meantime, we’re keeping a close eye on this issue (as well as the proposed produce safety, preventive controls, and foreign supplier verification rules - all of which are still under OMB review). We’ll let you know as soon as the facility renewal module is available for use.

To discuss the Food Safety Modernization Act, visit our FSMA community on PMA Xchange.

At the end of this month, the 2008 farm bill is set to expire. You’ll recall that although the U.S. Senate passed its version of the 2012 farm bill, the full U.S. House of Representatives has not yet acted.

The current farm bill provided many historic gains to the U.S. fresh produce industry in the areas of research, nutrition, market access, and more. If the farm bill expires, many farm bill programs will expire - resulting in our industry losing all of the progress it realized with the 2008 legislation. Some of these gains provided more attention to the fresh fruit and vegetable industry than ever before, including expanding the USDA school fruit and vegetable snack program, much-needed food safety research, global market-building programs and more.

PMA and the entire Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance have been working to ensure Congressional leaders understand the unique needs of the fruit and vegetable industry and that specialty crops’ voice is heard on Capitol Hill. The 2012 farm bill expands upon the earlier efforts, but only if it can become law. An extension of the 2008 bill would not help our industry either, since Congress would essentially have to start work on the legislation all over again and we would lose the gains we have made this year.

This is where you, as a PMA member and critical link in the supply chain, can help us and the Specialty Crop Farm Bill Alliance make a difference. As PMA President and CEO Bryan Silbermann recently said, “It’s important that Congress hear from our industry. Specialty crops have benefitted greatly from farm bill programs, as have consumers. Not only does the farm bill provide funding for industry-critical programs like research and conservation, it also improves consumers’ diets by including more fruits and vegetables. Just one example is the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program that provides fruit and vegetable snacks to schoolchildren. A new farm bill is what we need – not an extension of the existing legislation.”

We urge you to contact your Representative now and urge that they pass the 2012 farm bill. Visit our Advocacy Action Center to help us advance policy goals. Getting involved by sending a message to the House takes less than three minutes and makes a huge difference to the success of the 2012 farm bill.

It’s back to school time here in the U.S. and, with that, more opportunites for fresh produce in school meals. Do you know any early teens? What do they eat? USDA has new middle school lesson plans to help them make healthful nutrition and physical activity choices, including a lesson plan devoted to fruits and vegetables. Nutrition Voyage: The Quest To Be Our Best takes 7th and 8th grade classes on an exploratory journey into school wellness. (This program comes from Team Nutrition, a USDA initiative that offers training and technical assistance for foodservice, nutrition education for children and their caregivers, and school and community support for healthy eating and physical activity.)

Trek 1 for seventh graders is “the path to fruits and veggies.” According to USDA, students will be able to:

• Set goals to eat more fruits and vegetables.
• Describe why fruits and vegetables are part of a healthy meal pattern, and set personal goals to include more of these foods in their diet.
• Explain the importance of choosing healthy foods and beverages.
• Define the terms “nutrient dense” and “calorie” as they relate to food and beverage choices.
• Track and analyze daily fruit and vegetable consumption.
• Create a graph to represent data results.

The trek, which meets national standards, teaches science, math, and English language arts in addition to healthful eating. USDA states: “In this lesson, students will use investigative questions to examine their own eating habits and explore why fruits and vegetables are integral to good health. Then, they’ll brainstorm ways to eat more fruits and vegetables, and take part in a challenge to increase their fruit and vegetable intake. By the end of the lesson, students will understand the reasons fruits and vegetables are good for their bodies, will have personal nutrition goals, and will take the first steps toward a lifetime of good health—eating more fruits and veggies!”

In other lessons, eighth graders learn about healthy snacks and agriculture. Reaching kids is easy. You’ll remember that PMA funded a 3rd and 4th grade math program with Scholastic, Crunch the Numbers, that helps younger kids understand healthy eating. Don’t forget that you can give a salad bar to a school for only $2500. And, at the recent PMA Foodservice Conference & Expo, one of the big hits was the focus on kids’ eating. It’s essential that we catch kids at teachable moments to turn them into consumers for life.

Join the conversation at PMA Xchange and let us know how you’re using these programs or other initiatives to reach kids.