The Produce Safety Rule (PSR) is one of the seven major food safety regulations that are authorized by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). The PSR standards (subpart F) describe the minimum requirements for treated and untreated biological soil amendments of animal origin and human waste for reducing public health risk and the risk of contaminating covered produce. The PSR standards include requirements for determining if biological soil amendments of animal origin are treated or untreated and how to handle them. The standards also address the use of human waste, treatment of the biological soil amendments, application methods and intervals, and recordkeeping.

The Food Safety Modernization act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) covers packinghouse activities in several subparts of the regulation. These include subpart D - worker health and hygiene, subpart E - agricultural water, subpart K - growing, harvesting, packing, and holding activities, and subpart L - equipment, tools, buildings, and sanitation. Applying the practices required by the PSR to packing houses is an important element to ensure the safety of fruits and vegetables.

High pressure processing (HPP) is a technology in which foods are exposed to high pressure inside a chamber. The high pressure kills microorganisms and breaks down enzymes (molecules that speed up the rate of chemical reactions in food, like browning) without the use of extreme temperatures (Fellows 2009).

Microwaves are one of the most common food processing technologies used. Most consumers are familiar with using a microwave in their home kitchen, however, do not realized that some of the food that they purchase has been processed using microwave technology. This publication was created to provide simple, easy to understand science based information on what this technology is and how it can make foods safer. The goal is for the public to be more aware and accepting of various technologies that are used to make our food supply safe.

In Virginia, the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (VDACS) is enforcing the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule. The FSMA Produce Safety Rule is a regulatory rule by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that sets the science-based minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables (FDA, 2015). All covered farms are subject to inspection. To help prepare for the regulation, operations can choose to have an On-Farm Readiness Review (OFRR). The OFRR is a program designed specifically to help produce operations align their food safety practices with the FSMA Produce Safety Rule and prepare them for an inspection by VDACS. A fully trained VCE agent conducts the OFRR, lasts no longer than 2 hours, is 100% confidential, and is entirely free.