Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 330 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESOURCES › Title 330 CMR 34.00 - Produce Safety and Market Access › Section 34.04 - Standards for Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Storing Produce for Human Consumption

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
General Provisions
. Food covered under 330 CMR 34.04
			 shall be Covered Produce as defined in 330 CMR 34.02; provided, however, that
			 the Department shall apply the standards set forth in 330 CMR 34.04 when
			 conducting an inspection of Non-covered Produce at a Farm that has elected to
			 register with the Department pursuant to 330 CMR 34.03(2).
(2)
General
			 Requirements
. A Covered Farm shall take appropriate measures to
			 minimize the risk of serious adverse health consequences or death from the use
			 of, exposure to, Covered Produce, including those measures reasonably necessary
			 to prevent the introduction of known or reasonably foreseeable hazards into
			 Covered Produce, and to provide reasonable assurances the Covered Produce is
			 not Adulterated Produce on account of such hazards.
(3)
Personnel Qualifications and
			 Training
.
(a) A Covered Farm
			 shall assign or identify personnel to supervise (or otherwise be responsible
			 for) operations to ensure compliance with 330 CMR 34.04.
(b) All personnel (including temporary,
			 part-time, seasonal, and contracted personnel) who handle Covered Produce or
			 Food Contact Surfaces, or who are engaged in the supervision of such personnel,
			 shall receive adequate training, as appropriate to the person's duties, upon
			 hiring, and periodically after, at least once annually.
(c) All personnel (including temporary,
			 part-time, seasonal, and contracted personnel) who handle Covered Produce or
			 Food Contact Surfaces, or who are engaged in the supervision of such personnel,
			 must have a combination of education, training, and experience necessary to
			 perform the person's assigned duties in a manner that ensures compliance with
			 330 CMR 34.04.
(d) Training must be
			 conducted in a manner that is easily understood by personnel being
			 trained.
(e) Training must be
			 repeated as necessary and appropriate in light of observations or information
			 indicating that personnel are not meeting standards established under 330 CMR
			 34.04.
(f) At a minimum, all
			 personnel who handle (contact) Covered Produce during Covered Activities or
			 supervise the conduct of such activities shall receive training that includes
			 all of the following:
1. Principles of Food
			 hygiene and Food safety;
2. The
			 importance of health and personal hygiene for all personnel and visitors,
			 including recognizing symptoms of a health condition that is reasonably likely
			 to result in contamination of Covered Produce or Food Contact Surfaces with
			 microorganisms of public health significance; and
3. Standards established by the Produce
			 Safety Rule, and 330 CMR 34.04 that are applicable to the employee's job
			 responsibilities.
(g)
			 Persons who conduct harvest activities for Covered Produce shall also receive
			 training that includes all of the following:
1. Recognizing Covered Produce that shall not
			 be harvested, including Covered Produce that may be contaminated with known or
			 reasonably foreseeable hazards;
2.
			 Inspecting harvest containers and equipment to ensure they are functioning
			 properly, clean, and maintained so as not to become a source of contamination
			 of Covered Produce with known or reasonably foreseeable hazards; and
3. Correcting problems with harvest
			 containers or equipment, or reporting such problems to the supervisor (or other
			 responsible party), as appropriate to the person's job
			 responsibilities.
(h) At
			 least one supervisor or responsible party for the Covered Farm shall have
			 successfully completed Food safety training at least equivalent to that
			 received under standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the
			 FDA.
(i) The Covered Farm shall
			 assign or identify personnel to supervise (or otherwise be responsible for) its
			 operations to ensure compliance with the requirements of 330 CMR
			 34.04.