The U.S. has one of the safest domestic produce industries in the world due to the unique partnership between state and federal regulatory agencies. At present, 45 state agriculture departments are partnering with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to implement produce safety.
The National Association of State Departments of Agriculture (NASDA) Foundation and FDA also maintain a partnership to ensure and champion the safety of produce and animal feed food systems in the U.S. As part of that partnership, the NASDA Foundation has a cooperative agreement,1 in which it works with FDA and state agencies to produce and distribute tools that assist in implementing produce safety rules within the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).