- Excluded Produce Farm Definition
- Excluded by Size
- Excluded by Type of Crops
- Excluded by End-Use
- Enroll in the Produce Portal
- Resources
- Education & Technical Assistance
- About the Produce Safety Rule
- Rule Updates for Excluded Farms
Excluded Produce Farm Definition
Produce farms that meet one or more of the exclusion criteria below are considered excluded and are not required to comply with the Produce Safety Rule or undergo produce safety farm inspections. Excluded produce farms are encouraged to refer to the Rule and supplemental material for guidance on produce safety best practices.
Note: exclusion status under the Produce Safety Rule does not exclude a farm from prohibitions on distributing adulterated food under the federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetics Act or other applicable state and/or federal law.
Submit Excluded Produce Farm Self-Certification
Produce farms may use this form to self-certify that their farm meets one of more criteria for being excluded from the requirements of the Produce Safety Rule. Farms are encouraged to self-certify at least once every five (5( years and whenever their farm status changes.
Excluded by Size (<$25,000 annual produce sales)
Farms with average annual produce sales less than $25,000 over the previous three-year period (adjusted for inflation using 2011 as a baseline). 21 CFR § 112.4(a).
The $25,000 inflation adjusted cut-off is updated annually by FDA.
Excluded by Type of Crops
Farms that only grow, harvest, pack, and/or hold produce that FDA considers rarely consumed raw. 21 CFR § 112.2(a).
Rarely consumed raw produce includes:
asparagus • beans (black, great Northern, kidney, lima, navy, pinto) • beets, garden (roots and tops) • beets, sugar • cashews • cherries, sour • chickpeas • cocoa beans • coffee beans • collards • corn, sweet • cranberries • dates; dill (seeds and weed) • eggplants • figs • ginger • hazelnuts • horseradish • lentils • okra • peanuts • pecans • peppermint • potatoes • pumpkins • squash, winter • sweet potatoes • water chestnuts
Excluded by End-Use (personal consumption)
Farms with produce that is produced by an individual for personal consumption or for consumption on the farm or another farm under the same management. 21 CFR § 112.2(a).
Enroll in the Produce Portal
Excluded farms are encouraged to enroll in the Produce Portal.
Resources
Access produce safety resources to enhance produce safety practices on your farm and to assist with regulatory compliance.
Educational & Technical Assistance Available
An Agency subject matter expert can provide one-on-one educational and technical assistance on regulatory requirements and produce safety best practices
About the Produce Safety Rule
The Produce Safety Rule establishes science-based minimum food safety standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables. The Rule was adopted in Vermont statutes under 6 VSA Chapter 66.
Rule Updates for Excluded Farms
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March 2019: FDA announced an enforcement discretion policy for farms that only grow, harvest, pack, and/or hold hops, wine grapes, pulse crops, and almonds. Farms under this enforcement discretion policy are not required to comply with requirements of the Produce Safety Rule.