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Arkansas committee reviews state adoption of federal produce-safety rules; penalty matrix sent to review
Summary
The joint Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee reviewed Department of Agriculture rules to implement the federal produce safety standard and voted to refer the Department’s penalty matrix for review. Department staff said the rule covers producers with more than $25,000 in annual produce sales and that a University of Arkansas Extension subgrant of more than $300,000 will fund outreach.
The Joint House and Senate Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development Committee on a virtual meeting reviewed proposed state rules to implement the federal produce safety standard under the Food Safety Modernization Act.
Wade Hodge, counsel for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture, told the committee the state chose to administer the federal rule and is adopting the federal requirements into state regulation. "All we've done in this rule is just saying we're adopting the federal rule because that's what we have to do," Hodge said.
Mark Stowell, the department's section manager for regulatory services, told members the federal rule imposes minimum safety standards for growing, harvesting, packing and holding fruits and vegetables intended for human consumption. He said the department received a federal grant and that a subgrant "is in excess of $300,000" to the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service to provide producer education and outreach. Stowell said the rule will apply to producers with annual produce value above $25,000, which he estimated will cover "50 something" farms in Arkansas.
Committee members pressed staff on implementation details. Senator Hill questioned why the base penalty in the enforcement-response matrix is set at $300 rather than $100; Stowell said board policy gives staff authority to settle at a mid-range level and that, "the board can assess a penalty from $100 to $500" at hearing, but staff settlements are limited to mid-range amounts.
Senator Mallett flagged an incorrect legal-authority citation on exhibit D2 that referenced the Arkansas Plan Act; Mark Stowell agreed that language "should not be in there" and said it could be removed.
After questions, the committee made and seconded a motion to review the rules and the motion carried by voice vote. The committee did not vote to adopt a final rule during the meeting; it moved the rule package forward for the required statutory review.
The Department said federal monitoring is part of the grant and that the FDA (under FSMA) will review case files; if the feds find cases the state should have pursued, they could increase oversight, though Stowell said that has not happened under other programs.
Next steps: the penalty matrix and enforcement-response rule will proceed through statutory review as required; department staff and University of Arkansas Extension will continue producer education and follow-up with legislators if needed.
