Produce Safety Rule Inspections and Voluntary USDA Audits, Guidance to Help Understand the Differences and Commonalities

Produce safety affects all fruit and vegetable growers and consumers. Growers may fall under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule (PSR) and be subject to regulatory inspections depending on commodities grown, covered activities performed, and the dollar amount of sales over a three-year average. Some growers may also have a market driven buyer requirement for an audit. The term inspection and audit are commonly confused. The purpose of this document is to help explain the differences between mandatory requirements of the PSR and the requirements within market driven buyer specific audits.