Features Business Food Safety
USDA unveils online food safety tool

December
21, 2011, San Fransisco, CA – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has unveiled a
free online tool aimed at helping farmers lower their risk of contamination on
the farm by generating customized food safety plans.

December
21, 2011, San Fransisco, CA – The U.S. Department of Agriculture has unveiled a
free online tool aimed at helping farmers lower their risk of contamination on
the farm by generating customized food safety plans.

How
farmers grow, pack, and trace produce has become a major concern following
numerous deadly foodborne safety illness outbreaks in recent years.

The new
tool was developed with consultation from small and large farmers.

It lets
users input details about how they grow and handle fruits and vegetables. Then,
it offers suggestions for how farms can create food safety plans and prepare to
be audited.

Agriculture
Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan said 
the new federally funded resource will go a long way to improve
production processes in fields and orchards, at no cost to the industry.