Dive Summary:
- Proposals from the Food Modernization Act, which was approved in 2011, are creating financial concerns for farmers in Ohio, with some saying they've abandoned produce in favor of commodity crops like soy beans.
- The regulations are part of U.S. Food and Drug Administration efforts to pinpoint contamination sources, and they would likely require farms to hire an auditor to perform an inspection at a cost of about $5,000 per audit, with the annual cost of implementing the rules ranging from $4,700 for very small farms to $30,500 for large farms.
- Some farms, such as those selling under $25,000 in produce annually and those selling directly to the public, would be exempt, and the FDA estimates the rules would prevent 1.7 million food--borne illnesses a year.
From the article:
... Officials are still determining how to implement the law, and regulations won't be finalized for several years. But one northeast Ohio farmer says he will no longer grow vegetables for local tables because the proposed requirements would cost too much.
Don Bessemer, who runs a farm within the city of Akron, says he has closed his Bessemer Farms market that sold to local retailers.
"We don't want to quit, we were forced out of the business," Bessemer said. ...
