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The Sprout Safety Alliance (SSA), a public-private alliance, develops a core curriculum, training and outreach programs for stakeholders in the sprout production community to enhance the industry's understanding and implementation of the requirements in the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, and best practices for improving sprout safety.

SSA News

• Sprout Videos

  Food Safety Best Practices for Sprout Production (2024)

  The SSA and FDA have produced videos to demonstrate the four key procedures required by the Produce Safety Rule. These videos are published on the SSA website and are publicly accessible.

• SSA Training Curriculum Second Edition Available for Free Download

  This training manual is also available for purchase from the .

• SSA Technical Assistance Network (TAN)

  was created for individuals to submit a sprout safety related technical question to the SSA Food Safety Experts.

News on FDA Rules and Guidance

• The FDA has published additional resources to its website to help industry comply with the . These include: A ; Minor revisions to the  clarifying the status of previously frozen foods on the list, as well as a  summarizing the changes; A  summarizing exemptions relevant to produce farms for both the Produce Safety Rule and the Food Traceability Rule; A supply chain  for sprouts; and New translated material about the  and the Traceability Plan.
• On September, 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)  two guidance documents that outline recommendations for how sprout operations may comply with the Produce Safety Rule. The first is a guidance () that updates and finalizes the following sections of the  entitled “Compliance with and Recommendations for Implementation of the Standards for the Growing, Harvesting, Packing, and Holding of Produce for Human Consumption for Sprout Operations”: Cleaning and Sanitizing, Agricultural Water in Sprout Operations, Seeds for Sprouting, Environmental Monitoring, and Recordkeeping. The second guidance () re-issues certain sections of the  and issues one new section for sprout operations as revised draft guidance. The following updated and new sections in the revised draft guidance are now available for comment: Equipment, Tools, and Buildings, Sampling and Testing of Spent Sprout Irrigation Water (or In-Process Sprouts), Personnel Qualifications, Training, and Hygienic Practices.
• On November, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a on food traceability designed to facilitate faster identification and rapid removal of potentially contaminated food from the market, resulting in fewer foodborne illnesses and/or deaths. The final rule aligns with current industry best practices and covers domestic firms, retail food establishments, restaurants, and farms, as well as foreign firms and farms producing food for U.S. consumption. The Food Traceability Final Rule is a key component of the and implements Section 204(d) of the .
• On May, 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a final guidance titled “.” This guidance outlines FDA’s serious concerns over foodborne illness outbreaks associated with the consumption of raw and lightly-cooked sprouts and provides firms with recommended steps to prevent adulteration throughout the production chain of seed for sprouting.
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, to assist the food industry as it navigates changes to operations related to COVID-19, the FDA has teamed up with OSHA to develop the “Employee Health and Food Safety Checklist for Human and Animal Food Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.”
• On April 10, 2020, the FDA issued information and best practices for retail food stores, restaurants, and pick-up/delivery services during the pandemic to protect workers and customers.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) published in the Federal Register to establish a laboratory accreditation program for food testing as required by the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act. This proposed rule outlines the procedures and standards that accreditation bodies and laboratories would need to follow to participate in the program, as well as procedures for how FDA would manage and oversee the program. The proposed rule would help ensure that certain food testing of importance to public health produces reliable and valid test results, and, in turn, improve FDA’s capability to protect U.S. consumers from unsafe food. (Link: )
• The FDA issued to provide recommendations to those in the sprout seed industry to help reduce food safety hazards in the production of seed used for sprouting. This guidance, titled "Reducing Microbial Food Safety Hazards in the Production of Seed for Sprouting," is intended to provide food safety recommendations for those that grow, condition, pack, hold or distribute seed for sprouting.
• EPA has granted conditional approval for the use of Clorox (Active Ingredient: Sodium Hypochlorite, 6%) to treat alfalfa seed for E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella ( and ).
• FDA has determined that specific methods are “scientifically valid” and “at least equivalent to the method of analysis in § 112.151(a) in accuracy, precision, and sensitivity” in detecting or quantifying , .
• Having questions on the FDA Produce Safety Rule? Please visit the FDA webpage and submit your inquiry through this link:

SSA Training Accomplishments

For more details about SSA Accomplishments, please .