Hello Gardeners, I’m Amanda McNulty with Clemson Extension and Making It Grow. The South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s Consumer Protection Division has a new responsibility these days. The US Food and Drug Administration has adopted a Food Safety Modernization Act which reflects a more proactive rather than reactive approach towards food safety for both humans and animals. The hope is that this new program will result in fewer recalls of foods after a contamination problem has been identified by improving hygiene in the production, harvesting, packaging and shipping of foods. As you can imagine, it is a complicated law with many topics. The SC Ag Department will implement the part of the law that relates to fruits and vegetables that are commonly eaten raw – from strawberries to radishes. The program outreach coordinator Brooke Horton came to Sumter and explained how the Agriculture Department and Clemson Extension are working together to help farms achieve compliance.