Section 250-RICR-40-00-2.3 - DefinitionsA. For the purposes of these regulations, the following terms shall have the following meaning: 1. "Act" means the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act Final Rule on Produce Safety, incorporated above at § 2.2 of this Part.2. "Adulterated" means as prescribed in the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. § 342, and the Act, incorporated above at § 2.2 of this Part.3. "C.F.R." means the Code of Federal Regulations.4. "Covered farm" means as prescribed in the Act, incorporated above at § 2.2 of this Part.5. "Covered produce" means as prescribed in the Act, incorporated above at § 2.2 of this Part.6. "Department" means the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management.7. "Director" means the Director of the Department of Environmental Management.8. "Egregious condition" means a practice, condition, or situation on a farm or in a packing house that is reasonably likely to lead to: a. Serious adverse health consequences or death from the consumption of or exposure to Covered Produce; or b. An imminent public health hazard if corrective action is not taken immediately.9. "FDA" means the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.10. "Follow-up inspection" means a subsequent inspection that occurs to allow the review of an issue or concern that was identified and documented on a previous inspection.11. "For-cause inspection" means an inspection that occurs in response to a specific issue or produce safety concern, such as an outbreak, reported complaint, or recall.12. "Initial inspection" means an inspection that is the first regulatory inspection activity conducted at a farm or facility covered under R.I. Gen Laws §§ 2-1-9 and 2-1-10 and these regulations.13. "Law" means any applicable federal, state or local statute, ordinances and regulations.14. "Misbranded" means as prescribed in the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act, 21 U.S.C. § 342, and the Act, incorporated above at § 2.2 of this Part.15. "Person" means any individual, partnership, corporation, association or other legal entity.16. "Processing exemption" means as outlined in 21 C.F.R. § 112.2(b), incorporated above at § 2.2 of this Part.-17. "Produce" means any fruit or vegetable (including mixes of intact fruits and vegetables) and includes mushrooms, sprouts (irrespective of seed source), peanuts, tree nuts, and herbs. A fruit is the edible reproductive body of a seed plant or tree nut (such as apple, orange, and almond) such that fruit means the harvestable or harvested part of a plant developed from a flower. A vegetable is the edible part of an herbaceous plant (such as cabbage or potato) or fleshy fruiting body of a fungus (such as white button or shiitake) grown for an edible part such that vegetable means the harvestable or harvested part of any plant or fungus whose fruit, fleshy fruiting bodies, seeds, roots, tubers, bulbs, stems, leaves, or flower parts are used as food and includes mushrooms, sprouts, and herbs (such as basil or cilantro). Produce does not include food grains meaning the small, hard fruits or seeds of arable crops, or the crops bearing these fruits or seeds, that are primarily grown and processed for use as meal, flour, baked goods, cereals and oils rather than for direct consumption as small, hard fruits or seeds (including cereal grains, pseudo cereals, oilseeds and other plants used in the same fashion). Examples of food grains include barley, dent or flint-corn, sorghum, oats, rice, rye, wheat, amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, and oilseeds (e.g., cotton seed, flax seed, rapeseed, soybean, and sunflower seed).18. "Qualified exemption" means as outlined in 21 C.F.R. § 112.5, incorporated above at § 2.2 of this Part.19. "R.I. Gen. Laws" means the General Laws of Rhode Island, as amended.20. "Routine inspection" means regularly scheduled inspections carried out under R.I. Gen. Laws §§ 2-1-9 and 2-1-10 and these regulations.21. "These regulations" means all parts of the Produce Safety Rule codified as 250-RICR- 40-00-2.250 R.I. Code R. 250-RICR-40-00-2.3
Adopted effective 4/1/2019
Amended effective 6/22/2020