Our Department

The South Carolina Department of Agriculture’s Produce Safety Department was established in order to implement the Produce Safety Rule in South Carolina. The State’s Department of Agriculture adopted the Produce Safety Rule (described on our home page) as the South Carolina Produce Safety Act in 2017. By adopting this law as our own, it allows our Department to regulate farms at the state level as apposed to federal regulation. The Produce Safety team will not only regulate the Produce Safety Rule in South Carolina but we also have an Outreach group that will complete On Farm Readiness Reviews prior to an operation having an inspection. The Outreach group will also work to increase awareness of the Produce Safety Rule as well as help growers prepare themselves for compliance. All outreach services, with the exception of our required training, are free to growers in South Carolina.