Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 124.djvu/3926

 124 STAT. 3900 PUBLIC LAW 111–353—JAN. 4, 2011 and vegetables, including specific mixes or categories of fruits and vegetables, that are raw agricultural commod- ities for which the Secretary has determined that such standards minimize the risk of serious adverse health con- sequences or death. ‘‘(B) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY.—With respect to small businesses and very small businesses (as such terms are defined in the regulation promulgated under subpara- graph (A)) that produce and harvest those types of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities that the Secretary has determined are low risk and do not present a risk of serious adverse health consequences or death, the Secretary may determine not to include produc- tion and harvesting of such fruits and vegetables in such rulemaking, or may modify the applicable requirements of regulations promulgated pursuant to this section. ‘‘(2) PUBLIC INPUT.—During the comment period on the notice of proposed rulemaking under paragraph (1), the Sec- retary shall conduct not less than 3 public meetings in diverse geographical areas of the United States to provide persons in different regions an opportunity to comment. ‘‘(3) CONTENT.—The proposed rulemaking under paragraph (1) shall— ‘‘(A) provide sufficient flexibility to be applicable to various types of entities engaged in the production and harvesting of fruits and vegetables that are raw agricul- tural commodities, including small businesses and entities that sell directly to consumers, and be appropriate to the scale and diversity of the production and harvesting of such commodities; ‘‘(B) include, with respect to growing, harvesting, sorting, packing, and storage operations, science-based min- imum standards related to soil amendments, hygiene, pack- aging, temperature controls, animals in the growing area, and water; ‘‘(C) consider hazards that occur naturally, may be unintentionally introduced, or may be intentionally intro- duced, including by acts of terrorism; ‘‘(D) take into consideration, consistent with ensuring enforceable public health protection, conservation and environmental practice standards and policies established by Federal natural resource conservation, wildlife conserva- tion, and environmental agencies; ‘‘(E) in the case of production that is certified organic, not include any requirements that conflict with or duplicate the requirements of the national organic program estab- lished under the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990, while providing the same level of public health protection as the requirements under guidance documents, including guidance documents regarding action levels, and regula- tions under the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act; and ‘‘(F) define, for purposes of this section, the terms ‘small business’ and ‘very small business’. ‘‘(4) PRIORITIZATION.—The Secretary shall prioritize the implementation of the regulations under this section for specific fruits and vegetables that are raw agricultural commodities