Friday, January 21, 2011

Food Safety Liability Insurance

Lately, the issue of food liability insurance has been discussed very frequently. As the new food safety regulations passed in Congress late last year, the issue of food safety and the small farmer has been brought front and center. This topic is more relevant than ever.

Food Safety Liability Insurance has been discussed several times over the last few months within the Tygart Valley Growers Association. Previously the issue was discussed in the context of the group incorporating itself and selling large amounts of produce. The debate has changed for the organization with the new food rules.

Fortunately, the Community Food Security Coalition has released materials that speak on this topic. During the Food, Culture and Justice conference last October there was a presentation on food safety liability insurance. Those materials can be accessed here:
Scroll down to where it says Food Safety and Liability Insurance Issues for Marketing to Institutions and download the relevant materials.

They began on a report in 2009 on this issue and compiled a report in December:
"This report is a compilation of a yearlong project to study food safety and liability insurance issues and offer recommendations that emphasize proactive and cooperative attention. If you are a cooperative extension educator, agricultural professional, non-profit staff member, institutional food service provider, or producer involved in the institutional produce market, this report will help you better understand the history of these issues, the challenges for small or limited resource producers, and options for addressing these challenges."
The report can be found here:


They also created a brochure of information:
"If you are a producer selling produce to institutional markets like schools, universities, corporations, hospitals, and prisons, your buyers may have special concerns about food safety. They may want you to prove that you handle food in a safe manner. They may require you to buy special insurance to protect them and their customers. This brochure explains these issues."
This brochure can be found here:


Finally, from Campbell Risk Management, here is a resource for Farmers Market Vendor Liability Insurance:
http://web4agents.com/Sites/Site6/page.asp?CustomerID=952&PAGEID=12044


A big thank you to The Community Food Security Coalition for providing these print resources.

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