La. Admin. Code tit. 7 § V-1223

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section V-1223 - Records

A. Except as otherwise specified herein, all records required under this Chapter shall:

1. include, as applicable:

a. the name and location of the covered produce farm;

b. actual values and observations obtained during monitoring;

c. an adequate description, such as the commodity name, or the specific variety or brand name of a commodity, and, when available, any lot number or other identifier, of covered produce applicable to the record; and

d. the date and time of the activity documented;

2. be created at the time an activity is performed or observed;

3. be accurate, legible, and indelible; and

4. be dated, and signed or initialed by the person who performed the activity documented.

B. Records required under this Chapter shall be reviewed, dated, and signed, within a reasonable time after the records are made, by a supervisor or responsible party.

C. Offsite storage of records is permitted if such records can be retrieved and provided onsite within 24 hours of request for official review.

D. Electronic records are considered to be onsite at a covered produce farm if they are accessible from an onsite location at that farm.

E. Existing records (e.g., records that are kept to comply with other federal, state, or local regulations, or for any other reason) do not need to be duplicated if they contain all of the required information and satisfy the requirements of this Chapter. Existing records may be supplemented as necessary to include all of the required information and satisfy the requirements of this Chapter.

F. The information required by this Chapter does not need to be kept in one set of records. If existing records contain some of the required information, any new information required by this Chapter may be kept either separately or combined with the existing records.

G. Records required by this Chapter shall be kept for at least two years past the date the record was created.

H. Records that a farm relies on during the three-year period preceding the applicable calendar year to satisfy the criteria for a qualified exemption, in accordance with 21 CFR § 112.5 and § 112.7, shall be retained as long as necessary to support the farm's status during the applicable calendar year.

I. Records that relate to the general adequacy of the equipment or processes or records that relate to analyses, sampling, or action plans being used by a farm, including the results of scientific studies, tests, and evaluations, shall be retained at the farm for at least two years after the use of such equipment or processes, or records related to analyses, sampling, or action plans, is discontinued.

J. Records shall be kept as:

1. original records;

2. true copies, such as photocopies, pictures, scanned copies, microfilm, microfiche, or other accurate reproductions of the original records; or

3. electronic records.

K. All records required under this Chapter shall be readily available and accessible during the retention period for inspection and copying by the department upon oral or written request, except that records kept offsite shall be maintained so that they are obtainable within 24 hours and shall be made available and accessible to the department for inspection and copying.

L. If electronic techniques are used to keep records, or to keep true copies of records, of if reduction techniques are used, such as microfilm to keep true copies of records, the records shall be provided to the department in a format in which they are accessible and legible.

M. If a covered produce farm is closed for a prolonged period, the records may be transferred to some other reasonably accessible location, but shall be returned to that farm within 24 hours for official review upon request.

La. Admin. Code tit. 7, § V-1223

Promulgated by the Department of Agriculture and Forestry, Office of Animal Health and Food Safety, LR 48401 (3/1/2022).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S 3:922, 923, and 924.