Gov. Maura Healey and top deputies are visiting western Massachusetts again on Thursday to announce "a new relief effort" for farms damaged by flooding in a string of recent storms.
The state Department of Agricultural Resources this week promoted online information and resources to assist farmers affected by the July floods, including links to federal disaster assistance programs, a zero-interest loan emergency fund operated by Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture, and real-time river level monitoring. Officials also provided farmers with a four-page document summarizing safety precautions they must take involving crops exposed to potentially contaminated floodwaters.
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"Flood waters are those that exceed the banks of surface waters, such as rivers, streams or ponds and run into fields. They pose a considerable threat to the safety of produce because they can contain a variety of contaminants, including but not limited to manure or feces from upstream farms, septic or sewage systems, agricultural chemicals, pesticides, or other chemical contaminants, fuel and heavy metals, and microbial pathogens," the guidance said.
"Under both the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and Massachusetts law, food is considered adulterated, and therefore unfit for human consumption, if it is grown, held, or packed under unsanitary conditions."
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Healey was out of state during Sunday's deluge but has twice this week visited communities in western Massachusetts that are coping with the damage. She will gather with Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper, MDAR Commissioner Ashley Randle, United Way of Central Mass. CEO Tim Garvin and others at Mountain View Farm in Easthampton for the 12:30 p.m. relief announcement.