The Food Safety Modernization Act’s (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule which prohibits the distribution of produce that drops to the ground before harvesting now applies to avocados as well.
The Commission just received notification that effective November 21, 2017, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) has changed the California Code or Regulations, removing an exception for avocado drop caused by extreme winds.
This section previously allowed for the maturity testing of windfall avocados, starting from the end of an extreme wind event as determined by CDFA. The change in the law was made by CDFA to ensure State law complies with Federal law.
With this change, the California Code of Regulations no longer allows for maturity testing of avocados after a windfall event, making any harvesting of windfall avocados illegal.
A full overview of the announcement and the changes to the California Code of Regulations Pertaining to Avocados can be found here.