GAPs Quick Start: Introduction to Practical Food Safety Guidelines on the Farm

 Overview of Produce Outbreaks  Parade of Pathogens  Food Safety Prerequisites  Preparing for Audits  Manure and Compost  Soil survival and transfer  Work Hygiene Training  Preharvest Water  Postharvest Water  Cleaning and Sanitation  Microbial Testing  Pathogen Testing  Test and Hold / Test to Release  Traceability and Traceback  Crisis Management Planning  …….and more  Overview of Produce Outbreaks  Parade of Pathogens  Food Safety Prerequisites  Preparing for Audits  Manure and Compost  Soil survival and transfer  Work Hygiene Training  Preharvest Water  Postharvest Water  Cleaning and Sanitation  Microbial Testing  Pathogen Testing  Test and Hold / Test to Release  Traceability and Traceback  Crisis Management Planning  …….and more

One of these tomatoes has 100 Salmonella, One has 100 E. coli O157:H7, 3 are contaminant-free; Which is Which?

If only plants would let us know if there is an invisible risk.

Food Safety Challenges  Chemical  Physical  Biological  Microbial  Allergens  Toxins

GAP Awareness and Self-Audit Resources

UCGAPs Quick Start Resources

Start With An Internal Audit  Conduct internal audits for each management and unit operation  An internal audit should be done at start-up and at least once more in a season or within a 12 month period  Define your own corrective actions

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for Growers: Quick Start Self-Audit 

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What Might a Process Flow Plan for a Small Farm Operation Look Like? Site Selection Adjacent Land Activities Crop Production Pest Management Harvest Management Transport Short-term Storage Postharvest Operations Consumer Customer Transport

Essential Record-Keeping: Prepare a Farm and Operations Map  Parcel number and acreage  Primary and secondary roads  All ponds, creeks, seasonal water  Wells; active and inactive  All irrigation conveyances and lines  All drainage and return-pump systems  Subsurface tiles and conduits  All buildings and seasonal structures  …… and more

Implementing GAPs Step 1: Construct a Self-Audit of Potential Hazards  Site selection  Animal influences  Fertility inputs  Water inputs  Irrigation  Foliar sprays  Harvest  Human influences  Worker hygiene  Postharvest water and handling  Sanitation – field and equipment  Traceability plan Oso Ranch1 Block 2 Baby Spinach Packing Pest Control Irrigation Land Prep Record Keeping is Essential !

Keep Documents and Records organized organized accessible accessible complete complete use them to improve use them to improve It doesn’t have to be fancy SOPs & SSOPS

Develop a Farm Operations Ledger: Lot, Preharvest, Harvest, Packing, and Shipping  Handwritten is fine  Can move to computer records  Next step- handheld data recorders

Develop a Simple Lot Coding Program  Grower, Ranch, Block  Date of harvest  Lot  Harvest crew  Date of packing  Packing line  Product Code  etc. Approx. $26.00/stamp Grower Ranch Lot GW23C4209gt Julian Date Grape tomato

Universal Bar Codes Will Be Required in Future

Commodity-Specific Guidelines and BMPs Will Include Traceability and Pathogen Testing July 2008