Author: Anne Sawyer. All growers of fresh fruits and vegetables care about their customers and want to provide them with safe, healthy food! GAPs are Good Agricultural Practices, which are science-based best practices for reducing risks of microbial contamination in fresh produce.
GAPs are the foundation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, under which some growers of fresh produce are subject to specific actions and recordkeeping related to the growing, harvesting, packing and storing of fresh produce. Whether or not your farm is covered by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule (covered means those who do not qualify for an exemption or exclusion) depends on many factors such as average annual sales and market outlets. Follow this link to learn about whether your farm is covered under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule.
Many specialty crop growers in Minnesota are likely exempt or qualified exempt under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule based on sales and markets. These growers still want to understand and adopt GAPs to protect public health, protect their livelihood, and gain market access. In Minnesota, there are two main course options for learning about GAPs.
GAPs are the foundation of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) Produce Safety Rule, under which some growers of fresh produce are subject to specific actions and recordkeeping related to the growing, harvesting, packing and storing of fresh produce. Whether or not your farm is covered by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule (covered means those who do not qualify for an exemption or exclusion) depends on many factors such as average annual sales and market outlets. Follow this link to learn about whether your farm is covered under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule.
Many specialty crop growers in Minnesota are likely exempt or qualified exempt under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule based on sales and markets. These growers still want to understand and adopt GAPs to protect public health, protect their livelihood, and gain market access. In Minnesota, there are two main course options for learning about GAPs.
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| Kohlrabi in the field. Photo: Anne Sawyer |
FSMA Produce Safety Rule Grower Trainings
If your farm is covered by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, attending a Produce Safety Rule Grower training satisfies the FSMA Produce Safety Rule requirement outlined in §112.22(c), requiring that ‘At least one supervisor or responsible party for your farm must have successfully completed food safety training at least equivalent to that received under standardized curriculum recognized as adequate by the Food and Drug Administration.’
This training uses the approved nationwide curriculum developed by the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA), and discusses not only GAPs, but also focuses on required actions and recordkeeping for growers covered under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. They are led by UMN Extension, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and trained fruit and vegetable farmers.
This training uses the approved nationwide curriculum developed by the Produce Safety Alliance (PSA), and discusses not only GAPs, but also focuses on required actions and recordkeeping for growers covered under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. They are led by UMN Extension, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and trained fruit and vegetable farmers.
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture and UMN Extension’s GAPs Education Program will have offered 21 Produce Safety Rule Grower Training courses by the end of March 2019, and we will be offering more in 2019-2020. To learn more and register for upcoming trainings, follow this link.
GAPs Trainings
Extension’s GAPs workshops are another option for training, and provide growers with an excellent foundation for on-farm food safety. While we certainly discuss the FSMA Produce Safety Rule at a GAPs training, these workshops focus on the practices you can use on your farm to improve food safety and help you learn how to prepare for a voluntary GAP audit, should you want one.
Unlike the FSMA trainings, these trainings don’t spend time on the regulatory aspects of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. A GAPs workshop also offers experiential learning to facilitate things like writing SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and writing your on-farm food safety plan. Some GAPs trainings are held on farms, allowing participants to talk with other farmers and and see the practices in action. In 2019, we will also host GAPs trainings that focus on helping growers prepare for third-party GAP audits, and these will include on-farm mock audits (stay tuned for dates!).
Unlike the FSMA trainings, these trainings don’t spend time on the regulatory aspects of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. A GAPs workshop also offers experiential learning to facilitate things like writing SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and writing your on-farm food safety plan. Some GAPs trainings are held on farms, allowing participants to talk with other farmers and and see the practices in action. In 2019, we will also host GAPs trainings that focus on helping growers prepare for third-party GAP audits, and these will include on-farm mock audits (stay tuned for dates!).
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| Spray table in outdoor packing area. Photo: Anne Sawyer |
Why would you need a GAP audit?
Passing a voluntary, third-party GAP audit can help you access wholesale markets or sell into institutions like schools.
GAP audits are an option for growers regardless of whether or not they are covered by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. For example, perhaps you grow carrots really well. If you were to pass a GAP audit on your carrots, you could sell to new, larger markets that required a GAP audit, like a wholesale distributor.
In order to pass a GAP audit, you must have a food safety plan, demonstrate appropriate implementation and documentation of GAPs, and you must have attended a GAPs training course of some kind. Both the FSMA Produce Safety Rule Grower Trainings and our GAPs workshops will satisfy the training requirement for a GAP audit, but our GAPs workshops can help you with SOP writing and starting your on-farm food safety plan.
GAP audits are an option for growers regardless of whether or not they are covered by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. For example, perhaps you grow carrots really well. If you were to pass a GAP audit on your carrots, you could sell to new, larger markets that required a GAP audit, like a wholesale distributor.
In order to pass a GAP audit, you must have a food safety plan, demonstrate appropriate implementation and documentation of GAPs, and you must have attended a GAPs training course of some kind. Both the FSMA Produce Safety Rule Grower Trainings and our GAPs workshops will satisfy the training requirement for a GAP audit, but our GAPs workshops can help you with SOP writing and starting your on-farm food safety plan.
The University of Minnesota GAPs Education Program is offering two day-long GAPs workshops for fruit and vegetable growers in March. On March 5, there will be a workshop in Cannon Falls, with Hmong translation available, and on March 7 there will be a workshop in St. Paul.
For course details and registration, follow this link. More will be scheduled later this spring and summer.
For course details and registration, follow this link. More will be scheduled later this spring and summer.
Should you attend a FSMA Grower Training, a GAPs training, or both?
So, which one should you take? If your farm is excluded or qualifies for an exemption from the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, you can choose to take a GAPs workshop, a FSMA Produce Safety Rule Grower Training, or even both! The GAPs workshop will provide an excellent foundation for GAPs implementation, food safety plan writing, and GAP audit preparation, while the FSMA Produce Safety Rule Grower Trainings will reinforce GAPs and provide the regulatory perspective of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule.
If your farm is covered by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, you will definitely want to attend the FSMA training. If you are planning to grow your farm sales or expand into markets that might make your operation covered under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, you might want to attend the FSMA training as well.
If your farm is covered by the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, you will definitely want to attend the FSMA training. If you are planning to grow your farm sales or expand into markets that might make your operation covered under the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, you might want to attend the FSMA training as well.
Regardless of which course you choose, know that the University of Minnesota GAPs Education Program team is here to help! We can also help you decide whether a GAP audit is right for your farm, and if so, we can help you prepare for one. See this factsheet on GAP audits from UMN Extension. For more information about GAPs, GAP audits, and the FSMA Produce Safety Rule, visit the UMN Extension GAPs Education Program web page.
Author: Anne Sawyer, Extension Educator in On-Farm Food Safety
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