Iowa GAP Center

Photo credit: tripadvisor.com

The U-Pick season is quickly approaching. Customers can carry and spread microbial pathogens like any other farm worker. It is important to remember that all customers entering the U-pick field need to be aware and follow good hygiene practices, too.

Encouraging customers to wash their hands prior to and after picking sends a positive message about farm stewardship and reduces microbial risks. Providing clean, accessible restrooms and handwashing facilities are essential, along with posting signs encouraging visitors to use these facilities.  Post signs on your property that remind customers to wash their hands before entering U-pick fields and locations of restroom facilities.

Click here for a guide to help you assess food safety practices on your farm.

U-Pick Food Safety Considerations:

• Hand washing
• Restroom locations
• Not harvesting while sick with foodborne illness
• No animals in the fields

Facilities & Design, Food Safety Guidelines, Harvesting

Q:  What sanitizers and disinfectants can I use on my certified organic vegetable farm?

A:  The USDA has established a National Organic Program (NOP) Rule to set and enforce uniform standards for both producing and handling agricultural and processed food products labeled as organic.  Chemicals used in organic postharvest operations must comply with the NOP rules.  Most synthetic inputs are prohibited; those that are allowed may be used only with restrictions.

Adequate sanitation and disinfection during postharvest processes are vital components of a postharvest management plan. As food safety regulations become increasingly important to the sales and marketing of crops, the establishment of proper measures to ensure the elimination of food-borne pathogens is essential. In addition to mitigating potential food-borne illness, proper sanitation during postharvest handling can also minimize the occurrence of postharvest disease and decay. As is the case during the production stage of the crop, all products used during the postharvest period must adhere to NOP regulations.

Click here for more information on which products are approved for use in organic operations.

Food Safety Guidelines

The Food Safety Modernization Act signed into law in January 2011 addressed improvements needed to the U.S. food supply. One proposed section to the law addresses the safety of fresh produce by defining new produce standards for foods often consumed in raw form.

“Also identified by the Food and Drug Administration in this section are foods not typically consumed in raw form such as eggplant, lentils or sweet potatoes,” said Catherine Strohbehn, food safety specialist with Iowa State University Extension and Outreach. “These standards are in addition to the Bioterrorism Act of 2002 which continues and requires food facilities to follow preventative control rules and register with FDA.”

New definitions in proposed regulations
Under these new proposed regulations, growers need to be aware of new definitions, said Strohbehn. The proposed rule would define “farm” to mean a facility in one general physical location devoted to the growing and harvesting of crops, the raising of animals (including seafood) or both.

“Farm” includes (i) facilities that pack or hold food, provided that all food used in such activities is grown, raised, or consumed on that farm or another farm under the same ownership; and (ii) facilities that manufacture/process food, provided that all food used in such activities is consumed on that farm or another farm under the same ownership.

A broad definition of food is used – thus any item grown or produced on a farm that is ultimately intended for human consumption is considered a food.

“This includes seeds, soybeans and livestock, not just produce sales,” said Angela Shaw, extension food safety specialist. “This also includes prepared foods such as pies and cookies that might be sold with farm-grown produce at a roadside stand.”

Three categories of farm exemptions are defined. These exemptions apply to very small and small businesses. When estimating a farm’s average annual sales, farmers must include ALL defined food sources. Farms with three-year average annual sales for all defined food types going to any vendor of $25,000 or less are exempt as they are considered very small businesses.

Those farms with $300,000 or less with defined food types going to any vendor are exempt also as they are classified as small businesses. For example, a soybean grower for human consumption (annual sales of $300,000) with a small produce road side stand ($10,000) would total all the sales amounts ($310,000) and would no longer be exempt from this proposed ruling.

The third category of exemptions applies to whether a qualified end-user is sold the product during the previous three-year period preceding the applicable calendar year: The average annual monetary value of the food sold directly to qualified end-users during such period exceeded the average annual value of the food sold to all other buyers during that period; AND The average annual monetary value of all food sold during such period was less than $500,000, adjusted for inflation.

A qualified end user is defined as (a) a consumer of the food or (b) a restaurant or retail food establishment located within the same state as the farm that produced the food or not more than 275 miles from such farm. For example, a farm operation in Iowa selling a three-year average of $300,000 dollars’ worth of food to a restaurant or food establishment less than 275 miles from the farm and which also sold $100,000 at farmers’ markets would be exempt (combined annual monetary value is less than $500,000 and all sales to qualified end user).

It must be noted that such farms exempted under the new Produce Safety Ruling are NOT exempt under the adulteration provisions of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act, which requires production of fruits and vegetables that are free of biological, chemical and physical contamination.

Produce Safety Alliance housed at Cornell University has provided additional information on exemptions of the ruling at http://producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/psa.html. Comments on proposed ruling can be expressed at http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=FDA-2011-N-0921. Specific questions about the proposed ruling can be emailed to amy.berringer@fda.hhs.gov.

Regulations FDA, Produce Safety Rule

This is a common question.

No.  You will not be GAP certified if you attend a workshop offered by ISU Extension and Outreach.  ISU Extension cannot GAP certify farms.

The GAP certification process is similar to the organic certification process.  You need to have a farm safety plan and documentation in place before a GAP auditor can visit your farm.  GAP auditors may be from the USDA or another third-party company; you decide which certifying agency depending on your buyers’ requests.  The auditor will visit your farm, review your farm safety plan and check your documentation to make sure you are doing what you said you were going to do in your plan.  GAP audits range in cost from $500-$1200.

While you can certify your farm without attending a class, the information provided by ISU Extension will make it easier for you to identify food safety risks on your farm.  Level 1 GAP discusses basic food microbiology.  Level 2 GAP gets you started on your food safety plan.  Level 3 GAP gets you out on a farm to look for farm safety risks in person.

One more item to remember.  One of the Good Agricultural Practices is regular training for yourself and your employees.  An attendance certificate is an important piece of documentation to include in your food safety binder.  Be sure to ask for an attendance certificate for any trainings you attend!

Teresa

Audits, Food Safety Plans

ISU Extension and Outreach recently hosted Atina Diffley as she presented on post-harvest handling of fruits and vegetables. The three-hour presentation was broadcast to 12 sites across the state.

Diffley is former co-owner of Gardens of Eagan and a Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service board member. Diffley drew on her years of experience in vegetable production and marketing to provide growers with useful, practical and profit-making guidance on how to achieve the highest quality of sale.

One of her lists I found interesting–and can testify to its applicability in Iowa –was the basic requirements for a vegetable packing shed.  Food safety can be accomplished without a state of the art shed.  Here is her list of minimum pack shed requirements.

• Roof for shade and protection from the elements
• Potable water
• Designated handwashing station.  (Toilet facilities are optional)
• System to sanitize equipment and tools
• Keep rodents, flies, birds, bugs and pets out of the packing area.
• Cold storage unless shipping immediately after cooling or if you are harvesting moderate to low respiration crops
• Safe food contact surfaces
• Designated space.  Not shared with machines, repair or storage areas.
• Safe, clean area to stand.  Beware of slippery concrete surfaces or areas that can become muddy.

Here is a short tip sheet and sample layout plans prepared by the University of Wisconsin with more information about designing your pack shed.

Teresa

Facilities & Design

I’ve received a few questions about aquaponics and food safety.  Specifically can I get GAP certification while growing my produce with aquaponics?

Aquaponics is a food production system that uses nutrient-rich water from fish culture to irrigate and fertilize plants. After the plants have absorbed the nutrients, the water is recirculated to the fish rearing tanks. This combination of aquaculture and hydroponics recycles both water and nutrients, resulting in an efficient use of resources. However, when food plants are grown in the presence of fish culture effluent, food safety considerations become very important.

Here are some documents to help with developing food safety plans from the University of Hawaii.

On Farm Food Safety: Aquaponics

Microbial Water Quality Related to Food Safety with Aquaponics

Food Safety Guidelines, Food Safety Plans

North Carolina State Extension has released some new EXCELLENT guides for community gardens.  Below are the links..

Partners in NC have developed an guidance document specifically addressing the food safety issue of community gardens. There’s also a webinar and other documents that may be helpful
http://nccommunitygarden.ncsu.edu/foodsafety.html

Partners at NC State (same ones that helped with the second document) have done a more detailed how to guide
http://cals.ncsu.edu/hort_sci/extension/documents/ag-727.pdf

Food Safety Guidelines

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration released an environmental assessment inspection report on how exactly the cantaloupes linked to a deadly 2012 Salmonella outbreak may have been contaminated. The report comes six months after Chamberlain Farms in Owensville, Indiana was pinpointed as the source of the outbreak, which sickened 261, including three deaths, in 24 states.

According to the report, the initial contamination of the cantaloupes “likely occurred in the production fields and was most likely spread by operations and practices in the packinghouse. It is also likely that the contamination proliferated during storage and transport to market.”

During an inspection of the Chamberlain Farms packinghouse from August 14  t0 31 of last year, FDA found a number of conditions that could have contributed to the spread of contamination. According to the report, the food contact and non-food contact surfaces in the packhouse were constructed with materials that couldn’t be easily cleaned or sanitized, including carpet and wood. The FDA also said that records were not available to demonstrate whether the farm had monitored its water for washing the melons had the proper pH for disinfecting and preventing cross-contamination.

The report also notes there was an accumulation of debris including trash, wood, food pieces, standing water, mud, and dirt observed beneath the conveyer belt in the cantaloupe packinghouse and that the melons were not pre-cooled after packing before shipment to retail stores. “Warm cantaloupe with rinds that have an increased water-activity (i.e., free residual moisture from washing procedures) and available nutrients from contact with insanitary food contact surfaces may have facilitated Salmonella survival and growth on the cantaloupe rind during subsequent holding,” according to FDA.

Read more from Food Safety News, March 5, 2013.

Facilities & Design, Recalls

Iowa fruit and vegetable farmers can apply for a cost-share grant to assist with the costs of independent food safety certification of an operation’s good agricultural practices (GAPs).

The program is available through the Northeast Iowa Food & Farm (NIFF) Coalition with support from an Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship (IDALS) Specialty Crop Block Grant.  The program is available to any Iowa grower.

To be eligible, growers must have a third-party audit from an approved government agency or company that verifies GAP or GHP efforts, the audit must be conducted in 2013 or 2014 and the grower must submit an application to participate in the program prior to the audit. The audit can be for farm review, field harvest and field packing activities, packing house facility, storage and transportation, and traceback. Qualified applicants may receive up to a maximum of $450 per year to cover the costs of one successful audit.

“Cost-share funds help farmers with their on-farm food safety efforts, which are critical to marketing their farm products,” said Teresa Wiemerslage, ISU Extension Regional Program Coordinator and project director.  “I am glad we were able to secure these funds to assist our growers.  Funds are available to farmers on a first-come, first-served basis.”

A business/individual is eligible to apply for reimbursement as soon as their USDA GAP audit has been approved. Applicants must fully complete the necessary application and be able to show verification of audit approval. Qualified applicants may only receive funding for one successful audit per calendar year.  Reimbursements will not be given for costs associated with a failed audit.

Participation in the GAP and GHP audit program is voluntary. The cost share program is designed to help defray some of the costs related to a successful audit.  USDA audits for Iowa produce farms have ranged in price from $525 to $1200 per year.

For more information about on-farm food safety or GAP certification, contact Teresa Wiemerslage at wiemer@iastate.edu or 563-794-0599.  Visit www.iowafreshfood.com for application materials.

Audits

The National Good Food Network has released a new guide for on-farm food safety.  Written from one farmer to another, this ten-page booklet is an introduction to food safety, plus tools, resources and first steps.  The information in this publication is very applicable to Iowa and reflects my experiences assisting Iowa farmers with their GAP certification needs.

Here are their 10 Steps to Food Safety Certification (Download the full booklet here)

1.  Take a self-assessment. Get a sense of where you are now, and it will take to get on the right track for food safety certification.

2.  Do some reading, study, and self-education.  Take advantage of the resources listed throughout the document.

3.  Attend a GAP training. Find out who in your community offers workshops or resources and focus on what’s most appropriate and feasible for you.

4.  Make a formal management commitment to food safety. Remember that certification is an ongoing process, but one you can start and make a manageable commitment to today.

5.  Develop a food safety plan for the farm as it should be.  Start with a concrete plan for now and for the future.

6.  Implement the easiest and most accessible practices.  Tackle the “low hanging fruit” and remember that you’re probably already engaging in some food safety best practices.

7.  Reach out to your buyers and customers. Communication with your customers about your practices, plans and commitment.

8.  Identify and build cooperative relationships that can help implement GAP. Look for partnerships and take advantage of the potential for sharing resources.

9.  Continue improving until you’re ready for an external audit. Keep up the good work, and lower audit costs by being prepared.

10.  Seek out resources and support as needed. The Wallace Center’s Nation Good Food Network Food Safety Portal offers news, updates and resources at http://ngfn.org/food-safety.

Be sure to sign up for email updates to this blog to remain updated on GAP training and support for Iowa farmers.

Teresa Wiemerslage, Regional Program Coordinator

ISU Extension – Northeast Iowa

Food Safety Guidelines