CHC On-Farm Food Safety Program: Ensuring Safe and Competitive Canadian Horticultural Products

1. Canadian Horticultural Council OFFS Program in BC COALITION OF ORGANIC ASSOCIATIONS OF BC February 21, 2009 Sheri Nielson, BC Vegetable Marketing Commission 1

2. BC Vegetable Marketing Commission • Active participant in development of the CHC National On-Farm Food Safety Program • Education, draft manuals, annual reports and audits provided to growers since 2002. • All producers, registered with BC Veg, are utilizing the CHC manuals specific to their crops and are being audited to program standards 2

3. CHC Member Organizations In BC • BC. Blueberry Council • B.C. Cranberry Marketing Commission • B.C. Fresh • B.C. Fruit Growers' Association • B.C. Greenhouse Growers' Association • B.C. Potato and Vegetable Growers' Association • B.C. Raspberry Growers Association / Raspberry Industry Development Council • B.C. Tree Fruits Ltd. 3

4. CHC Member Organizations In BC (cont.) • B.C. Vegetable Marketing Commission • Fraserland Organics Inc. • Fraser Valley Strawberry Growers' Association • Interior Vegetable Marketing Cooperative Agency • Island Vegetable Co-op Association • Vancouver Island Produce 4

5. What is the CHC’s Role in On-Farm Food Safety? … To provide the tools to enable and facilitate the ability of members to respond and compete in the marketplace 5

6. CHC MandateFood Safety To deliver a realistic, cost effective, voluntary, market driven program for and to members: • Based on member input and needs • Technically sound and credible • Created through a transparent process • Founded on the best available science • Buyer recognized standard 6

7. Government Recognition of the CHC Program • CFIA is the government agency mandated to ensure credibility and confirm technical soundness for national food safety programs • The official recognition process is led by the CFIA and involves provincial government representatives 7

8. Where We Started • General Guidelines released in 2000 • Divided into crop groupings to address commodity-specific risks and achieve government recognition of the program’s technical soundness • Active Working Groups established based on crop/commodity groupings • HACCP Models and Manuals (8 groupings) 8

9. Commodity Groupings 9

10. Commodity Groupings 10

11. HACCP-Based Program • Complete hazard analysis (physical, chemical, microbiological) • Individual growers and packers do not need to develop their own operation-specific HACCP plan • Can simply start using the Manual knowing that a complete hazard analysis has been done 11

12. HACCP-Based Program(cont’d) • Generic hazard analysis (by crop grouping) completed according to HACCP principles • Pre-requisite programs (6): • Premises, Equipment, Personnel Training, Sanitation and Pest Control, Transportation and Storage, Recall Program • Use Codex Decision Tree to determine adequate control measures 12

13. Benefits of OFFS Manuals • Easy for the grower to implement • A documentation package to help record practices on-farm/in packing sheds without having to create a site-specific HACCP plan and Standard Operating Procedures • Record-keeping Forms (templates) 13

14. OFFS Manuals (cont’d) • A complete record of steps growers are taking to keep production safe • Specific procedures vs. general guidelines • Checklists instead of writing out procedures • An educational tool • Appendices: • Detailed information on key topics (water testing, composting) • Recall Program 14

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16. A National Approach to Producer/Packer Training • National training materials package for growers, packers and storage intermediaries • Print and electronic resources • Train-the-Trainer approach • Trainer’s kit • Resources on CHC web site • Guidance for using manuals • How to complete the forms 16

17. CHC OFFS Certification • Beyond standards development • Effective September 2008, the CHC offers a program to assess and certify producer/packer conformance to the CHC OFFS requirements • Based on updated Audit Checklist (Version 3.0 2008) 17

18. CHC OFFSP Certification Options • Important: All Options include some form of AUDIT ACTIVITY annually 18 Canadian Horticultural Council

19. Option A: Cost Implications Producer/Packer’s Total Average Program Cost (over 4-year Cycle) 19 Canadian Horticultural Council

20. Option C: Cost Implications Producer/Packer’s Total Average Program Cost (Annual Audit) • Producer/Packer’s Total Average Program Cost • (Annual Audit) • Non-Member Premium: Add $1,500 for CHC OFFSP Materials, including annual updates. 20 Canadian Horticultural Council

21. How can the CHC and its members afford this Program? • The CHC is pursuing all possible options to reduce and share costs, recognizing that OFFS initiatives are a public good • Seeking partner support • The CHC will seek bridge financing, an interest-free loan or seed money from government, loan guarantees, or financing from other programs or sources, or a combination of approaches 21 Canadian Horticultural Council

22. FUTURE OUTLOOK • International credibility of CHC OFFFSP • Benchmarking against GlobalGAP and GFSI requirements in 2009 • CHC in a position to influence import practices by providing expertise on equivalency ratings used by importers • Potential for partnerships and contractual agreements between countries and/or organizations, such as CPMA 22

23. Resources Updated CHC Web site: www.hortcouncil.ca/FShome.htm Provincial associations (CHC members) – contact point for: • distribution of Manuals • administration of OFI funding • local support, questions 23

24. Special thanks to Heather Gale, Food Safety Coordinator, Canadian Horticultural Council for the use of CHC presentation slides. We gratefully acknowledge project funding and support provided by the Government of Canada through: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 24 Canadian Horticultural Council