1 / 21

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Growers

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Growers. New England Extension Food Safety Partnership. Project funded by USDA CSREES – Project Number 2000-05389. Sanitation. Sanitation. In the field When packing On the road. Traceback.

milagro
Download Presentation

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Growers

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Good Agricultural Practices (GAP)for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Growers New England Extension Food Safety Partnership Project funded by USDA CSREES – Project Number 2000-05389 Sanitation

  2. Sanitation • In the field • When packing • On the road Traceback

  3. Sanitation practices during production, harvesting, sorting, packing, and transport play a critical role in minimizing the potential from microbial contamination of fresh produce.

  4. Words to Know • Clean: Food or food contact surfaces are washed and are visually free of dust, dirt, food residues, and other debris • Sanitize: Treat clean food-contact surfaces with heat or chemicals to reduce the number of pathogenic microorganisms • Food Contact Surfaces: Surfaces that contact fresh produce and those surfaces from which drainage onto the produce or onto surfaces that contact the produce during the normal course of operations • Food contact surfaces do not include tractors, forklifts, hand trucks, or pallets

  5. On-Farm Sanitation Why is this important? • Soil, fertilizers, water, workers, pets, pests, and harvesting equipment can all be sources of pathogenic microorganisms and can contaminate produce. • Dirty storage areas can contaminate produce and shorten post harvest shelf life • Pathogenic microorganisms may be found on the floors and in the drains in the packing facility and on the surfaces of sorting, grading, and packing equipment

  6. Processing water that is reused may result in build up of microbial loads and result in contamination. • During transportation, produce may become contaminated during loading, unloading and storage. Good sanitation standard operating procedures can reduce the risk of microbial contamination

  7. EMPLOYEE TRAINING Ranked #1 Food Safety Problem by Food Processing Industry ALL segments of produce industry Sertkaya, A. et. al. Top Ten Food Safety Problems in the United States Food Processing Industry. Food Prot. Trends. 26(5):310-315

  8. Minimize Risks in the Field:What can you do? • Maintain and clean harvesting equipment • Remove as much dirt and mud as practical from the produce before it leaves the field • Emphasize worker and U-pick customer hygiene and training • Keep animals out of the field • Pets vs. farm animals vs. wildlife

  9. Wes Kline, NJ Agricultural Experiment Station • Leave produce with bird droppings • Harvest dry produce if possible

  10.  Maintain and Clean Harvest Containers • Inspect for evidence of pests such as rodents, birds, and insects • Discard damaged containers • Harvest containers should be cleaned with hot soapy water and rinsed well prior to reuse. • If stored outside, they should be kept covered or, at minimum, upside down. • Sanitize containers, as needed and practical, using an approved sanitizer

  11.  Maintain and Clean Harvesting Equipment • Develop a cleaning and maintenance schedule for equipment and assign these responsibilities to a key individual • Keep equipment as clean as practical • Equipment used to haul garbage, manure, or other debris should not be used to haul fresh produce

  12. Postharvest Handling to Keep Fresh Produce Safe

  13. Minimize Risks in the Storage Facility: What can you do? • Clean storage areas thoroughly before harvesting and storing crops • When appropriate wash, rinse and sanitize storage areas. Always wash before you sanitize, as dirt and organic matter prevent the sanitizer from killing bacteria and viruses • Use approved sanitizers • Have a pest control program

  14. Minimize Risks in the Packing Facility: What can you do? • Remove as much dirt as possible from fresh produce before it comes into the packing area • Ensure that contaminated water and livestock waste cannot enter packinghouse via run off or drift • Exclude all birds, animals, and rodents from packing area • Enforce good worker hygiene. Maintain handwashing and toilet facilities. A separate handwashing sink must be available in the packing facility. • Do not wear field clothes (shoes and boots) into the packing area

  15. Packing Facility Sanitation (cont) • Inspect containers for damage on a regular basis and discard damaged containers • Clean and sanitize containers and bins before using to transport fresh produce • Clean and sanitize packing area, floors, and lines daily

  16. Minimize Risks from ProcessingWater: What can you do? • Use potable water • Change water as necessary to maintain sanitary conditions • Clean and sanitize water contact surfaces • Install backflow devices and legal air gaps • Use antimicrobial washes • Keep water no more than 10F cooler than produce

  17. Minimize Risks from ProcessingWater: What can you do? • Antimicrobial washes may help minimize microbial contamination • Follow FDA and EPA recommendations • Chlorine could be added to water at 50-200 ppm total chlorine, at a pH of 6.0-7.5 for a contact time of 1-2 minutes • Monitor antimicrobial chemical levels • As organic materials and microbial load increases in wash water, antimicrobial chemicals are less effective • Use a sanitizer test kit

  18. Minimize Risks from ProcessingWater: What can you do? • Proper washing with water still best • Research on-going

  19. Minimize Risks from ProcessingWater: What can you do? • Antimicrobial washes may help minimize microbial contamination • Follow FDA and EPA recommendations • Chlorine could be added to water at 50-200 ppm total chlorine, at a pH of 6.0-7.5 for a contact time of 1-2 minutes • Monitor antimicrobial chemical levels • As organic materials and microbial load increases in wash water, antimicrobial chemicals are less effective • Use a sanitizer test kit

  20. Produce Only Minimize Risks During Transportation: What can you do? • Ensure that transportation vehicles are clean • Be sure that fresh fruits and vegetables are not shipped in trucks which have carried live animals, manure, and garbage • If trucks are used to transport a variety of food products (ie. Eggs, raw meat, poultry), clean and sanitize trucks between uses • Use refrigerated trucks if appropriate

  21. Food Safety Partnership • New England Cooperative Extension Food Safety Specialists From: • University of Connecticut • University of Maine • University of Massachusetts • University of New Hampshire • University of Rhode Island • University of Vermont • Other Representatives: • State Agriculture Divisions/Departments • USDA Agencies (Farm Service Agency, ASCS, NRCS) • Farm Bureau • Growers Associations • Cooperative Extension Agricultural Specialists/Agents

More Related