| Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices |
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| What is GAP/GHP? |
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GAP/GHP certification uses a systems-based approach to minimizing risk of microbial contamination of fresh fruits and vegetables on the farm. The practices are a set of parameters that growers can implement during growing, harvesting, sorting, packaging, and storing to reduce the possibility of microbial contamination to fresh fruits and vegetables.
The USDA has developed a GAP/GHP audit program to certify U.S. fruit and vegetable producers that use these practices in their production.
The GAP certification process consists of five main sections for operations that do not pack their own products:
- General questions
- Farm review
- Field harvest and field packing
The GHP certification process is an add-on for operations that conduct packing activities of fresh fruits and vegetables. This consists of three (3) additional sections:
- Packing house review
- Storage and transportation (Optional)
- Traceback (Optional)
Every operation must compile a food safety program which outlines the standard operating procedures and policies that are in practice for the requirements of each section. In certain circumstances, documentation must also be provided to substantiate practices or analyses of possible contamination. Click here to see a sample food safety program (66 kb pdf) for a GAP certification.
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| Find out more |
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ODA's Agricultural Development and Marketing Division is conducting outreach seminars for producers interested in finding out more about Good Agricultural and Good Handling Practices, the certification process, and its benefits to the industry.
We encourage all producers of fresh fruit and vegetable products in Oregon to download the sample certification materials available at the right.
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| Resources |
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USDA Agricultural Marketing Service
USDA's Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables is the basis for the GAP standards and contains pertinent background information about where food safety issues occur and how they can be mitigated.
The USDA also publishes a list of GAP/GHP certified firms for every state, and by commodity. The USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service maintains a Good Agricultural Practices website that contains this information along with information about the program, an audit checklist and updates about program requirements. http://www.ams.usda.gov/fv/fpbgapghp.htm
Download a list of Oregon's GAP and GHP certified firms for this year (92 kb pdf).
National GAPs Education Center
Cornell University houses a clearinghouse of educational and training materials on GAP/GHPs. They are part of a consortium of land-grant universities that do GAP outreach in their states. If you are looking for training materials for employees, you can download materials directly from the site, or use the order form for hard copies. http://www.gaps.cornell.edu
Oregon Department of Agriculture Commodity Inspection Division
The ODA's Commodity Inspection Division is a USDA accredited certifier for Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices. To find out more about their GAP/GHP Certification Program, go to http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/CID/ghp_gap.shtml.
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