Success StoryGood Agricultural Practices Training to to encourage small and medium sized fruit and vegetable growers to grow the business to sell whole sale
Good Agricultural Practices Training to to encourage small and medium sized fruit and vegetable growers to grow the business to sell whole sale
Author: Paul Vijayakumar
Planning Unit: Animal and Food Sciences
Major Program: Local Food Systems
Outcome: Initial Outcome
Good agricultural practices (GAPs) and Good handling practices (GHPs) are voluntary audit programs to validate the production, handling, packaging, and storage procedures of vegetable and fruits to ensure their microbial safety. Fresh fruits and vegetables are minimally processed and do not go through a kill step unlike processed food, and are consumed raw increasing the risk of food safety among consumers. This program is necessary for farmers trying to sell wholesale (i.e., beyond the farmers market and roadside stands), and buyers in particular require this from the farmers they buy from. GAPs and GHPs audit training program is especially targeted towards the beginning and small- to medium-scale farmers with limited resources who are apprehensive of scientific food safety terms, in particular the term “audit”, and hence are hesitant to take a forward step to pursue this certification. This program is focused on helping the growers understand the details of the audit process, provide and point them to the available resources. Ten small to medium sized fruit and vegetable growers from Kentucky participated in the training conducted by Dr. Paul Priyesh Vijayakumar at the Boone County Cooperative Extension Enrichment Center in Burlington Kentucky. Course evaluations indicated that 80% of the participants would create or edit their current Food Safety Plan, 80% said they will seek USDA GAP certification in the near future, and 90% mentioned that they would implement what they learned in their farm operation.
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