Author: Paul Vijayakumar
Planning Unit: Animal and Food Sciences
Major Program: Local Food Systems
Outcome: Intermediate 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. This program is a must for farmers trying to sell whole sale i.e., to national and international retail chains such as Walmart and Kroger, and buyers in particular require this from the farmers they buy from. My GAPs and GHPs training program is for farms of all sizes, especially the beginning and small- to medium-scale farmers with limited resources who are apprehended by the scientific food safety terms, in particular the term “audit” and hence are hesitant take a forward step to pursue this certification. This program’s focus is to help participants understand the audit process, teach them to write a farm food safety plan, and point participants to available resources, and prepare Extension Agents to serve as consultants for the GAPs and GHPs audit process at the county level. At the end of the workshop, the farms will have a ready to print copy of their farm’s food safety plan that will increase buyer’s confidence and open new markets (Farmers market, Intermediate store or restaurant buyers, large store or restaurant buyer and Schools). Four small to medium sized fruit and vegetable growers from Kentucky participated in the training conducted by Dr. Paul Priyesh Vijayakumar and Bryan Brady (Extension Associate- Food Connection) on March 12, 2019 in Quicksand, Kentucky. All the attendees responded that the program was very useful. Three growers mentioned that the material covered in the workshop would be useful for their farming operation.
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