Good Agricultural Practices & Good Handling Practices Programs

The Food Quality Assurance Program offers several Good Agricultural (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP) programs to improve food safety in the production and packing of fruits and vegetables. Good Agricultural Practices refers to farming methods that reduce the likelihood of contaminating produce. Implementation of practices that address water quality, manure and compost use, worker health and hygiene and contamination from wild life, domestic animals and livestock. Good Handling Practices refers to post harvest handling of produce to minimize contamination. Practices include water quality, sanitation of the packing house, pest control programs, and sanitation of containers.

Why implement GAP & GHP?

Fruit and vegetable producers implement GAP and GHP for many reasons. A GAP/GHP food safety program reduces the risk of microbial contamination that can cause consumer illness from consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. As a result of food borne illness outbreaks related to produce, many wholesale buyers of produce now require farmers to be GAP/GHP certified. As part of the federal Food Safety Modernization Act, the Food and Drug Administration has proposed rules for the production and handling of fruits and vegetables that are similar to GAP/GHP requirements. Implementation of a GAP/GHP program and certification that the requirements are being met assists farmers in providing safe, wholesome produce to consumers, meeting buyer requirements and meeting the requirements of FDA's proposed rule.

Training & assistance

In cooperation with the University of Maryland, MDA is providing GAP/GHP training and one-to-one assistance in developing, writing and implementing food safety programs. This assistance is available to any Maryland producer of fruits and vegetables.

Certification program

MDA has developed a State GAP/GHP certification program. The program consists of basic food safety requirements and is intended for direct marketers and farmers that have never had a GAP/GHP inspection or audit. Producers that pass the MDA inspection are awarded a certificate.

Audits

MDA also conducts audits of fruit and vegetable producers and handlers to determine compliance with USDA's Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices standards and the Pre Harvest and Post Harvest Harmonized standards. The program is conducted through a cooperative agreement with USDA/AMS. 

Conducting the audits through USDA provides national recognition for producers and handlers to the many buyers now requiring audits for compliance with the guidelines. 

Additional information concerning the USDA Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices Audits and the Harmonized Audits can be found at the USDA/AMS website. Maryland producers that are USDA certified can be found at http://apps.ams.usda.gov. MDA currently has USDA Specialty Crop grant money to assist Maryland producers in offsetting USDA audit costs.

The USDA and Harmonized audits are based on elements derived from FDA's guidance document entitled "Guide to Minimize Food Safety Hazards for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables' available at FDA.gov/Food/GuidanceRegulation. The FDA guidance document identifies water, manure and municipal bio-solids, worker health and hygiene, sanitary facilities, field sanitation, packing facility sanitation, transportation and trace back as areas to be addressed to prevent microbial contamination of fresh fruits and vegetables. 

FDA has also developed commodity specific guidance which is also available on their website. Categories on the audit include personnel hygiene and practices, farm review, field harvesting and field packing activities, packing house facility, storage and transportation, food security and trace-back. Additional information and materials that can assist producers in implementing a GAP/GHP program are available at http://www.gaps.cornell.edu/. Producers can use this information to implement or improve "Good Agricultural Practices" without requesting an audit.

MDA Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Program  

The Maryland Department of Agriculture has developed a food safety program for direct marketers of fresh fruit and vegetables. The program is designed to minimize the risk of microbial contamination through good production practices and is based on guidance developed by the US Food and Drug Administration. Program requirements are updated annually to meet current buyer and regulatory requirements.  

Program requirements 

1. Attend an approved GAP training program. MDA and the University of Maryland offer producer training sessions regionally January through March each year. Other University and/or State Department of Agriculture GAP training programs are acceptable. 
2. Complete a self-assessment using the National GAPS Program Self Assessment Checklist or University of Maryland Checklist. 
3. Develop a written food safety plan that addresses any risks identified in the self assessment.  Assistance in developing the plan is available through a joint project of MDA and the University of MD.  For assistance, please see the GAP and FSMA Resources document.
4. Implement the food safety plan. 
5. Contact MDA’s Food Quality Assurance Program to schedule an inspection to verify the plan adequately addresses food safety risks and has been implemented. 
6. MDA will issue a Certificate of Compliance to producers that pass the inspection.  A list of producers that have been issued a Certificate of Compliance is maintained on MDA’s website – www.mda.maryland.gov.  

MDA Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) Program for fruit & vegetable producers

Purpose 

Concerns with food safety and fresh fruits and vegetables have led wholesale buyers to require Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) audits and the federal government to include provisions that are similar to GAP programs in the Food Safety Modernization Act Produce Safety Rule. MDA offers a voluntary GAP program geared towards smaller and/or direct marketers to provide safe, wholesome fresh produce by covering the basic food safety requirements. This program may also be of assistance to larger farms and/or farms selling wholesale by providing a starting point for implementing a more comprehensive GAP food safety program. Many of the requirements are similar to those required by USDA GAP or private audit companies, however, the program is more focused on addressing the basic food safety risks with compliance options that are more suited to smaller farms. This program is funded by a USDA Specialty Crop Grant to minimize costs to producers. 

Program requirements 

• Training 
  • Mandatory for participation 
  • Provided through University of Maryland and Maryland Department of Agriculture 
  • Other training will be accepted such as food safety webinars and online classes as long as a certificate of completion is issued. 
• Self assessment of food safety risks 
  • University of Maryland self assessment 
  • National GAP program self assessment 
• Written Food Safety Plan 
  • Assistance with writing a plan can be obtained from a dedicated position at the University of Maryland, funded by a USDA Specialty Crop grant, that works one-on-one with producers on site to develop food safety practices, write plans and implement documentation of plan compliance. For assistance, please see the GAP and FSMA Resources document. 
• MDA GAP Auditors inspect to verify that the plan has been implemented 
  • Recommendations for corrective actions/improvements are based on the inspection findings 
  • Reinspect as necessary to verify corrective actions/improvements 
  • For assistance, contact: Deanna Baldwin at address and phone number listed above. 
• Certification by MDA if inspection is passed 

Basic food safety plan requirements 

Written plan that addresses: 

• Worker Hygiene 
  • Disease 
  • Clean Hands and Clothes 
  • Restroom facilities 
  • Smoking and eating 
• Cleanliness of contact surfaces 
  • Bins, work surfaces, packaging, equipment 
  • Post Harvest Sanitation 
• Waste 
  • Manure use restrictions (application dates) 
  • Pet, poultry and livestock access to fields and packing areas restrictions 
  • Wildlife access to fields and packing areas – monitoring and preventive measures 
• Water 
  • Microbial standards established as appropriate for intended use 
  • Testing of water sources used for irrigation, pesticide application, post harvest required 
• Documentation that plan is followed such as logs and records of sanitary practices, such as water testing and treatment (if necessary), maintenance, and food safety trainings for workers.