Join Cornell Cooperative Extension of Orange and Oneida Counties, the Cornell Vegetable Program, Harvest NY, and the Eastern NY Horticulture Team on Feb. 12 for a remote Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) training. Good Agricultural Practices is a voluntary food safety audit program requiring minimum standards for the production, handling, packing, and storing of fresh fruits and vegetables, and is required by some buyers. Trainers will cover food safety best management practices related to worker training, preharvest assessments and wildlife management, water testing, postharvest handling, hygienic equipment design and efficient wash-pack setups, how to write a farm food safety plan, and more. The training will follow the USDA GAPs audit checklist so that farms will be prepared for an audit. A NYSDAM GAPs auditor will join us to discuss audit logistics and answer questions from participants. Following the course, we will offer a series of virtual office hours to follow up with course participants to assist them with writing their farm food safety plan, which is mandatory for the GAPs audit. Participants will receive a certificate of course completion after the training.

COST: $10 per farm and includes access to a virtual folder of recordkeeping templates, Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), audit checklists, course presentations, and more resources.

REGISTRATION: Register online -- clicking this link will take you to the CCE Eastern NY Commercial Horticulture Program's website to complete the registration. The Zoom link will be emailed to you after you have registered.

Note: This course differs from the Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course in that it is specifically geared toward the GAPs audit checklist versus the federal food safety laws (Food Safety Modernization Act's Produce Safety Rule). The PSA Grower Training Course is required by farms covered by the FSMA PSR as a requirement of inspections, whereas the GAPs audit is voluntary. Both trainings provide a useful background in food safety for produce farms of all scales. All farms are welcome to attend both courses.

Please reach out to Elisabeth Hodgdon (eh528@cornell.edu or 518-650-5323) with questions and requests for accommodations. Requests for accommodations must be received by Feb. 1. 

AGENDA

8:00 AM         Welcome! Introductions & Orientation to the Day (Elisabeth Hodgdon, CCE ENYCHP)

8:30 AM         Part 1: Produce Safety - How we got here and why it matters (Erik Schellenberg, CCE Orange County)

9:00 AM         Part 2: Intro to Audits, Recordkeeping, Q&A (Scott Friedman, NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets)

                        Break

10:15 AM       Part 3: Worker Health & Hygiene (Lindsey Pashow, CCE Harvest NY)

11:15 AM       Part 4: Production Water (Elisabeth Hodgdon, CCE ENYCHP)

12:00 PM        Lunch Break!

12:45 PM        Part 5: Animal Management, Manure, and Compost (Nathaniel Lartey, CCE Orange County)

1:30 PM          Part 6: Post-Harvest Water, Cleaning & Sanitation (Robert Hadad, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program)

Break

2:30 PM          Part 7: Food Safety in the Packhouse (Robert Hadad, CCE Cornell Vegetable Program)

3:30 PM          Part 8: Traceability & Farm Food Safety Plans (Myron Thurston, CCE Oneida)

4:30 PM          Questions & Next Steps, Virtual Office Hours Announcement (Elisabeth Hodgdon, CCE ENYCHP)

4:45 PM          Adjourn