Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Training & Food Safety Plan-Writing Workshop February 2nd & 3rd, 2023

CCE  of Wayne County

1581 Route 88 North Newark, NY 14513

Hosted by the CCE Lake Ontario Fruit Program, the Cornell Vegetable Program, along with CCE Seneca and Yates Counties & The NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets 

 
Goals of this workshop:

• Understand how GAPs (Good Agricultural Practices) impact produce safety, and how you can improve practices on your farm to reduce the risk of microbial contamination
• Learn the difference between a FSMA Inspection and a GAPs audit, and learn what is needed to have a USDA GAP/GHP audit and the 2 types (Basic & Harmonized)
• Begin writing a farm food safety plan that complies with a USDA GAP/GHP Audit
 

This workshop is targeted at Mott's growers who need to have a successful GAP audit for the 2023 harvest. However, all farms and organizations are invited to attend.  

We will have several breaks, including a lunch break, scattered throughout the day, but feel free to step away whenever you need to. Lunch and snacks provided. Note: All times are approximate. Time spent on each topic varies depending on audience and questions/discussion. There will be time for questions at the end of each section and a final opportunity for questions when we close for the day.  

Instructors Confirmed: Craig Kahlke (CCE-LOF), Robert Hadad (CCE-CVP), Caroline Boutard-Hunt (CCE-Yates), Judy Wright (CCE-Seneca), and Representatives from NYS Dept. of Ag & Mkts.

Day 1:                   GAPs Training- Thursday, February 2, 8:45 AM - 4:30 PM

8:15 AM               Pre-registration check-in, refreshments  

8:45AM                Welcome! Introductions, Pre-workshop Evaluations & Orientation to the Day -  Craig Kahlke, CCE-

LOF  

9:15 AM               Food Safety Begins on the Farm: A Review of Produce Safety Issues & Market Implications -  Craig

9:45 AM               GAPs: Worker Health & Hygiene Training & Record-keeping - Judy Wright, CCE-Seneca

10:30 AM            Break

10:45 AM            GAPs: Production Water Management - Caroline Boutard-Hunt, CCE-Yates

11:45 AM            GAPs: Animal Management, Manure, and Compost - Robert Hadad, CCE-CVP

~12:15 PM          Lunch Break

12:45 PM             GAPs: Post-Harvest Water use, Cleaning & Sanitation, including packinghouses - Robert  

 2:00 PM              GAPs: Traceability & Transportation - Judy  

 2:30 PM              Crisis Management - Caroline    

 2:50 PM              Break  

 3:05 PM              USDA GAP Audits:  An overview - Scott Friedman, NYS Dept. of Ag. & Mkts.  

 3:50 PM              Questions/Set the Stage for Tomorrow - Craig  

 4:00 PM              Post-workshop evaluations  

 4:15 PM              Adjourn Day 1 

  Bring the following items with you on Day 2 of the workshop:

•  Laptop computer unless you reserved one of ours in advance
• A list of crops you want to be USDA GAP/GHP certified in (if planning to participate in an audit)
• Farm maps with fields outlined that contain crops to be certified
• If you have a packinghouse, bring a packinghouse floor plan that shows product flow from the time it enters the packinghouse until it leaves. It can be hand drawn and simple.
• A list of services you have contracted. This may include pest control, portable toilet rental/servicing, trucking/transportation, etc. and any record-keeping documents they supply.
• Lots of questions!

Participants will be provided with:

• A flash drive pre-loaded with templates to use in writing your own farm food safety plan including templates of recordkeeping forms
           

As with day 1, we will have several breaks, scattered throughout the morning and early afternoon, but feel free to step away whenever you need to. This will be your opportunity to work on the farm food safety plan with input from both NYS Department of Agriculture & Markets inspectors, and CCE trained educators. You will leave with many fleshed out areas of your plan, but NOT a completed plan.

Day 2:                   Farm Food Safety Plan-Writing Workshop Friday, February 3rd, 8:45 AM ~ 2:00 PM

8:15 AM               Pre-registration check-in, refreshments

8:45AM                Welcome! Computer setup and check of software, Introductions & Orientation to the Day

9:00 AM               Questions/thought/concerns from yesterday's firehose drinking session?

 9:15 AM              Walk-through of jump drive files, overview of the Farm Food Safety Plan Template

10:00 AM            Traceability Deep Dive & Activity

10:30 AM            Begin working on your plans (trainers available for Q&A)

11:30 AM            Discussion:  How is it going? (time as long as needed)

~12:00 PM          Lunch Break

12:45 PM             Continue to work on plans (trainers still available for Q&A)

~1:45 PM             Course Evaluation  

  2:00   PM           End* - When folks reach a comfortable stopping point and have all their questions answered, and complete the evaluation forms, they can leave at any time before 2 PM

Agenda, Rev 1-26-23 (PDF; 233KB)