• Regularly remove trash and culls to avoid attracting animals to packing areas. • Prevent birds from perching or roosting in rafters. • Before loading with produce, make sure transport vehicles are adequately clean and, if previously used to transport goods or animals that could contaminate produce, have been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized. • Keep wagons and vehicles used to dispose of culls and trimmings out of animal lots or other places of possible contamination. • If a transport vehicle has a cooling system, cool it before loading and ensure cooling equipment is functioning properly. • K eep records of where each product was grown, dates of harvest and packing, dates of sale/ shipping, and where it was sold/shipped. • Be prepared to show records to authorities if requested. As we learn more about microbes, produce, and human health, recommended practices may change. Stay informed to keep up-to-date with current GAPs. To learn more about GAPs, visit the Food Safety for Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Farms website at ag.purdue.edu/hla/foodsafety, or contact your local extension office.
Attend educational programs about GAPs and other food safety topics offered by your state’s extension service and other organizations. For Indiana growers, the Indiana State Department of Health has made food safety farm consultants available for outreach, education, and assistance to Indiana produce growers. Visit www.in.gov/isdh/25773.htm for information. Illinois growers who need help about food safety should call the Illinois Department of Public Health, Division of Food, Drugs and Dairies at (217) 785-2439, visit the Illinois Local Food Systems & Small Farms Food Safety website (web.extension.illinois.edu/smallfarm/foodsafety. html), or call the nearest University of Illinois Extension office. Farmers can help improve the quality of the fruits and vegetables we eat, assure consumer safety and confidence, and maintain the viability of their farms and the fruit and vegetable industry. But they need to learn about the issues, use their experience and knowledge to contribute solutions, and commit to food safety in their operations.
Find Out More Find more publications in the Food Safety for Fruit and Vegetable Farms series by visiting the Purdue Extension Education Store: www.the-education-store.com.