Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices: Field Sanitation

Corn Harvest

Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Good Handling Practices (GHPs) encompass the general procedures that growers, packers, and processors of fresh fruits and vegetables should follow to ensure the safety of their product. GAPs usually deal with preharvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs cover postharvest practices, including packing and shipping. This 5-page fact sheet covers harvest practices associated with sanitation in the field, including basic principles for microbial food safety and control of potential hazards. This major revision is a part of the Food Safety on the Farm series and was written by Jessica Lepper, Jaysankar De, Christopher Pabst, Renée Goodrich-Schneider, and Keith Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs160

Preventing Foodborne Illness: Yersiniosis

Yersinia enterocolitica bacteria growing on a Xylose Lysine Sodium Deoxycholate (XLD) agar plate.Yersiniosis is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Yersinia and is typically associated with the consumption of contaminated food or liquids. Yersiniosis is characterized by common symptoms of gastroenteritis such as abdominal pain and mild fever. The bacterium is prevalent in the environment, enabling it to contaminate water and food systems. Outbreaks of yersiniosis have been associated with improperly pasteurized milk, ready-to-eat salad mix, oysters, and more commonly with consumption of undercooked meals containing pork. Yersiniosis incidents have been reported frequently in Northern Europe, Scandinavia, and Japan, and rarely in the United States. However, the reported low incidence of Yersinia in the US food supply may be underestimated due to the long incubation time and misdiagnosis of patients with Y. enterocolitica infections, along with the inability to identify the source of infection and the fact that only serious cases are reported. This 4-page major revision, written by Christopher Pabst, Jaysankar De, Aswathy Sreedharan, Correy Jones, and Keith R. Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, also describes long-term effects and complications of yersiniosis, members of the population most at risk, and prevention methods.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs193

HACCP: An Overview

HACCP is a food safety management system that is used in various segments of the food industry. The objectives of this 4-page fact sheet are to introduce the topic and to summarize the key components of a HACCP program. Written by J. A. Lepper, R. M. Goodrich-Schneider, K. R. Schneider, M. D. Danyluk and A. Sreedharan and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, January 2018.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs122

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices-Sanitary Facilities

The Food Safety on the Farm series is a collection that reviews the generally recognized principles of GAPs (good agricultural practices) as they relate to produce, primarily at the farm level and with a particular focus on fresh Florida crops and practices. This publication focuses on GAPs and GHPs (good handling practices) relating specifically to sanitary facilities. Written by Jessica A. Lepper, Aswathy Sreedharan, Renee M. Goodrich-Schneider, and Keith R. Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, January 2018.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs159

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices-Packing Operation Sanitation

freshpicked oranges in foreground of packing facility

The ‘Food Safety on the Farm’ series is a collection that reviews the generally recognized principles of GAPs (good agricultural practices) as they relate to produce, primarily at the farm level and with a particular focus on fresh Florida crops and practices. This publication focuses on GAPs and GHPs (good handling practices) relating specifically to packing operation sanitation. Written by Jessica A. Lepper, Aswathy Sreedharan, Renee M. Goodrich-Schneider, and Keith R. Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, December 2017.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs189

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices-Worker Health and Hygiene

The ‘Food Safety on the Farm’ series is a collection that reviews the generally recognized principles of GAPs (good agricultural practices) as they relate to produce, primarily at the farm level and with particular focus on fresh Florida crops and practices. This 4-page publication focuses on GAPs and GHPs (good handling practices) relating specifically to worker health and hygiene. Written by Jessica A. Lepper, Keith R. Schneider, Renee M. Goodrich-Schneider, and Aswathy Sreedharan and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, December 2017.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs158

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices-Field Sanitation

The ‘Food Safety on the Farm’ series is a collection that reviews the generally recognized principles of GAPs (good agricultural practices) as they relate to produce, primarily at the farm level and with particular focus on fresh Florida crops and practices. This 4-page publication focuses on GAPs and GHPs (good handling practices) relating specifically to field sanitation. Written by Jessica A. Lepper, Aswathy Sreedharan, Renee M. Goodrich-Schneider, and Keith R. Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, December 2017.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs160

Preventing Foodborne Illness: Norovirus

Transmission electron micrograph of norovirus particles
If you have ever had the stomach flu, norovirus was likely the culprit. Norovirus is the most common cause of foodborne illness in the United States and is transmitted through direct person-to-person contact or contaminated objects and food. This 5-page fact sheet covers how norovirus is spread, foods associated with norovirus, symptoms of infection, who is at risk, as well proper sanitation methods for preventing the spread of norovirus. Written by Rachael Silverberg, Melissa K. Jones, Renée Goodrich Schneider, Aswathy Sreedharan and Keith R. Schneider, and published by the UF Food Science and Human Nutrition Department, June 2015.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs129

Preventing Foodborne Illness: Yersiniosis (FSHN1209/FS193)

Figure 1. Yersinia enterocolitica bacteria growing on a Xylose Lysine Sodium Deoxycholate (XLD) agar plate.Yersiniosis is an infectious disease caused by the consumption of food contaminated with the bacterium Yersinia. It is characterized by gastroenteritis, with diarrhea and/or vomiting, fever, abdominal pains, and skin rashes. Although outbreaks of yersiniosis are uncommon and sporadic in nature, foodborne outbreaks have been associated with consumption of contaminated food or water, and in places of high pork consumption. This 3-page fact sheet was written by Aswathy Sreedharan, Correy Jones, and Keith Schneider, and published by the UF Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, June 2012. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs193