Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices: an Overview

Workers picking and loading lettuce onto a conveyor belt UF/IFAS Photo by Tyler Jones.

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 food safety of their product. GAPs usually deal with preharvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs cover postharvest practices, including packing and shipping. We will use the term GAPs in this fact sheet to generally cover pre- and postharvest practices associated with the safe handling of produce, both fresh and minimally processed. This five-page introduction to the Food Safety on the Farm series provides an overview of GAPs and GHPs, summarizing major principles and recommendations of later documents in the series. Written by Jaysankar De, Christopher R. Pabst, Jessica Lepper, Renée Goodrich Schneider, and Keith R. Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs135

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices: Transportation

Good agricultural practices (GAPs) and good handling practices (GHPs) encompass the general procedures growers, packers, and processors of fresh fruits and vegetables should follow to ensure the safety of their product. GAPs usually address preharvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs cover postharvest practices, including packing and shipping. This 3-page fact sheet covers the GAPs of transporting crops. This major revision is a part of the Food Safety on the Farm series and was written by Christopher R. Pabst, Jaysankar De, Alina Balaguero, Jessica Lepper, Renée Goodrich-Schneider, and Keith R. Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs151

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices: Water

Water pump

Good agricultural practices (GAPs) and good handling practices (GHPs) encompass the general procedures growers, packers, and processors of fresh fruits and vegetables should follow to ensure the safety of their product. GAPs usually address preharvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs cover postharvest practices, including packing and shipping. This 7-page fact sheet covers GAPs and GHPs relating to water use. This major revision is a part of the Food Safety on the Farm series and was written by Jaysankar De, Christopher R. Pabst, Jessica Lepper, Renée Goodrich-Schneider, and Keith R. Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs136

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

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices: Traceback

Produce Grocery Store

Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and Good Handling Practices (GHP) are voluntary audits that verify fruits and vegetables are produced, packed, handled, and stored as safely as possible to keep the risks of microbial food safety hazards at the minimal level. Good Agricultural Practices usually deal with preharvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs cover postharvest practices, including packing and shipping. This 3-page fact sheet in the Food Safety on the Farm series covers GAPs and GHPs relating to traceback, or the ability to track food items, such as fresh produce, back to their source. This major revision was written by Jaysankar De, Christopher R. Pabst, Alexandra S. Chang, Renée M. Goodrich-Schneider, and Keith R. Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs152

Food Safety on the Farm: Good Agricultural Practices and Good Handling Practices: Manure and Municipal Biosolids

Fertilization Campaign

Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) and Good Handling Practices (GHPs) encompass the general procedures growers, packers, and processors of fresh fruits and vegetables should follow to ensure the safety of their product. GAPs usually deal with pre-harvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs tend to cover post-harvest practices, including packing and shipping. This 5-page entry in the Food Safety on the Farm series focuses on Good Agricultural Practices, including pathogen reduction and handling and application, to control potential hazards when working with manure and biosolids. This major revision was written by Jaysankar De, Christopher R. Pabst, Jessica Lepper, Renée M. Goodrich-Schneider, and Keith R. Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs150

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