From the article

“Implementation and Analysis of an
On-Farm Food Safety Program for the Production of Greenhouse Vegetables"

by Amber N. Luedtke, Benjamin Chapman, and Douglas A. Powell appearing in the “Journal of Food Protection,”
Vol. 66, No. 3, 2003, Pages 485-489.

oodborne illness associated with the consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables has increased in recent years. Bacteria, viruses, and parasites on fruits and vegetables have been linked with illness.

In Canada, 18 outbreaks were documented from 1981 to 2000, with approximately 2,000 people being affected and 18 deaths resulting. Alfalfa sprouts, cantaloupes, lettuce, raspberries, and parsley are a few of the vehicles that have been implicated.

From the farm to consumption, raw produce can become contaminated with pathogenic and nonpathogenic microorganisms at a number of different stages and by several means. Laboratory studies have found that fresh produce can support the growth of organisms such as Salmonella, Shigella, and Escherichia coli 0157:H7. Consequently, methods of growing, handling, processing, packaging, and distributing fresh produce have received increased attention with regard to the identification and minimization of microbiological hazards.

The produce industry has focused on developing and implementing programs aimed at preventing foodborne disease and illness. Complete hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) systems can never be implemented in fresh produce operations, because these operations involve no definite kill step, such as pasteurization. Instead these HACCP-based systems help to identify and reduce the potential for microbial contamination throughout the production-distribution process.

A successful program helps producers to avoid recall campaigns, adverse publicity, loss of sales, and even food scares, all of which result in reduced sales and/or profits. All food producers, and ultimately all participants in the farm-to-the-fork food safety system, have a responsibility to ensure the safety and quality of their products. This preventive, proactive role for the produce industry is a safeguard for the health and safety of consumers.

Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers (OGVG), with ca. 220 members, produce greenhouse tomatoes and cucumbers year-round for distribution in Canada and the United States. For reasons stated above, combined with grower concern and export demands, the OGVG proactively began to develop their on-farm food safety program in the summer of 1998. This study provides an analysis of the OGVG on-farm food safety program after 3 years of implementation.

Food safety wall checklist.
The OGVG manual contains a set of written general guidelines comparable to those published by the U. S. Food and Drug Administration for the safe production and distribution of greenhouse vegetables. The manual was distributed to all OGVG members, and its guidelines were used to design a wall checklist. The checklist was presented to a number of producers in the winter of 2001, and the comments and suggestions of these producers were used to design the final draft. The checklists were printed in booklets of 12 sheets, with 1 sheet (17 by 24 inches) for each month of the year.

Note: Information and guidelines for Good Agricultural Practices to insure production and distribution of safe food is available by contacting your local county Extension agent.