Food Safety Begins on the Farm: A Grower Self Assessment of Food Safety Risks

RECORD KEEPING

RecordKeeping

Keeping records of all farmoperations is very important,especially when it comes tofood safety. With today’s com-plex food system, freshproduce rarely moves directlyfrom the grower to the con-sumer, but is often handledmany times before it reachesthe market and is consumed.When foodborne illness out-

breaks occur, attempts are made to trace the contamination back tothe point of origin. Documenting manure use, water test results,worker health, worker training programs, building sanitation, andequipment maintenance may provide important data in determin-ing the origin of the contamination. Showing due diligence is goodbusiness and may prove contamination did not originate on yourfarm.

Documentation highlights a grower’s commitment to producesafety by reducing microbial risks to fruits and vegetables. Ex-amples of good record keeping include:

a. A product flow diagram that describes movement of acommodity from the field to the farm gate includingharvest practices, post harvest handling, storage andtransportation.

b. Checklists that document and verify your standardoperating procedures. They may be as simple asrecording toilet and hand washing facility cleaning ormore complicated processes such as monitoring andrecording worker health status (see the end of thissection for an example checklist).

The Importance of Record Keeping

c. Records that trace fruits and vegetables from the field tothe buyer. They should include field location, productionpractices, harvest date, harvester information, storageduration, transportation and buyer information.

Record keeping is also a valuable business tool. Many buyersare requiring third party audits of their suppliers. Good recordsfacilitate ease of auditing by buyers and independent third partyauditing firms. In terms of meeting the requirements of auditors, theneed for record keeping cannot be over emphasized. Developingrecord keeping strategies and implementing them to record GAPswill likely be the most difficult and time-consuming part of yourfood safety program, but it is very important. If your actions are notdocumented there is no way to verify they were done.

This record keeping icon is placed throughout this assess-ment to emphasize and reinforce the importance of recordkeeping.

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RECORD KEEPING

Good Agricultural Practices Practices Requiring Attention

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Grower Self Assessment of Food Safety Risks Record Keeping—1

Record Keeping

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Grower Self Assessment of Food Safety Risks Record Keeping—2

Record Keeping

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Grower Self Assessment of Food Safety Risks Record Keeping—3

Record Keeping

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Record Keeping Action Plan

Do not remove. Photocopy this master for evaluations. Record Keeping Action Plan—1 of 2

ManagementAction for Person Estimated TargetArea

Improvement Responsible Cost Date

Date: __________________ Reviewer: _____________________________________ Field or Commodity: _______________________________

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Your Plans to Reduce Risks

Record keeping

Product identification

Annual food safety selfassessments

Written recall plan

Recall plan contents

Record Keeping Action Plan

Do not remove. Photocopy this master for evaluations. Record Keeping Action Plan—2 of 2

ManagementAction for Person Estimated TargetArea

Improvement Responsible Cost Date

Date: __________________ Reviewer: _____________________________________ Field or Commodity: _______________________________

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Your Plans to Reduce Risks

Notification contacts in case of arecall

Mock recall and tracebackverification

Records of customer complaintsrelated to food safety or quality

Check Sheet for Field Toilets, Hand Washing Facilities,Drinking Water and Safety Kit

Sample record keeping sheet. Modify to fit your operation. Check Sheet

Toilet &Hand Single

Washing Paper Toilet Trash Drinking Use FirstFacilities Water Soap Towels Paper Can Water Cups Aid Kit

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Sheet Reviewed by: ______________________________________________________________ on ______________________________________________(Management) (Date)