Introduction to Good Agricultural Practices

(light music)

- Hi my name is Megan Chawner, and I'm an extension educator with Penn State Extension.

I'm going to talk to you about GAPs, or Good Agricultural Practices, what they are and why they matter.

What are good agricultural practices?

GAPs are ways to prevent contamination of fresh produce from harmful organisms like salmonella, pathogenic E. coli, listeria, viruses, and parasites.

Why is this important?

In the United States one in six people get sick each year from eating contaminated food.

That means that there are over 48 million cases of foodborne illness, and those illnesses result in 128,000 hospitalizations, and 3,000 deaths.

The most common crops involved with foodborne illness outbreaks are sprouts, leafy greens, both shown here in green, melons, shown in yellow, and tomatoes, shown in red.

Biological risks of foodborne illnesses are caused by: Microorganisms like bacteria, specifically pathogenic E. coli, salmonella, shigella, and listeria.

Viruses, specifically hepatitis A and norovirus.

And parasites like giardia, cryptosporidium, and cyclospora.

These organisms are very small as you can see.

This makes it very important for us to know what can spread these organisms to our food.

One source of contamination are humans.

Humans can carry pathogens and spread them to produce, food contact surfaces, or other people while they work on the farm.

Help minimize your risks by washing your hands thoroughly.

Animals, both wild and domesticated, can carry and transmit human pathogens to produce.

Bird netting, shown here over some berries, can help prevent crop loss, but also limits the direct contact between wildlife and the berries.

Water carries and spreads human pathogens, contaminating entire fields or large amounts of produce.

Pathogens can spread easily if water is left standing in fields, or if processing equipment is not well-maintained.

Soil amendments like raw manure can be a source of contamination if improperly handled and applied.

Take care to not spread soil borne pathogens between fields.

Wash equipment thoroughly after applying manure.

How do you know if you're doing everything you can to minimize the risks in your operation?

A GAP audit can help.

The USDA, as well as private inspectors, can help improve the risk management of your operation.

The easiest way to solve a foodborne illness problem is to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Proper tool storage and maintenance goes a long way.

Keep tools clean to prevent contamination.

Keeping your bins elevated from the soil helps prevent soil borne contamination during harvest.

Furthermore, proper storage of bins when not in use ensures they stay clean.

Prevention is the key!

The focus of produce safety is on preventing contamination from occurring.

Once present, microbial contamination is very difficult to remove.