Primary producers and processors of leafy vegetables or melons are required by the standards to manage food safety risks by doing the following:
- Identify potential food safety hazards in operations; and
- Implement control measures to manage the hazards; and
- Have evidence to show that the control measures have been implemented; and
- Verify the effectiveness of the control measures.
Formal documentation of how food safety will be managed will be required in a food safety management statement. The food safety management statement must then be provided to your local government for approval. During the routine inspections by your local government, they will check that you have been operating according to your food safety management statement.
The food safety management statement will need to describe how the key food safety risk areas in the standards will be managed:
- traceability
- soil
- fertiliser
- water
- seed/seedlings (leafy vegetables only)
- growing sites
- weather events
- premises and equipment
- temperature of harvested leafy vegetables
- washing and sanitation of harvested leafy vegetables
- animals and pests
- skills and knowledge
- health and hygiene of personnel and visitors
Refer to the following grower guide which details common practices to manage food safety risks in primary production and processing.
Food Safety Grower Guides – Fresh Produce Safety Centre Australia & New Zealand (external site)
Visit the website HERE for further information.
Templates to assist growers will be available soon.
Read the factsheet here