Beginning Farmer and Ranchers Development Program
Kohala Center
NOTES from class on June 6, 2019 by Jim Crum
Dr. Luisa Castro
Produce safety rules and GAP (good agricultural practices)
HI’s Agricultural Food Safety Program Manager
– 20 years ago worked with CTHAR
– GAPs developed for Hawaii
– funding ran out and program dropped
– FDA keeping it with Dept “Everyone should have access to healthy, safe food”
Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) and how it affects us in Hawaii. Came out in 2011.
– some things don’t make sense and some don’t apply to Hawaii- entire food supply, not just at
– 2016 became law
– physical, chemically, and microbial all are under review. Focus is on microbial
– GAP looks at 5 things: land use, soil amendments, ag water, domestic and wild animals, worker health and hygiene, crop protection, post harvest, traceability…
Reasons why it exists?
– e.coli for romaine lettuce from Yuma,AZ
– we are impacted in HI even though issue was on the continent
– labeling can be an issue for consumers
– it’s now hard to determine where products come from
– it’s not easy to determine where the disease comes from. .02% of the time it can be determined- produce is the last to be regulated
– 1 of 6 get sick from contaminated food each year. 128k hospitalized.
– stopfoodborneillbess.org
– farming in Hawaii is changing to small scale. 88% of farms are smaller than 50 acres.
– raw crops are dept of Ag and DOA inspectors are being trained. Health department for food prep
– 31% of outbreaks have been related to fruits and veggies
Focus in HI
– education and repairing farmers for inspections that will be coming
– FSMA Produce Safety Rule (PSR): don’t tell you exactly what to do because it’s too broad for too many
– collaborating with FDA to clarify needs
– “food safety begins on the farm” a growers guide
– 3rd party independent audits: PrimusLabs.com
Why do you have to comply with PSR?
– Tea and coffee are exempt
– farm: operation under one management, not necessarily in 1 contiguous location, may include pack and hold…
– are you harvesting, packing and holding RACs? If you are processing it, irradiating, then additional rules applies. If only packing and holding, you are not a farm
– exemptions
— rarely eaten raw list = coffee, tea, beans, beets, sweet potato, etc… updated regularly
— sales less than $25k/ year (in 2011) average over 3 years
— solely for your family’s consumption
— $500k for all, but majority (with records) direct to consumer
— prominently display farm name and address (POBox OK) or web site ok
— destined for commercial processing. But may need to
– Will need to be compliant if you cause an outbreak you will have to be compliant.
Compliance
– educational requirement: 1 supervisor must complete the one day class. If that person leaves then
– pushes out the water requirement by 4 years because it is so complex
“Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching.”
Food borne illnesses example
– mac nuts: dehydrator wasn’t getting hot enough and no alarm went off- because items are consumed raw, much more likely. Microbial contamination on produce is extremely difficult to remove once present- bacteria cause the most issues, more than viruses. HI is the perfect climate for them.
Nasty Staff infections in Hawaii:
https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/7235191/hawaii-leads-nation-in-deadly-staph-infections/
Human health and safety
– hand washing: you and workers and visitors too!
– proper use of toilet and hand washing: provide them. with toilet paper and water and soap and accessible within a 1/4 mile and cleaned regularly- sanitizers don’t work well and are last resort. Scented soaps can get on the product, so use “normal” soap and water- recognize sick workers and be sure they are not in contact with food.
– first aid kits: maintained and restocked
– break area for smoking and eating that is not in the fields 20’ away from the plants
– clean your clothes between tasks like harvesting
Water
– know your sources and distribution systems
– test your water: HI looking at providing Mobile water testing
– lowest risk is drip and municipal
– PSR has sampling rules based upon sources
– no testing of from a public water source
– GAP GM 126CFU pr less for salmonella.
– add filters and UV systems to address issues with contamination
– R1: recycled water that is sanitized 3 ways and looking at this on Oahu
Pests
Know your farm poop: start to investigate the type you see and when you see it.
– hard to control
– first ever outbreak of e.coli was because deer poop contaminated strawberries. “you pick” and petting zoos next to each other
– orchards are lower risk
– deterrents are things that move around a lot
– domestic animals can add risk
– procedure on how to deal with poop when found in the fields
– PSR rules are still being debated. Raw manure is 120 day wait for harvest and 90 day for orchards- where you see poop, create a buffer zone between you and crops and decide how to handle the contamination and document what you did.
Soil amendments
– anything added to improve plant growth
– raw manure is the most risky
– organic fertilizer may be faked so know your source
– untreated human waste cannot be used unless it meets federal standards NOP 205.203
– composting is key
– know your pesticides!
– read the labels: what’s the PPE required? Restricted Entry Interval? Pre-harvest Interval?
Harvesting
– check produce before harvest- harvest baskets must be kept clean
– sanitize equipment and tools (don’t use wood)
– use gloves? Wash hands first and have a solid policy.
– packing house clean and protected? Setup for a logical workflow? Pests under control? “Pest management systems to control rodents in and around packing sheds” sticky traps are best. Things falling from the ceiling? Avoid wooden tables. Hand washing sink separate from vegetable washing sink- clean first with clean water and detergent. Sanitize as a second treatment- once it’s all packed and ready to go, make sure it’s in a low risk spot. Off the ground and no personal stuff.
– don’t reuse other people’s boxes
Snails, slugs, flatworms and rat lungworm
– ID your slugs and snails: caterpillar or slugs fans snail
To watch for:
— semi-slug is the biggest disease carrier. About 2”, nocturnal and fast– Cuban slugs
— Giant African Snail
– Rats carry the lung work nematode and poop it out and the snails and slugs eat them but are not effected. People eat it and eat sick if it’s not cooked enough. Nematode tries to escape and causes encephalitis.
– prevent!, manage growing environment, 7:1 salt water slug jug. Ducks are great (better than chickens) for catching them. Set traps. Copper bands as barriers. Bait (afternoons or evenings) iron phosphate and sodium ferric EDTA. Go after the big ones so they don’t reproduce, then get the little ones in the spring- inspect at the packing house
– watch the weather
* Things get trickier “after that first cut,” because if there are more cuts/processing, then you are processing and under DoH purview
*Cannot harvest produce that has had feces contamination.
* mongoose eradication: traps with fake eggs
* Scott’s ExoSense is organic commercial for slug control
* Business idea: know your pest poop app!