2016 Virginia Tech 3000-0000 GAPs and FSMA – an Overview for Hop Growers in Virginia Holly Scoggins Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Dept. of Horticulture, Virginia Tech Laura Siegle Agriculture and Natural Resource Agent, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Amelia County Amber Vallotton Fresh Produce Safety Team Coordinator and Extension Specialist, Dept. of Horticulture, Virginia Tech Food safety is a hot topic for hop growers and brewers. With multiple acronyms for various practices, standards, and regulations: GAPs, FSMA, PSR, PCR, and more; the confusion is understandable. Let’s examine where the small-acreage hop grower fits in. This fact sheet serves as an orientation to these standards, regulations, and practices as they may apply to hops; it is in no way a complete set of guidelines or substitute for training. First, a brief review of terms: FSMA Food Safety Modernization Act Includes 7 main rules and covers the entire supply chain from farm to processing to distribution to end-user. Umbrella organization: Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Note that FSMA guidelines and regulations for some crops/products are a work in progress. Compliance dates vary depending on the rule in question and commodity, product, and gross sales. GAP Good Agricultural Practice(s) Broadly defined, GAPs target on-farm food safety risks and are aimed at reducing those risks as well as providing traceability. Voluntary. Umbrella organization: United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) (among others). Audit and certification by accredited third party, similar to USDA Organic. Freshly-harvested hops from the Virginia Tech Research Hop Yard. Photo: Holly Scoggins.
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2016 Virginia Tech 3000-0000
GAPsandFSMA–anOverviewforHopGrowersinVirginiaHollyScogginsAssociateProfessorandExtensionSpecialist,Dept.ofHorticulture,VirginiaTechLauraSiegleAgricultureandNaturalResourceAgent,VirginiaCooperativeExtension,AmeliaCountyAmberVallottonFreshProduceSafetyTeamCoordinatorandExtensionSpecialist,Dept.ofHorticulture,VirginiaTech
Foodsafetyisahottopicforhopgrowersandbrewers.Withmultipleacronymsforvariouspractices,standards,andregulations:GAPs,FSMA,PSR,PCR,andmore;theconfusionisunderstandable.Let’sexaminewherethesmall-acreagehopgrowerfitsin.Thisfactsheetservesasanorientationtothesestandards,regulations,andpracticesastheymayapplytohops;itisinnowayacompletesetofguidelinesorsubstitutefortraining.First,abriefreviewofterms:
FSMA FoodSafety
ModernizationAct
Includes7mainrulesandcoverstheentiresupplychainfromfarmtoprocessingtodistributiontoend-user.Umbrellaorganization:FoodandDrugAdministration(FDA).NotethatFSMAguidelinesandregulationsforsomecrops/productsareaworkinprogress.Compliancedatesvarydependingontheruleinquestionandcommodity,product,andgrosssales.
GAP GoodAgriculturalPractice(s)
Broadlydefined,GAPstargeton-farmfoodsafetyrisksandareaimedatreducingthoserisksaswellasprovidingtraceability.Voluntary.Umbrellaorganization:UnitedStatesDepartmentofAgriculture(USDA)(amongothers).Auditandcertificationbyaccreditedthirdparty,similartoUSDAOrganic.
Freshly-harvestedhopsfromtheVirginiaTechResearchHopYard.Photo:HollyScoggins.
TheFoodSafetyModernizationAct(FSMA)
Weallhavemorequestionsthananswers,ashopsareonlyaddressedbyFSMAinafewplaces.Knowthathops,fromfieldtodryer,arenotunder“priorityscrutiny”becausetheyare“rarelyconsumedraw.”AfewsimplequestionscanhelpdeterminewhetherornotFSMAregulations,intheircurrentformat,applytosmallgrowers(atthistime,andsubjecttointerpretation):Q1:Doyougrowhopsandsellthemwet(fresh)and/ordried(wholeleaf)toanendusersuchasacommercialorhomebrewer?Ifyouanswered“yes”totheabovequestion,thisisconsideredafarmproduct,notprocessed.Hopsareconsidered"rawagriculturalcommodities"anda“farmproduct.”FarmproductscanstillberegulatedundertheProduceSafetyRule(PSR)ofFSMA,butrightnow,itappearsunprocessedhopsmaybeexempt,becausetheyare“rarely”consumedraw.TheFDAhasadded"drying/dehydrating"tothefarmdefinitionoftheserawcommodities.Dryingdoesnotproducea“distinctcommodity”soisnotconsideredprocessingforhops.ProcessingofrawcommoditiesfallsunderthePreventiveControlsRule(PCR).So…areweintheclear?Notquite.Abitmoreinformationisrequired:Ifyouanswered“yes”toquestion1,andaremakinglessthan$25,000ingrosssalesofhops,itishighlyprobableyouareexemptfromFSMA,asarefarmsgrowingallsortsofcommoditiesthathavelessthan$25,000inannualsales.Ifyouanswered“yes”toquestion1,butaremaking$25,000ormoreingrosssalesofhops,congratulations!Ifyou’resellingthatmuch,youmaybeprocessingthemsoyoumayneedtoanswermorequestionstodetermineyourFSMAstatus.Q2:Doyougrow,dry,andalsoprocess(pelletize)hops?TheaddedstepofpelletizinghassomeinherentfoodsafetyconcernsandMAYfallunderthePreventiveControlsRule(PCR)forprocessing,butitisstillnotclear.Atthestatelevel(Virginia),hopgrowerswhoprocess(pelletize)hopsmayneedtohaveafacilityinspection.Fornow,thebestcourseofactionforgrowerswouldbetocallVDACSdirectlyforguidanceandadecisionabouttheinspectionrequirement.ContactSarahGood,FoodTechnicalSpecialist,VirginiaDepartmentofAgricultureandConsumerServices,FoodSafetyProgram.Office(757)-363-3840http://www.vdacs.virginia.gov/
GoodAgriculturalPractices(GAPs)GoodAgriculturalPractices,ascertifiablestandardsforvariousfoodsectors,havebeencreatedinresponsetofoodborneillnessesandoutbreaks.Don’tforgetwearegrowingacomponentofafoodproduct,soriskassessmentandGAPimplementationisgoodforallinvolved.GAPtrainingandcertificationforproducegrowersisofferedbyVirginiaCooperativeExtension’sFreshProduceFood
SafetyTeam.Ahop-specificprogramforgrowersisavailablethroughthenationalHopGrowersAssociation(HGA)(www.usahops.org).AninteractivemoduleonfoodsafetywillbeavailabletoHGAmembersinthenearfutureandwillgenerateacertificateofcompliance.Fornon-members,HGAoffersacomplimentaryfoodsafetymoduleonharvestpractices,alongwithhandydocumenttemplates.Downloadthepresentationand"self-certify"atnocharge(www.usahops.org/growers/food-safety.html).Important:whilefoodsafetytrainingisimportant,itisjustonepartoftheGAPcertificationprocess.ToobtainGAPcertification,athird-partymustcertifythatthefarmisGAP-compliantandfollowingprescribedstandards,notunlikeorganiccertification.AnotherupsideoffollowingGAPsisthatitmayopenaccesstonewmarketsthatotherwisewouldbeclosed–certificationcanbeagreatmarketingtool.Brewersandendconsumerswillappreciateyourattentiontofoodsafetyconcerns,aswellassustainablegrowingpractices,record-keeping,pesticideharvestintervals,andsanitationthroughouttheharvest(anddrying)process.Muchofthisisjustcommonsense,sothereisnoneedtobeintimidated!SomeproductionexamplesofGAPsthatwouldapplytohops:
• Testwellorsurfacewaterforpathogens/othercontaminantsifusedforirrigation.• Observepre-harvestintervals(PHIs,asshownonpesticidelabels)forallpesticides(fungicides,
herbicides,pesticides)• Keepcareful,thoroughrecordsofchemicalapplications.(VirginiaCooperativeExtensioncan
meetallyourneedsforpesticideapplicatortrainingandrecord-keepingresources.)• Monitorgrowingareasforpresenceofwildlifeandtakecorrectiveactionsifnecessary
Forharvestandhandling,hopGAPsarealsosimilartothoseforfreshproduce.Think“hygiene”and“safety”–foryou,yourworkers,andyourhops.Exampleharvestandhandlingproceduresthatwouldapplytohops:
• Washandsanitizeharvesters,allpickingandstoragecontainers,andpackingtables.• Keepharvest/cone-pickingareafreeoffoodanddrink(waterinnon-breakablebottleso.k.)• Noanimalsintheharvestvicinity.• Provideawashstationwithpotablewaterandtoiletfacilitiesforallhelpers.Providesoap,
disposablepapertowels,andatrashreceptacle• Firstaidkitsshouldbeavailable.• Pestmanagementsystemsinplaceforharvestarea,dryingapparatus,andhopstorage.• Nosmoking,dipping,spitting,oreatinginharvestingandpackingareas.
Finally,GAPscanbeapartofyourtotalmarketingpackage.Providinginformationaboutyourgrowingpracticesandcropisagreatwaytogainbrewer/customerconfidence!Yourpacketofinformationmightcontainthefollowing:
• Completecontactinformationforyouandyourfarm• Growingfieldmapidentifyingfields(asittiesintoyourtracebackcodes)• CopyofGAPtrainingcertificateandanytrainingmaterials
• Copyofpesticideapplicator’slicense• USAHopGrowerNumberissuedbyHopGrowersofAmerica(donothavetobememberof
HopGrowersofAmerica;justhaveatleast0.25acresinproductionwithcommercialintent).• Watertestresults(ifwell/surfacewaterusedforirrigation)• Hopspercentmoistureandalpha/betaacids(VirginiaTechHopsAnalysisLab–HopsAcidPanel
–24hoursturn-around).Repeatingthepreviouscaveat:thisisinnowayacompletesetofguidelinesorsubstitutefortraining.We,yourVCEspecialistsandagents,areworkingtohelpyounegotiatethesenewstandardsandregulations.Wewelcomeyourquestionsandfeedbackaswedeveloppublications,trainingresources,andmore.Contact:[email protected](540)[email protected](804)[email protected](540)231-5655Moreresources
• Youmaybeinterestedintheonline“FSMAComplianceWizard”offeredatwww.registrarcorp.com-itwalksyouthroughafewgenericquestionsaboutyouroperation,thenproducesasummaryreportastoFSMAexemptionsandpossibleobligations(atabsolutelynochargeorcommitment).RegistrarCorpislocatedinHampton,VAandisathirdpartyorganizationthatassistsbusinesseswithFDAcompliance.
• VirginiaCooperativeExtension-Hopssite:http://www.ext.vt.edu/topics/agriculture/commercial-horticulture/hops/
• VirginiaCooperativeExtension–On-farmFoodSafetysite:http://www.ext.vt.edu/agriculture/commercial-horticulture/on-farm-food-safety.html
• VirginiaTechCultivarTrials/ResearchHopYard:https://www.facebook.com/HopsVT/• HopsAnalysisLab,VirginiaTech:http://www.hops.fst.vt.edu/• OldDominionHopsCooperative:http://www.olddominionhops.com/
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