Food Safety

• Overview
• What is HACCP?
• GMP Guidebook
• FSI Funding
• Who to Contact
• Hungry for More

Overview

The eating habits of Canadians have undergone a transformation during the past decade. As the health benefits of minimally processed fruits and vegetables have become more widely known and accepted, the variety and quantity of these products consumed has increased dramatically.

All food producers and processors have an obligation to produce food that is both safe and of high quality. More and more retailers are also requiring that producers and processors that producers prove that they are complying with recognized food safety standards.

OMAFRA’s Good Manufacturing Practices Guidebook for Minimally Processed Fruits and Vegetables is a HACCP-based program that can help you implement a food safety system that meets your food safety and market requirements.

What is HACCP?

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is an internationally recognized food safety system that helps you prevent problems in food production, processing and handling.

HACCP Advantage is a program based on HACCP principles that was developed by OMAFRA as a practical, cost-effective food safety management system for small and medium-sized food processors.

A more complete description of the HACCP Advantage series of programs is available here.

GMP Guidebook

Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) are common sense procedures for creating the conditions required to prevent, minimize or control microbial, chemical and physical contamination in a food production environment.

GMPs are the foundation of any effective food safety program and contain four basic elements, each based on the principle of risk reduction through prevention. The elements are:

• Control programs – the written programs that describe how you are going to control food safety hazards;
• Training – ensure that your employees have the training they need to implement and maintain the control programs; 
• Operational controls - ensure that the written programs are implemented effectively by properly trained personnel; and 
• Environmental controls – ensure that the design and construction of your processing facility create a safe food processing environment.  

OMAFRA has developed the Good Manufacturing Practices Guidebook for the minimally processed fruit and vegetables sector. It consolidates information from a wide range of sources into one document, providing a single reference for those who wish to implement a food safety program.

The Guidebook is consistent with the standards and procedures laid out in the HACCP Advantage program but is geared specifically towards the fruit and vegetable processors. Implementation of the GMP program will make it easier for small and medium-sized food processors to meet their food safety and market requirements.

A separate Sanitation Operational Control program is available for those who wish to investigate what is required to implement the Good Manufacturing Practices Guidelines.

FSI Funding

The Food Safety Initiative (FSI) program can help you defray some of the costs for implementing a food safety management system. Administered by OMAFRA, this federally funded program will contribute 90 percent of eligible costs, to a maximum of $15,000 for implementation of GMPs or $20,000 for implementation of GMPs and one HACCP plan. Plants are eligible for an additional $3,000 per HACCP plan, to a maximum of three additional plans.

Who to Contact

The Risk Management Specialist for the Fruit and Vegetables sector is Peter VanWeerden. He can be reached at:

E-mail:
peter.vanweerden@omafra.gov.on.ca

Telephone: 519.826.4377, or toll free in Canada: 888.466.2372 ext. 6-4377

For general information on OMAFRA and the HACCP Advantage series of programs, contact:

HACCP.Advantage@omafra.gov.on.ca
Telephone: 1-888-466-2372 ext. 6-4752

For information on the certification process, contact the Canadian General Services Board (CGSB). 

Hungry for More

These fact sheets provide practical information on key food safety concepts.

• Adopting a Food Safety Strategy 
• Do You Need Outside Help? Selecting a Food Safety Advisor Consultant 
• Employee Training 
• Sanitation Programs 
• Recall Procedures 
• Convenience, Nutritional Value and Safety of Fresh-Cut

For guidance on safe manufacturing you can also consult

• CFIA’s Code of Practice for Minimally Processed Ready-to-Eat Vegetables.
• U.S. Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards of Fresh-cut Fruits and Vegetables

Details are also available for the food safety risk assessment process for minimally processed vegetables and minimally processed fruit.

And finally, though not all are targeted to the fresh-cut industry, there is much useful information to be found at OMAFRA’s Other HACCP Links page.