Food safety

The British Columbia Strawberry Growers Association, Raspberry Industry Development Council and BC Blueberry Council, have taken a proactive role in working with the industry to continue to provide our customers with high quality and safe berries.

BC berry growers are using Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) on their farms. The key areas of focus for growers include:

• Water Quality
• Adjacent Land Use
• Good Picking Practices
• Chemical Application
• Good Sanitation Practices
• Manure Use

 

The tools for growers to assist in the GAP program include

 

Fact Sheets

• GAP – English, Punjabi
• Adjacent Land Use – English, Punjabi
• Water Quality – English, Punjabi

 

Worker Training Materials

• Hand Wash Poster – English with Punjabi, English withSpanish
• Picker Leaflet – A Picker’s Guide to Safe High Quality Berries – English with Punjabi, English with Spanish
• GAP Poster

 

Checklists

• Pre-Harvest / Pre-Season Checklist
• Harvest / In-Season Checklist

 

Record Keeping Forms:

• Chemical Application Record Form
• Harvest Record Form
• Manure Application Form

 

Additional Links

• Primus Labs
  • Primus Farm/Ranch Self Audit
  • Primus Packinghouse Self Audit
• Eurepgap
  • Eurepgap Compliance Document
  • Eurepgap Protocol for Fresh Fruits & Vegetables
• Canadian Horticultural Council
• US FDA Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition
• Guide to Minimize Microbial Food Safety Hazards of Fresh-cut Fruits & Vegetables
• AgSafeBC – COVID-19 Resources

 

The BC Berry Growers Good Agricultural Practices and On Farm Food Safety Program was funded in part by the Investment Agriculture Foundation of B.C. through the Agri-Food Futures Fund, Food Quality and Safety Initiative, a joint venture between Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the B.C. Ministry of Agriculture and Lands.