Hort growers’ safety program endorsed

The national on-farm food safety program for Canada’s tree and vine fruit growers has passed a government technical review process.

The Canadian Horticultural Council said Wednesday that the program it developed has been “officially endorsed” by a team of federal and provincial government experts. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency gave the program a letter of completion earlier this month, the council said.

The completion of the review “shows that our
program is technically sound and based on the best available science, and that
producers are proactively reducing the risk of contamination of fresh

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produce,” Heather Gale, the council’s food safety co-ordinator, said in a CHC release, describing the approvals as “great news” for tree and vine fruit producers putting the program in place on their farms.

The program includes a
series of crop-specific procedural manuals, based on an analysis system using the HACCP
(hazard analysis and critical control points) approach. The technical
documents involved are vetted by a government review team as part of the Canadian
On-Farm Food Safety Recognition Program, the council said.

Most CHC members are either growers or packers of over 120 horticulture crops including fruit, vegetables, flowers and ornamental plants.