To follow-up with our Farm Food Safety Checklist for Worker, Health and Hygiene, this week, we are focusing on packinghouse and storage area best practices when growing and harvesting produce covered under the FSMA Produce Rule. While this checklist does not guarantee compliance under FSMA, it is a great start to evaluating current packinghouse and storage area operations utilizing guidance from the Produce Rule and other Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
Access the Farm Food Safety Checklist for Packinghouse and Storage Areas HERE
If you’d like to download and print out the checklist, click here for a PDF version.
Tips for the Checklist
- Double-click the done column when you have addressed the focus area to check it off
- Double-click again to un-check the done column
- You can filter the checklist by clicking on a certain category in the box to the right
Tips for on-farm Packinghouse and Storage Facility Procedures
- Document and store all water tests
- Download the Agricultural Water for Production Testing Sample SOP from Cornell’s Extension Program
- Document and store all water monitoring logs
- Download this Sample Water Testing Log from Cornell’s Extension Program
- Document what type of sanitizer is used for dump tanks, wheelbarrows, flumes, equipment etc.
- Download this Cleaning and Sanitizing Surfaces, Tools and Equipment Sample SOP from Cornell’s Extension Program
- Document how often the storage areas are inspected
- Download this Produce Storage Area Inspection and Cleaning Log from Cornell’s Extension Program
- Document where employees eat, smoke and/or drink during breaks
- Document your jewelry and personal hygiene guidelines for employees
- Document pest exclusion methods
- Download this Pest Monitoring, Management and Corrective Actions Program Sample SOP from Cornell’s Extension Program.
- Keep a log of pest sightings, traps, inspection dates and catches
- Download this Pest/Rodent Control Log from Cornell’s Extension Program.
I hope this checklist is helpful for your farm food safety operations. Let me know if there are other checklists for farm food safety that you would find helpful, and they may end up on the blog!
If you are interested in reducing the time to manage your on-farm food safety practices, check out the CompWALK.farm platform – now accepting pilot program users.
