Frequently Asked Questions

Farmers

Why do I have to do it?
You don’t have to do it.   As of right now (1/3/12), there are no rules compelling you to implement ANY food safety practices. Not every buyer wants you to do it, but if your buyer makes it a condition of sale, you can choose to find another buyer, or get compliant.

How often do I complete this process?
If you continue to sell to a buyer that requires GAP certification, and the buyer still chooses to require an audit and does not change the type of certification they want, then a typical audit would happen annually.  If you are part of a Group GAP, the frequency of an audit on a particular farm of the group could be less frequent.

Is one certification type good for everything?
There are a number of auditing firms that market their services to buyers as third party auditors.  They have similar requirements, but are not the same.  Further, crop specific food safety audits have been created for those crops that are classified by the Feds as potentially hazardous (ie. Leafy greens, tomatoes, and cantaloupe to name a few)   A buyer can choose to require any of these certifications as a condition of sale  by crop or by farm.  If a grower only has one buyer (and one crop) that requires food safety certification,  then one certification type IS good for everything.

If a grower chooses to sell to a buyer that does not require a food safety audit, then no certification is required.

If a grower sells to multiple buyers who choose to require different auditing firms’ food safety audits as a condition of sale, then a grower may have to go through multiple food safety audits to sell to all of these buyers.  If a grower sells multiple crops to the same buyer and they are potentially hazardous, then a grower may be required to go through multiple audits for the same buyer.

Do I ever have to have more than one type of certification?
If a grower sells to multiple buyers who choose to require different auditing firms’ food safety audits as a condition of sale, then a grower may have to go through multiple food safety audits to sell to all of these buyers.  If a grower sells to a wholesale buyer and schools, then a grower may need USDA GAP  Certification as well as another, different food safety audit.  If a grower sells multiple crops to the same buyer and they are potentially hazardous, then a grower may be required to go through multiple audits for the same buyer.

Are there other ways to show that I am practicing food safety than through these GAP audits?
The Safe Food*A*Syst that MDARD is putting together is a way to show that you are practicing food safety, but it may not be acceptable to your buyer.  Your buyer has the prerogative to reject any sale based on any criterion, including food safety.  Even if a grower is not getting food safety certified, it’s important to understand food safety in their operations, if for no other reason than to be able to answer a customer’s question, “What steps are you taking to ensure the safety of my food?”

How do I learn how to get GAP  audited?
The auditing companies offer classes to educate growers on the standards for specific food safety audits.  MIFFS offers classes on food safety, as does Michigan Land Use Institute, MACMA andMIFMA. Extension offers an extensive HACCP-based blueberry curriculum.  We also have the web-based Agrifood Safety Minute to help growers begin to adopt food safety practices on a piecemeal basis. Grand Rapids Community College, in conjunction with MSU, is working to develop an eight hour curriculum based on The Appalachian Sustainable Development model, due out sometime in 2012.

What does it cost to be GAP  audited?
Financial cost of the audit can fall between several hundred and two thousand dollars for each audit.  Implementation of individual practices may also cost the grower money, including purchase of supplies related to food safety and infrastructural changes to become more compliant.  Most consultants that help growers get ready for a GAP audit also charge.

How often do I have to go through the GAP audit?
If you continue to sell to a buyer that requires GAP certification, and the buyer still chooses to require an audit and does not change the type of certification they want, then a typical audit would happen annually.  If you are part of a Group GAP, the frequency of an audit on a particular farm of the group could be less frequent.

Can I choose which GAP agency inspects my farm?
If a particular agency can execute the type of audit that your buyer requires,  then, yes.   In most cases, audits are proprietary to a particular company, so a farmer must essentially go with what the buyer wants.

If I sell at my farm stand, do I have to be GAP certified?
No. But you can choose to become certified and include this in your marketing information about your farm.

Do farmers markets require their growers to be GAP certified?
It depends on the farmers market. Just as some farmers markets require   farmers to be organic or certified naturally grown, farmers markets may choose to require some form of food safety certification.

If one of my markets requests that I become GAP certified what can I do if I do not want to complete this process?
In some cases, the underwriters of some buyers are placing pressure on buyers making their requirement of food safety certification on the part of growers a condition of insurance for the buyer.  This makes negotiations with buyers potentially ineffective.   A grower always has the option to find another buyer.

Wholesalers/buyers

How do we decide if we should require our growers to be GAP certified?
This is a difficult decision no matter what is decided.  Questions to consider when making the decision are: Are your buyers asking for it?  Are your underwriters asking for it?  Are there financial or business ramifications to you in not having your growers Food Safety Certified? 

How do we choose which GAP  system is best for us and our customers?
Again this requires careful thought and consideration of a wholesaler’s position in the marketplace.  Talking to peers about their experiences with various food safety audits can be instructive. A wholesaler may wish to consider what food safety certifications are currently in place with the majority of its grower/suppliers.  

Are we responsible to help a farmer get GAP certified?
From a practical standpoint, it is up to a particular buyer or wholesaler to determine their level of engagement in growers becoming food safety certified.  A wholesaler may wish to both consider the number of growers that currently supply them that are food safety certified as well as their overall mission and vision for the company.

How can we help a farmer become GAP certified?
  Some buyers have hosted educational sessions that helped educate grower/suppliers.  Others have hired food safety directors to specifically work with grower/suppliers.  Still others have done nothing.  The corporation may wish to thoughtfully consider how to engage their grower/suppliers.  Education of the whole supply chain is a first step.  All parties need to understand the actual food safety practices that are being audited and have a sense of the relative risk reduction.    

Who can we talk to about what is GAP certification and how it improves our product?
MSU Extension, like many land grant universities is a non-partisan and unbiased arbiter of information on GAP  certification.  MIFFS and MACMA also are good sources for information.  All of these organizations are open to talking about food safety audits and their potential to improve the process of growing produce.   

How do we tell our customers that the food is GAP certified?
Much like organic certification, food safety certification is a process claim.  There is no guarantee of change in the product attributes between an apple picked from a GAP certified farm and an apple picked from a “conventional” farm.  The only thing that can be said is that someone verified that a process is in place to minimize the spread of foodborne illness pathogens in the growing operation.  A farm with a good record of food safety certification and exemplary food safety practices in place may still cause a major foodborne illness outbreak.

Consumers

What is GAP certification?
GAP Certification is an audit to check that certain food safety practices are in place on a particular farm.  These practices can include making sure that farmers are using drinkable water to wash the produce, that pickers and packers are washing their hands when they handle your produce and that ensuring that manure and your produce don’t mix.  

How do I know if the farm where my food comes from has completed GAP certification?
Talk to your produce buyer or the farmer you buy from to find out.  At this point, there’s no other way to tell.

Is my food safe if it is not GAP  certified?
No amount of food safety on the farm will protect you from contaminating the produce after it leaves the farm.  All a GAP certification does is verify the handling process until the produce leaves the farm.  It does not control for factors after the produce leaves the farm.  If a patron that did not wash their hands after visiting the restroom handles produce, it can increase the risk of sickness.  If produce falls on the ground and a shopper picks it up and places it back with other produce, it can increase the risk of sickness.  If produce that will be served raw is prepared on a cutting board that has recently had raw meat on it, it will increase the risk of sickness.  (That’s not a direct answer,  but I think it gets to the mootness of the question.)

Will my food cost more if it is GAP certified?
As of this writing, farmers are not being offered more money for produce that was grown on farms that have food safety certification. 

Where do I buy food that is GAP  certified?
At this point, there’s no way to tell where food is being sold from farms that are food safety certified.