Plan for harmonizing produce safety standards for good agricultural practices

摘要

Many leaders throughout the produce industry have increasingly recognized the cost and inefficiency of multiple standards and audits now being used to measure compliance with Good Agriculture Practices (GAPs). Neither produce suppliers nor retailers and foodservice companies are well served when duplicative standards and audits raise total supply chain costs without enhancement of overall food safety. In addition to general business leaders, the United Fresh Produce Association (United Fresh) Food Safety & Technology (FS&T) Council, consisting of food safety and quality assurance experts across the supply chain, has looked at a variety of GAP standards and audits in use and under development, and has concluded that there is sound scientific potential for harmonizing basic GAP standards to meet the needs of these many stakeholders.