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Food Safety
Safety First ~ Food safety is vital to everyone associated with Gourmet Trading Company, from farm managers to the ultimate consumer. All of our suppliers are involved in a rigorous third-party audit system, using licensed independent labs operating under HACCP and GAP* standards. These audits ensure that all our products, no matter their origin, meet or exceed the required safety regulations. Please find the links below as further sources of food saftey information.
http://www.fightbac.org/
information about food safety for consumers.
http://www.pma.com/
The Produce Marketing Association has a lot of information about current food safety issues.
http://www.primuslabs.com/
3rd party audit company that audits our produce.
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/home.xml
US customs and border patrol.
http://www.novazone.com/
information about our hydro cooler technology that makes the asparagus safer
*Good Agricultural Practices
Principle 1. Prevention of microbial contamination of fresh produce is favored over reliance on corrective actions once contamination has occurred.
Principle 2. To minimize microbial food safety hazards in fresh produce, growers or packers should use good agricultural practices in those areas over which they have some degree of control while not increasing other risks to the food supply or the environment.
Principle 3. Anything that comes in contact with fresh produce has the potential of contaminating it. For most foodborne pathogens associated with produce, the major source of contamination is associated with human or animal feces.
Principle 4. Whenever water comes in contact with produce, its source and quality dictate the potential for contamination. Good agricultural and manufacturing practices must be considered to minimize the risk of contamination from water used for agricultural and processing purposes.
Principle 5. Practices using manure or municipal biosolids should be closely managed to minimize the potential for contamination.
Principle 6. Worker hygiene and sanitation practices along the production cycle play a critical role in minimizing the potential for microbial contamination of fresh produce.
Principle 7. It is important to understand and follow all local, State and Federal government regulations relative to established agricultural practices.
Principle 8. Establish a system for accountability at all levels of your agricultural environment (farm, packing facility, distribution center and transport operation). A successful food safety program should include provisions for qualified personnel and effective monitoring and maintenance to ensure that all elements of the program are functioning correctly and to help track produce back through the distribution channels to the producer.
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