Advantage Good Agricultural Practices Manual

10.2 Written Practices

Workers can inadvertently create a food safety hazard if they do not follow written practices.

This Good Agricultural Practice applies to:

All farms.

What needs to be done

Provide written practices for tasks that impact food safety.

How to do it

Why write practices?

To identify duties and tasks that workers are to perform

To help maintain quality, consistency and safety of food products

    • To reduce the likelihood of mistakes that can cause delays, cost money or make people ill
    • To ensure that all regulations that may apply are followed

To provide effective training tools for new workers or refresher training for current workers

To serve as reference material in the case of an audit

    • To provide a snapshot of how you are meeting food safety? requirements in your operation

What should written practices look like?

Use a template for written practices so that all practices have a similar look and include all the required information. A written practice should include the following:

Written practice for:

Name of the practice

Who needs to do it:
Name of the worker or supervisor (if appropriate); could be "all workers"
How often it should be done:
When the practice should be carried out
Why are you doing it:
Food safety or regulatory requirements and consequences of not following the practice
Tools and equipment used (if applicable)
Any tools included in the practice (e.g. scales, brushes, pH meter, designated front loader, etc.)
Step-by-step instructions:

Detailed steps for workers to follow, including:

  • warnings or cautions
  • special operating instructions for machinery
  • a description of the system operation or process
  • definitions of any terms or parts of equipment
  • a description of what action to take if something goes wrong or an alternate approach is needed (e.g. If this does not happen...")
What records need to be filled out:
The documents that provide proof that you are doing what you say you are doing; they must be initialled and dated.

Last update on: ___________________ By: ____________________


Tips for writing effective practices
  • Be concise and to the point
  • Be practical and test the practices on the machinery being used or the area of production involved
  • Use pictures or graphics where possible to clearly demonstrate tasks
  • Record the date on every practice to show how current it is
  • Identify the author of the practice
Posting practices

Where possible, post your written practices in a clearly visible location to:

  • Allow new workers to refer to the practices easily
  • Enable co-workers to coach each other on the proper way to perform a task
  • Highlight regulatory requirements for food safety (e.g. proper disposal of farm wastes, deadstock)
Reviewing and updating

Practices should be reviewed periodically and updated when:

  • New duties or food safety requirements are implemented
  • Changes need to be made to a process or task
  • Corrective action needs to take place in the event of a food safety recall
Contingency plan

Providing workers with special instructions for when things go wrong can be part of a written practice or separate, and could include:

  • A list of emergency contacts
  • Actions to take immediately
  • Additional records that need to be completed
Sample written practices:

As well as providing a blank template, we have included some examples of written practices for you to use as guides. They can be used as is or modified to suit the needs of your own farm. The examples included are for the following good agricultural practices:

Sample A - Worker policy
Sample B - Hand washing
Sample D - Water treatment
Sample E - Cleaning and sanitizing
Sample F - Animal health product use

Table 1   Sample A: Worker Policy For Don's Orchards

Written practice for:

Worker policy

Who needs to do it:

Each worker

How often it should be done:

At time of hire, with refresher training at regular intervals

Why you are doing it:

To reduce the risk of contamination to apples from workers

Tools and equipment used

(if applicable):

None

 

Step-by-step instructions:
  1. No workers will bring food, medication or glass containers into the food handling area.
  2. Workers will refrain from chewing gum, using tobacco products or spitting in or around the food handling area.
  3. Workers will not wear jewelry of any kind including necklaces, watches, brooches or rings.  Nail polish and false fingernails are also not allowed.
  4. All workers will wash their hands before entering the food production, handling and storage areas, after lunch and breaks, and after any action that may contaminate their hands.
  5. All workers will wear a suitable clean uniform at all times in the food handling area.  All uniforms and footwear will be properly and cleanly stored when not in use.
  6. Workers with open cuts and wounds will not work in the food production or handling areas without a secure watertight bandage covering the wound.  All injuries occurring during work will be promptly reported.
  7. Workers known to be suffering from a disease transmissible through food will not enter any food production areas or handle food or packaging.

What records need

to be filled out:

None

Last Updated on: January 15, 2008                              By:Farmer Don


Table 2   Sample B: Hand Washing Practice For A Strawberry Farm

Written practice for:

Hand washing

Who needs to do it:

All pickers

How often it should be done:
  • Before entering the field to pick
  • Before packing strawberries or handling packaging materials
  • Following breaks or use of toilet facilities
  • When hands become dirty or anytime you have handled something that could possibly be contaminated
    (e.g. handling garbage, coughing and sneezing)

Why you are doing it:

to prevent/minimize contamination

Tools and equipment used

(if applicable):
  • Potable water
  • Soap
  • Nail brush
  • Clean towels (single use)
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Hand washing posters

Step-by-step instructions:
  1. Wet hands with potable water and apply soap.
  2. Scrub the surface of the hands and wrists, in between fingers and, using a nail brush, under nails for a total of 15-20 second (long enough to sing “Happy Birthday” twice.
  3. Rinse hands with potable water and dry them with a clean tower.
  4. When access to water is not available, use hand sanitizer.

What records need

to be filled out:

None

 Last Updated on: January 15, 2008                              By:Farmer Don


Table 3    Sample D: Monitoring Practice For Dump Tank Water

Written practice for:

Maintaining and monitoring dump tank water for apples coming out of cold storage

Who needs to do it:

Workers responsible for task

How often it should be done:

Initially before using the dump tank water and several times during the day

Why you are doing it:

To ensure chlorine levels are sufficient to maintain water quality

Tools and equipment used

(if applicable):
  • 12% sodium hypochlorit
  • pH test strip
  • Free chlorine test strips

Step-by-step instructions:
  1. Fill dump tank with water.
  2. Add 1 L sodium hypochlorite for 1,000 L of water (to create 120 ppm solution) and mix well.
  3. Test for free chlorine:
    • Initially when you first make up the solution you will have to dilute the sample due to limitations on the free chlorine test strip.  Remove 1 mL of chlorinated water and dilute with 9mL distilled water.  (Note: a 1:100 dilution may be necessary for the initial testing.)
    • Using dry hands, dip the chlorine test strip into the water.  Compare it to the colour chart and record the free chlorine level.
  1. Test for pH:
    • Dip a new pH test strip for 1-2 seconds in the dump tank water and then compare it to the colour chart.  Record the pH.  It should be between 6.0 and 7.5.)  If the pH is too high, add acid.

 Throughout the day:

  1. Use dump tank water that is slightly warmer than the cold storage temperature for the apples.
  2. Test and record the level of free chlorine halfway through the day OR when the product is unusually dirty.
  3. Add sodium hypochlorite as required to maintain a level of at least 25 ppm free chlorine.

What records need

to be filled out:

Water treatment record

 Last Updated on: January 15, 2008                              By:Farmer Don

 

Table 4   Sample E:  Cleaning Practice For Beef Cattle Injection Guns

Written practice for:

Cleaning injection gun

Who needs to do it:

Last worker using it

How often it should be done:

When treatments for the day are complete or when switching animal health products

Why you are doing it:
  • To ensure no cross-contamination of animal health products
  • To ensure products such as vaccines are not rendered ineffective by any cleaning chemical residues
  • To ensure the gun functions properly

Tools and equipment used

(if applicable):

Mild soap solution

Step-by-step instructions:

For non-oil-based products:

  1. Give the gun a complete and thorough rinsing with warm water.  This will suffice in most cases.
  2. Allow the gun to air dry in a clean location.

 

For oil-based products:

  1. After using an oil-based anti-microbial, use a mild soap solution to remove the residue.
  2. Thoroughly rinse the gun with clean warm water to remove all soap residues.
  3. Allow the gun to air dry in a clean location. 


What records need

to be filled out:

None

 Last Updated on: January 15, 2008                              By:Farmer Don

 

Table 5   Sample F:  Animal Health Product Use Practice For Injecting Pigs

Written practice for:

Injecting pigs

 

Who needs to do it:

Workers who inject pigs

How often it should be done:

Every injection

Why you are doing it:

To prevent broken needles, use of dirty needles and misuse of animal health products

Tools and equipment used

(if applicable):
  • Syringes
  • Detectable needles
  • 70% alcohol
  • Sorting boards or snares

Step-by-step instructions:

Injection procedure:

  1. Use clean needles. Choose the correct size based on the type of injection and the animal's weight:
    a) Intramuscular injections: Use 1" x 18-20 gauge needles for pigs up to 11 kg (25 lbs); 1" or 1½" x 16-18 gauge needles for larger pigs.
    b) Subcutaneous injection: Use ½-¾" x 18-20 gauge needles for pigs less than 4.5 kg (10 lbs); ¾-1" x 16-18 gauge needles for pigs over 4.5 kg. (10 lbs).
  2. Follow the instructions on the label of the medication being injected.
  3. Restrain pigs prior to and during injection using your hands, a sorting board or a snare, depending on the size of the animals.
  4. Apply alcohol to disinfect the injection sited.
  5. Inject medication in the neck in the area behind the ear and in front of the shoulder.
  6. After each injection, inspect the needle for damage and change it if it is bent, dull or contaminated with manure, or at least after injection of every litter or every ten pigs.
  7. Put the used needles and syringes in a hard plastic container.

Warning or Caution:
Never let broken needles remain in pigs without their being permanently identified, documented and reported to the next owner.


 

What records need

to be filled out:

Animal Health Product Use Record

  Last Updated on: January 15, 2008                              By: Farmer Don

 


For more information:
Toll Free: 1-877-424-1300
Local: (519) 826-4047
E-mail: ag.info.omafra@ontario.ca
Author: OMAFRA Staff
Creation Date: 27 May 2009
Last Reviewed: 27 May 2009