Council anticipates plenty of uptake on new on-farm food safety certification

Thursday, August 7, 2008

by SUSAN MANN

“Some retailers in the U.S. are getting stricter about their suppliers,” she says, adding they’re asking farmers to demonstrate they’re following food safety programs.

So far one Canadian food processor, McCain Food Limited, has requested its potato growers complete the certification this year, available starting Sept. 1. There aren’t any farmers in Ontario growing for McCain.

But Gale believes it’s likely other buyers will soon require farmers to have their on-farm food safety procedures certified. The council’s national food safety program and certification are voluntary for all growers. It’s only mandatory if a buyer requires it.

“The whole reason that we started working on this program was to respond to pressure from the marketplace,” Gale says.

The CHC’s on-farm food safety standards have been available for farmers for the past five years. The standards are contained in eight manuals for different crop groupings. They outline procedures farmers should follow on their farms to prevent product contamination.

“What we’re launching Sept. 1 is a program where we will verify how well they’re following the standards,” Gale notes.

The verification is being done by an international certification company, QMI-SAI Global. It’s their auditors plus auditors recruited in partnership with the CHC who have been trained in the council’s program and who will be going out to farms.

To become certified, farmers can get a CHC application form from the council’s web site at – www.hortcouncil.ca. The forms are available by clicking on the ‘food safety’ page. Forms can also be mailed or faxed to farmers if they call the council at 1-613-226-4880, extension 215.

The certification fee has three parts. There’s an annual enrolment fee that’s based on which certification option is chosen. It ranges from $250 to $500. The second part of the fee is the actual audit cost, which is $420 for a half-day. If more time is required the farmer pays an extra $105 per hour.

“That will be determined in advance,” Gale explains. “The auditor doesn’t just show up and take as long as he needs.”

The third part of the fee is the auditor’s travel expenses, which varies depending on where the farm is located and is based on a per-kilometre charge.

An average annual cost over four years for the audit would be about $665. That’s based on the option of the on-farm audit being done once every four years and a declaration and self-assessment checklist being done by the farmer in each of the other three years. Those documents have to be submitted to the certification body for review.

If a full-day audit is needed, the average annual cost over four years is $770.

Some of the significant variables in the fee are where a farm is located and how long the audit takes. One factor that influences the duration of the audit is how well prepared the farmer is with paperwork completed and records in order, Gale notes.

Are Ontario farmers likely going to complete the certification?  Simcoe-area fruit and vegetable grower Murray Porteous believes it will largely depend on what customer requirements are. But he expects there will be a “fair bit of uptake.”

“Food safety is obviously something that’s pretty big on consumer’s minds and retailer’s minds,” he says. “As farmers you want to do your best to provide a safe crop.” BF