On the Farm: Opportunities in CanadaGAP

 

Building on the success of our online CanadaGAP learning series, we recently hosted two in-person events at Shuswap Organics and KPU Farm!

Each location offered participants a unique opportunity to explore CanadaGAP certification from different perspectives:

Shuswap Organics

Shuswap Organics, located near Grindrod, is a recently certified CanadaGAP operator, with a focus on the production, storage, and packing of carrots and beets. Attendees had the opportunity to see the farm infrastructure, ask questions about the process, and discuss Shuswap Organics’ non-conformances (NCs) from their certification audit and the corrective actions that were taken to remedy them.

The overlap between the On-Farm Food Safety audit process and the organic requirements and audit process were also discussed, along with Shuswap Organics’ records and records-keeping process.

 

KPU Farm

KPU Farm, a mixed vegetable production and teaching farm at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Richmond, is interested in future CanadaGAP certification for chard and kale (with their sights set on cucumbers and garlic for potential future production). Here, participants took a walk around the farm, using the audit checklist to guide the conversation. The walk included the major infrastructure, chemical and fertilizer storage areas, packaging storage, growing area, and washing/packing area.

The auditor identified and discussed a number of NCs with the group, including why the issues were flagged as NCs according to the CanadaGAP standard and potential ways to remedy the issues. A mock exit report was then generated for the farm, which can be used as a guideline for the farm’s certification and audit preparation.

 

Key takeaways

In both events, attendees had the opportunity to dig deep into CanadaGAP certification and the audit process, gaining knowledge on:

• Practical application and use of the CanadaGAP program manual
• Requirements of CanadaGAP program forms and how to implement them
• Audit preparation
• Examples of forms, traceability systems and signage used for the CanadaGAP standard
• Audit behaviours and norms
• Best practices for on-farm food safety and practical applications of the standard
• Overview of CanadaGAP handwashing options for different farms
• Extension of the mock audit observations to a discussion of the certification of additional crops (including potatoes, garlic, tree fruits)

We hope these sessions helped everyone develop a better understanding of the CanadaGAP audit process, and that it will help open up new market opportunities for CanadaGAP certified produce! Thank you to our event hosts, our speakers (including Discovery Organics), and other volunteers, and to the participants for their engagement!

 

Want to learn more?

Visit the CanadaGAP website, or check out the Organic BC podcast or blog to follow Shuswap Organics’ journey to becoming GAP certified.

 

Funding for the Knowledge and Technology Transfer program is provided by the governments of Canada and British Columbia through the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.