By Shari Plimpton, Food Safety Educator - Ohio Specialty Crop Food Safety Initiative
The other day I paid a visit to a farm to work with a couple of growers on their Food Safety Program. These two gentlemen had attended the OFVGFS workshop and were indeed aware of the latest food safety information offered by the USDA, FSIS, FDA, CFSAN, CDC, National GAPs Program, OSCFS initiative, MAAHS, CIFT/EISC, and OSU’s ABE Center. These men had listened carefully as we discussed GAPs, GHPs, SOPs, and SSOPs, as well as, GMPs, CFRs, HACCP, pH, ORP, UV and the ABC’s. In the daily course of running their operation, they also were aware of labor, health and safety requirements from the FD&C Act, NRCS, CREES, U.S. EPA, and OSHA. Sure, they were informed and making a voluntary effort to bring their operation in line with buyer expectations. They were preparing for a third party audit. They just couldn’t understand what the heck I was talking about.
In my role as a Food Safety Educator, I focus on GAPs, GHPs, GMPs, SOPs, SSOP’s, CFRs, QA, QC and HAACP daily, so it becomes a habit for me to throw these letters around as if they were words used in everyday conversations. I am consistently aware of the time limits all of us face as we struggle to make a living in this world, so I tend to err on the side of speaking in shorthand to speed things along. Unfortunately, people start to feel confused and overwhelmed, silently wondering why I’m showering them with bowls of alphabet soup.
And yet, no one likes to waste time, least of all growers; so I thought it might be helpful if I made a list of these acronyms along with their definitions. Many of these acronyms (i.e. GMPs and HACCP) apply only if you are processing fruit and/or vegetables. A lot of them you already know, yet there may be a few that slipped by too quickly to remember, so here they are:
ABCs – You know… the alphabet song! For those who haven’t heard, this is what you want to teach your workers to sing (silently is ok) while they wash hands to assure that they have scrubbed for twenty seconds and effectively removed microorganisms.
ABE Center – Agriculture Business Enhancement Center. Where you will find Mary Donnell, the Ohio Collaborator for the Good Agricultural Practices Project and Education Coordinator for the Ohio Specialty Crop Food Safety Initiative.
CDC – Center for Disease Control. People who work to track and overcome diseases. If we do our part, maybe we can here a little less from them.
CFRs – Code of Federal Regulations. These are the regulations that apply to processed foods.
CIFT – Center for Innovative Food Technology. Where I, a Food Safety Educator, work.
CFSAN – Center for Food Safety and Nutrition. A division of the FDA.
CREES – Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Services.
FDA – Food and Drug Administration. The agency that is charged with implementing the FD&C Act.
FD&C Act – Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. The law from which certain food regulations have been developed.
FSIS – Food Safety Inspection Service. As most know this is part of USDA.
GAPs – Good Agricultural Practices. Recommended (not regulated) agricultural practices developed to help growers maintain a safe operation.
GHPs – Good Handling Practices. Recommended (not regulated) handling practices developed to maintain safety and sanitation of fruit and vegetables during storage and transportation.
GMPs – Good Manufacturing Practices. A set of regulations that define the practices a manufacturer of food products must follow.
HACCP – Hazard Analysis and Crititcal Control Points. A program used by food processors to detect and control potential hazards in food manufacturing.
MAAHS – Mid American Ag and Hort Services. Where you can leave a message for John Wargowsky to indicate interest in the Ohio Specialty Crop Food Safety Initiative and for assistance on labor issues.
NRCS – Natural Resources Conservation Service (Used to be SCS – Soil Conservation Service).
OFVGFS – Ohio Fruit and Vegetable Growers Food Safety Workshop. A program some of you attended back in March to learn all about this stuff.
ORP – Oxygen Reduction Potential. A measurement that indicates whether a water sanitation method (i.e. copper ionization) is working properly.
OSHA – Occupational Safety and Health Act.
OSCFS – Ohio Specialty Crop Food Safety Initiative. The program that is providing us with the resources to teach about GAPs, and GHPs, as well as, help growers prepare Food Safety Programs.
OSU – You’re breaking my heart! Certainly you know TBDTITL!
pH – pH. It’s a measurement of how much free acid is present in food or water.
QA – Quality Assurance. The way you make sure you're selling at a certain quality level.
QI – Quality Improvement. What we all are striving for; some of us simply in life.
SOPs – Standard Operating Procedures. A step by step description of how you do things.
SSOPs –Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures. A step by step description of how you clean things.
UV – Ultra Violet. A type of light that can be used for water treatment amongst other things.
U.S. EPA – United States Environmental Protection Agency. The people who set the standards for water quality.
The Ohio Specialty Crop Food Safety Initiative is financed in part or totally through a grant from the Ohio Department of Agriculture, the State of Ohio and the United States Department of Agriculture under the provisions of the Specialty Crop Grant.
For more information on the Ohio Specialty Crop Food Safety Initiative, contact John Wargowsky, (614) 246-8286 or jwargows@ofbf.org, or Mary Donnell, (419) 354-6916 or donnell.8@osu.edu.