United Fresh has established a dedicated web portal to serve as a resource for information on the Produce Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Harmonization Initiative. On the site, industry members will find updates on the progress of the GAPs Harmonization Initiative’s steering committee and technical working group, as well as learn more about the effort to improve food safety and quality assurance across the entire supply chain

Since the initiative's inception in mid-August of this year, a wide cross-section of produce growers, shippers, processors, distributors, foodservice operators, retailers and association representatives have come together to express their support for the effort and join the two committees.

At the September meeting, both buyers and suppliers of produce on the steering committee agreed that for the ultimate outcome to be successful, a harmonized GAP standard must be globally recognized and managed through a credible third-party auditing process, but also must be non-proprietary and available to all producers and others for use in self audits and for improving practices throughout the entire industry. In addition, the standard must clearly be based on the best science available and a risk-based approach that reflects U.S. government public health regulation and guidance.

Under direction established by the steering committee of produce business leaders, a broad technical working group was convened in Northern Virginia in November under the leadership of Suresh DeCosta, McDonald's Corporation, and Dr. David Gombas, senior vice president for food safety and technology of United Fresh Produce Association. Open to all participants across the industry willing to join in the effort to develop harmonized GAP standards, the technical working group is intended to be a broadly inclusive group of technical, QA, and food safety experts across the industry, ensuring representation of all points of view in its deliberations. The technical working group is focused on examining similarities and differences in all existing GAP standards in use, with a goal toward identifying specific areas of current alignment, and those areas requiring further work to get to a harmonized approach. Ultimately, the working group will develop a consensus-based harmonized GAP standard for proposal back to the steering committee for review. 

For more information about the Produce GAP Harmonization Initiative or to volunteer to serve on the technical working group, please contact Dr. Gombas at 202-303-3400 ext. 411.