Food Safety Hot off the press!!

[Joe Bifano]

I have been working on a Food Safety Manual for the Aquaponic growing of lettuce for our farm and was working with The USDA office here in Colorado. I just got off the phone with the person I was working with and they just received a memo that came from the main office that they can't do a GAP/GHP food safety audit anymore until something changes.  He did not give me a reason why.

Now we have to look at another auditing company. If anyone knows of a place that will do Aquaponics please let us all know.

[Vlad Jovanovic]

Good luck... I have not kept up with that crap lately, but if I recall...you may have to find an auditor willing to side step the protocols as they are currently written (not likely to happen). Something like (in shorthand)...

Fish=Livestock and Fish Effluent=Manure...never mind that fish are cold blooded so not much of the regulations governing the use of warm blooded animal manure wouldn't really apply...Your media bed would probably be an automatic fail on the auditors little retarded check-box sheet of paper...

You may want to see if this is actually the case still...

Doesn't Sylvia live in your state? Maybe she can tell you what's what, or if there exist auditors who would try to work with an AP outfit...

At any rate...see if "Food Safety Guy"...http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/profile/FoodSafetyGuy

or someone involved with the Aquaponics Association is willing to enlighten you in some more detail in regards to GAP/GHP...I sincerely hope getting some of these changes made in the regulations that govern this type of food production, is one of the things the AA is working on...

[Joe Bifano]

Hi Vlad  I understand what you are saying but I thought that what you are saying about Fish=Livestock and Fish Effluent=Manure was all about Organic Certification with the NOP and that was not the issue with food safety. I will try to talk to Food Safety Guy and also have been looking into a few other third party companies for the Cert. I have a great opportunity to grow some products for a good company but they need the Food Safety cert before I can. If I can't get it I will continue with my Aquaponics for myself but probably start on Hydroponics for them until this comes around for us.

[Pices]

These certifications are also a concern of mine and I expect that in the near future I will be traveling the path you are on. Please keep us posted on the progress of your quest!

[Joseph zamora]

Have you tried the agriculture office? Here in nc after a lot of looking I found out we have the nc agriculture aquaculture division and I sent in for a free permit to sell fish and produce. They are very helpful in making sure that aquaponic farmers are helped out.

[Joe Bifano]

I have finally worked it out getting my GAP certification with the USDA office here in Denver.  It is now being done by a case by case basis and they just said yes they will do it.