Freshcare 

The Freshcare Food Safety Program was established in 2000 through the support of Horticulture Australia Ltd (HAL) and the commitment of Freshcare's peak industry owner groups.

Freshcare was originally developed as a stand-alone, HACCP based, on-farm food safety program for the fresh produce industry. Certification to the Freshcare Food Safety Code of Practice provides an independent (3rd party) verification that a recognised food safety program is followed by Freshcare Certified enterprises.

The Freshcare Food Safety Program was developed to provide benefits to both suppliers and customers by linking food safety on farm to the quality and food safety management programs of the other members of the fresh produce supply chain:

• Freshcare provides Growers and Grower-Packers with an industry and customer recognised food safety program that is credible, easy to manage, cost-effective, and suitable for all fresh produce lines.
• Freshcare offers Wholesalers, Packers and Processors an independently audited food safety program that can easily be incorporate into their approved supplier programs. Check out FreshcareOnline Customer Subscription options for greater management of your Freshcare suppliers certification details.

To ensure a full understanding of the Freshcare Food Safety Code of Practice and the requirements for its implementation on-farm, all participants in the Freshcare Program are required to complete a Freshcare approved training course.

Existing Freshcare members will be required to participate in "Transition Training" workshops to move from the 2nd Edition to the 3rd Edition Code of Practice.

Freshcare training workshops are approved courses under the FarmReady Reimbursement Program - you may be eligible for full funding. Please read our FarmReady page for more information.

SQF 

This system requires that you document how you run your farm, flagging where there is an issue in your operation for the production of Safe Quality Food. You can do this in groups or individually with the assistance of a registered SQF trainer.

A common example is use of chemicals, be they on your crop or on your animals. Label rates (unless exceptions are obtained) and withholding periods are essential to observe.

Talking with farmers who have already gone through the process, they say the hardest part is making sure you record the additional information, like batch numbers, that were not recorded before. Most comment that they were already keeping most records and complying anyway.

Annual audit is required to be carried out by an external third party.

As an SQF trainer, I offer system development with you through the preparation of the required manual either for individual farms (where everyone involved will be encouraged to attend so they understand what is going on) or in groups. If done in groups, there will still need to be a farm visit for individual issues identified and included. I plan to be able to complete the training and manual in one visit, if done for individual farms. If in groups, the manual will be completed at the end of the farm visit.

As we will be in the coach, I have my office on board, enabling me to print and prepare your manual. Any questions can be answered while everything is fresh in your mind. Phone support will be available as well.

There will be other options offered, so please contact us to enable you to make an informed decision.