July 6, 2015

Field Operations, Combined Harmonized Standards now in Spanish

Thanks to the hard work of a small group of volunteers, the “Field Operations and Harvesting” and the “Combined Harmonized Food Safety Standards” are now both available in Spanish.

The Harmonized Standards were created by a wide spectrum of fresh produce industry stakeholders by merging the requirements of over a dozen well-respected Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) food safety standards. The Harmonized Standards are freely available for use and have been adopted by more than 20 audit organizations, including USDA, GLOBALG.A.P, SQF and the audit organizations mentioned below. “The ‘Post-harvest Operations Harmonized Food Safety Standards’ became available in Spanish in late 2014,” said Dr. David Gombas, United Fresh’s senior vice president, food safety and technology and coordinator for the Produce GAPs Harmonization Initiative. “These two documents complete the set in time for the fall harvest season.”

United Fresh thanks the following individuals and their organizations for their skills, time and efforts in translating the standards:

  • Mario Velasco, Quality Certification Services
  • Steve Eguino, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
  • Georgina Felix, Fresh Produce Association of the Americas
  • Jose Almanza, Food Safety Consulting & Training Solutions, LLC

“Our thanks also to Darden Restaurants, who hosted the 2 day marathon effort at their Orlando headquarters,” said Gombas, “Without their hospitality and support, this project would have been far more difficult.”

The Spanish versions are now available at, www.unitedfresh.org/food-safety/gap-harmonization-initiative.  Both documents will be considered draft and open for comment and translational corrections until Aug. 1, after which they will be considered final.

For questions or additional information on the documents, contact Dr. David Gombas, Sr. Vice President, Food Safety and Technology at [email protected] or 202-303-3411.





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