Ag receivers group prepares food safety plan

The North American Perishable Agricultural Receivers Association (NAPAR) has, in conjunction with The Acheson Group, prepared a Food Safety Plan Builder and Template to assist its members in complying with the proposed Hazard Analysis and Preventive Controls rule mandated by the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).

“Most of NAPAR’s members are small, family- owned, multi-generation produce receivers and wholesalers and for many of them, preparing and implementing a written food safety plan will be very challenging. The Food Safety Plan Builder is meant to be a step-by-step aide in preparing the rule’s required plan. The template consists of a series of work sheets for each of the steps,” said John Motley, NAPAR president.

The Plan Builder and the Template were prepared by Jennifer McEntire, David Acheson and the staff of the Acheson Group. McEntire has conducted seminars and webinars for NAPAR members to walk them thought the documents and their likely responsibilities. The first seminar was held at the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market on Sept. 18 with almost 20 companies participating. Future seminars and webinars are planned.

“As we spoke to members about food safety and the complexities of FDA’s proposed rules to implement FSMA, it became obvious that some companies were well prepared for the compliance challenge and others were not,” Motley said. “We wanted to make sure that we used the association’s resources to help all of them meet their obligations under the law and strengthen their commitment to food safety.”

John Vena of John Vena Produce of Philadelphia, who attended the seminar at the Philadelphia Wholesale Produce Market, called the Food Safety Plan Builder and Template a “powerful tool that wholesalers will find extremely valuable.” 

Produce wholesalers and receivers who do not belong to NAPAR can obtain information on using the Food Safety Plan Builder by contacting Motley at (202) 360 4949.