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Guidelines for On-farm Food Safety for Fresh Produce 2004
Considerable confusion and uncertainty exists throughout the horticulture industry with regard to some of the technical aspects of on-farm food safety. This is exacerbated by the number of food safety/QA standards and audit checklists that growers of fresh produce currently face.
To address these issues a DAFF-chaired Working Group on Food Safety and Quality System’s Equivalence was established in 2000 by the former Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. This joint government-industry working group focused on ways to reduce the problems associated with multiple food safety and quality systems and audits. One of the key issues identified by the Working Group, was the need for greater consistency in the way these systems are implemented and audited throughout the horticulture industry.
In 2001, to help overcome the resulting confusion and achieve greater consistency in on-farm food safety programs, the group published the 'Guidelines for On-Farm Food Safety for Fresh Produce'.
The Guidelines quickly became a valuable resource for horticulture producers implementing on-farm food safety programs. Over the past three years it has also been widely accepted by horticulture training providers/facilitators, scheme owners and major Australian retailers.
In the three years since its release, the available information on the technical aspects of on-farm food safety has increased. To keep the Guidelines publication relevant and current, DAFF and Horticulture Australia Limited collaborated to convene a panel of experts to undertake a review and update the Guidelines.
The result is the revised edition, 'Guidelines for On-Farm Food Safety for Fresh Produce – Second Edition'.
The revised edition builds on the success of the first edition of the Guidelines by providing horticulture producers implementing on-farm food safety programs with the most recent scientific information. The most noticeable changes have been the update of information in Assessing the Risk of Contamination and Testing Information (including soil testing) chapters.
The second edition of the guidelines has been developed with the support of the National Food Industry Strategy Food Safety and Quality Systems Initiative.
'Guidelines for On-Farm Food Safety for Fresh Produce – Second Edition' 
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