Food safety

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Food safety

• A practical approach at farm level

Tony Pettit. Kildalton College, Ireland
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Teagasc

• Irish Agriculture Food Development Authority
• Research
• Farm advice
• Training

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Personal Experience

• Farm Adviser
• Beef Specialist
• Food Assurance Programme Leader
• Study of Irish farmer adviser attitudes

Kildalton College
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Teagasc Food Assurance Programme

• Key objectives
• Increase awareness (farmers, advisers)
• Develop deliver training modules
• Work with industry state agencies

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Food safety at farm level

• Farmers are food producers
• Key link in food chain
• Farm food safety is important
• Most produce safe food

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3 components of food safety

• Rules standards
• Independent controls checks
• Proactive food safety systems

Increasing food safety requirements at farm level
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What is the challenge?

• Farmers to understand apply food
• safety principles
• consciously
• proactively
• systematically

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How can we help farmers?

• 1. Recognize concerns
• 2. Be realistic
• 3. Be clear
• 4. Make the rules practical
• 5. Can we do more?

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Recognise farmer concerns
Complex attitudes to food safety

• Important issue
• Farmer role
• Market angle
• Personal values

• Threat?
• Credibility?
• Top down?
• Negative press?

• (imports, supermarkets)

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Are farmer attitudes important?

• Food safety politicized
• Producers may be angry, defensive

Food safety can be a hard sell
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2. Be realistic on farmer capabilities

• EU farming profile
• Small holdings
• Family labour
• Part time farmers
• Age education

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Farmer has many roles

• Stock person
• Business manager
• Administrator
• Environmental manager
• Quality controller
• Family duties/ part time

It is possible to regulate beyond capabilities
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Match expectations to system
Extensive beef system
Average size dairy farm
Intensive pig system
Intensive Horticulture
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3. Be clear on why and how

• Clear messages are essential
• Is there a strong penalty/reward?
• Are consequences visible or remote?
• Are the controls practical/achievable

Farm food safety must be focused meaningful
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4.Make the rules practical

• Legislation far too complex
• Need farm codes of practice
• Good farm assurance schemes help

Rules controls are not the sole answer
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5. Can we do more to help farmers?
Important areas

• EU Farm policy
• Agri-food industry
• Training awareness
• Farm advice

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Recent EU Farm Policy Changes Help

• EU support payments tied to food safety
• Increases relevance for farmer
• Farmers respond to schemes
• Farm advisory system to help farmers?

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Agri food industry can help

• Processors next link in supply chain
• Outline the bigger food chain picture
• Educate farmer suppliers on why
• Feedback information (e.g. pathogens)

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Training Awareness Programs

• Need more emphasis on farmer training
• Help farmers understand key principles
• Voluntary but recognised programs
• Short, practical participative, farm
  checklists

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What Training Objectives?

• Understand basic hazard analysis principles
• Farm biological, chemical, physical hazards
• Be able to apply to own farm

Practical example livestock medicines
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Advise farmers on best farm practice

• Farm Inputs
• Feed
• Water
• Medicines
• Agro-chemicals
• Detergents etc
• Fertilisers
• Additives
• Purchased Stock
• Breeding Stock

• Activities/Procedures
• Cleaning/Hygiene
• Milking routine
• Feeding /Nutrition
• Husbandry activities
• Veterinary activities
• Bio-security
• Crop spraying
• Recording/Monitoring

• Farm Facilities
• Animal housing
• Stores
• -feed, crops
• -chemicals etc
• Milking Machine
• Bulk Tanks
• Machinery

Food safety covers the production process
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Summary

• Farming is a food business
• Most farmers produce safe food
• Pressure to demonstrate best farm practice

Need much more emphasis on helping farmers