US: Food safety guidelines for fresh culinary herbs published online

A number of industry and academic participants have contributed to the development of a new publication titled Commodity Specific Food Safety Guidelines for the Production, Harvest, Post-Harvest, and Processing Unit Operations of Fresh Culinary Herbs. The document sets forth basic principles for food safety in the culinary herb industry. Best Practices were developed to address each identified potential food safety issue. The document contains a list of reference documents that offer detailed and important background information regarding how to develop food safety programs. This guidance document is intended to supplement, not replace, already-established food safety program components such as Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) and/or Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Control Point(HARPC) guidelines for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry.

The 186-page PDF file is available online.