The National GAPs Program at Cornell University and eCornell

Dear Prospective Participant,

Thank you for your interest in the GAPs Online Produce Safety Course.  Below you will find a description of the course, course expectations, and a course outline.  If you have any questions about any of this information, please contact Don Stoeckel at dstoeckel@cornell.edu or 614-634-0884.  If after reading the information provided you would like to enroll, please complete the enrollment information and submit a $225 payment for the course at www.ecornell.com/gaps  (If the direct link from this letter does not work, please type it directly in as a web address). You will need to go all the way to the bottom of the page. Under Courses, select the + sign next to Other, then click the Enroll Now link.  After selecting the course, click Add to Cart and Checkout. After selecting Checkout for a second time, you will be asked to Create an Account and complete your eCornell Profile. 

About this course:

Implementing Good Agricultural Practices is a 3-week web-based course offered through the National GAPs Program.  Class size is limited to 25 people on a first come, first serve basis. A minimum of 10 participants must be registered for us to offer the course. Special arrangements can be made for large groups to ensure everyone is in the same class together. This course is intended to improve your understanding of GAPs to guide assessment of risks and implementation of practices to reduce risks on fresh produce farms. Taking this course will not result in your farm being “GAPs Certified”. GAPs certification is done by a third party (e.g. USDA, Primus, Global GAP) and involves the successful completion of an on-farm audit. 

This course is designed to help you understand and explain the importance of food safety. You will learn important practices for ensuring food safety and the key considerations for implementing Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs). At the end of this course, you will develop a produce safety plan that outlines the activities needed to implement functional GAPs.

When you complete this course, you will be able to:

• Explain the importance of produce safety
• Understand Good Agricultural Practices and how they reduce food safety risks
• Conduct effective education and training programs based on audience needs
• Develop and implement a produce safety plan

As you consider taking the GAPs Online Produce Safety Training Course, be aware that this course is not currently equivalent to the required supervisor training described in the FSMA Produce Safety Rule 21 CFR Subpart C § 112.22(c). This GAPs Online Produce Safety Training Course may, however, satisfy training requirements as described in the FSMA Produce Safety Rule in §§ 112.21(a) and (b).

The Produce Safety Alliance plans to offer in-person training that meets the requirement in § 112.22(c) of the FSMA Produce Safety Rule. You can sign up for the listserv at the Produce Safety Alliance website: http://producesafetyalliance.cornell.edu/ to be notified of where and when in-person trainings will be held.

Time Commitment

Once the course opens, it is open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day for 3 weeks so you will be able to complete the course when time permits in your schedule.  There are no required hours of participation.  There is an instructor.  The instructor may schedule office hours but you are not required to attend these hours.  You will be able to email your instructor at all times during the course and they will respond in a timely manner.  All course requirements must be completed within the 3 week window.  Do communicate any problems you are having to your instructor or to the eCornell help desk so that we can provide assistance and guidance. 

Within the three weeks you are expected to:

• Complete a pre and post test
• Read all course materials
• Turn in 4 assignments for evaluation
• Complete 2 self-tests
• Contribute to the discussion boards.
• Complete Course Evaluation

Most students spend 15 to 20 hours on this course, but depending on your knowledge, more or less time may be required.  If this is more than you can manage at the moment, we hope that you will not take the course at this time, but sign up at a later date when you have the time to complete the program.

Here is the course outline so you can review the content areas.

Good Agricultural Practices Online Produce Safety Course Outline

Module One: Welcome to Implementing GAPs: A Key to Produce Safety

• 1.0.0 Module Home Page
• 1.1.0 About This Course

Module Two: Shared Responsibility in Food Safety

• 2.0.0 Module Home Page
• 2.1.0 Reasons for Engagement                       
• 2.2.0 Module Wrap-Up

Module Three: Good Agricultural Practices

• 3.0.0 Module Home Page
• 3.1.0 Worker Training, Hygiene, and Health                       
• 3.2.0 Water Use
• 3.3.0 Postharvest Water Use
• 3.4.0 Soil Amendments               
• 3.5.0 Cleaning and Sanitation
• 3.6.0 Traceability and Recall
• 3.7.0 Crisis Management
• 3.8.0 Other Important Practices
• 3.9.0 Module Wrap-Up

Module Four: Implementing Change

• 4.0.0 Module Home Page
• 4.1.0 Education and Training in Food Safety                       
• 4.2.0 Building the Plan
• 4.3.0 Module Wrap-Up

Module Five: Course Conclusion

• 5.0.0 Module Home Page
• 5.1.0 Concluding Activities

Development of this course and its content has been a collaborative effort between professionals in government, academia, and industry with funding from the USDA, so we hope you enjoy the course and increase your produce food safety knowledge! 

Sincerely,