Maine extension, state inspectors explain how farms can write food-safety plans and prepare for USDA GAP audits

Lindsay Warner, a produce-safety inspector who manages Maine’s contract with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and Bob Machado of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension led a virtual workshop on writing farm food-safety plans and preparing for third‑party GAP audits.

The workshop focused on why farms write food-safety plans, how those plans differ from compliance with the federal Produce Safety Rule (21 CFR 112), and how to prepare for USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) GAP audits, Warner said. “I really encourage people to go to the USDA AMS website to check for updates,” she said.

The distinction matters because the Produce Safety Rule is a federal regulation and inspection program; Warner said farms subject to that rule receive mandatory inspections every three to five years but are not required by that rule to have a written food-safety plan. Third‑party GAP audits, by contrast, are voluntary buyer-driven audits run under USDA AMS standards and generally require a written food-safety plan, far more records, and an auditor’s on-site review of biological, chemical and physical hazards.

Workshop presenters walked through the practical building blocks of a plan and the records auditors typically expect. Warner and Machado…