Training dates have now been finalised for growers in Western Australia and south-east Queensland who need training in how to operate under the incoming HARPS system.

These workshops will be held in the following locations on the specified dates:

• Perth: Friday 10 August 2018
• Stanthorpe: Monday 3 September 2018
• Brisbane: Tuesday 3 September 2018
• Bundaberg: Wednesday 5 September 2018

The one-day, face-to-face course will combine HARPS training and a refresher course for the HACCP system, and will cover the following:

• HARPS overview and general requirements
• Food safety and quality issues in the produce industry
• Legal requirements for food safety programs
• The four primary hazards in the produce industry (biological, chemical, physical, allergen) and their sources (such as inputs)
• The three elements of a food safety program: facilities and equipment, HACCP and pre-requisite programs
• Food safety risk assessment and the HACCP process; and
• HARPS elements in practice (which will be embedded throughout the training).

The course has been designed to reflect the immediate needs for producers to meet the HARPS requirements, using case studies and practical examples where possible.

In addition, the course will include food safety risk assessment and the HACCP process, which will qualify as ‘HACCP refresher training’ as stipulated under Section 5.2 of the HARPS Standard. (This will save needing to attend a separate HACCP Refresher course). The course will also cover updates that are due to be released in the HARPS Standard Version 1.1.

The fee for the course will be $730 per person (GST exempt), and attendees will be provided with a handbook to keep, as well as example templates and pro forma documents that they can adapt to their own specific activities.

For more information, or to register to attend a workshop, visit the HARPS website.

The deadline for HARPS approval is 1 January 2019, so if you haven’t already, this is a great time to complete training in the scheme.

The project team is also working on identifying more dates and locations where there’s demand for the course to deliver more workshops. If you’d like to take part in this course, get in touch with Andy Shaw at andrew.shaw@ausveg.com.au to nominate your preferred date and region.

This post appeared in the AUSVEG Weekly Update published 31 July 2018. Subscribe to the Update using our online form to receive the latest industry news in your inbox every week!

The HARPS project has been funded by Hort Innovation, using across-industry research and development levy and contributions from the Australian Government. Hort Innovation is the grower-owned, not-for-profit research and development corporation for Australian horticulture.