If a buyer has asked you to get a third-party food safety audit, a new resource from Safe Produce Indiana can help you prepare. The four-part video series explains the USDA Harmonized GAP third-party audit step by step, using a real Indiana farm as the example.
Check with your buyer first
Third-party audits are voluntary, conducted every year by an independent auditor, and often required by wholesale, retail, and food service buyers. Before you start, ask your buyers which schemes they accept so you can prepare for the right one.
Follow a real farm’s first audit
The Safe Produce Indiana team developed the videos while helping the Purdue Student Farm, managed by the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, prepare for its first Harmonized GAP audit. Instead of a classroom lecture, growers see how an operating vegetable farm works through the requirements, sets its audit scope, and organizes its practices and records.
What the four videos cover
- Introduction to the Harmonized GAP Third-Party Audit — why audits are done, an overview of the Harmonized GAP program, and how an audit evaluates a farm’s food safety practices.
- Understanding Audit Scope and Process — how to determine which crops, production areas, and activities will be evaluated, and the steps of the audit itself.
- General Questions, Field Operations, and Post-Harvest Operations — questions auditors may ask and the practices expected in the field and in the packing area.
- Harmonized GAP Audit Process — more on the audit day itself, and why preparation, documentation, and consistent practices matter.
Watch all four videos on the Purdue Student Farm website.
Get help preparing
Whether you are a small farm just starting to look into audits or an established operation strengthening your food safety program, the Safe Produce Indiana team can offer guidance, resources, and technical assistance. Amanda Deering, Tari Gary, and Scott Monroe of the Purdue Department of Food Science created the series with Chris Adair, manager of the Purdue Student Farm. Contact the team with questions or for help preparing for your next audit:
- Amanda Deering — adeering@purdue.edu, 765-494-0512
- Tari Gary — tgary@purdue.edu, 765-494-8271
- Scott Monroe — jsmonroe@purdue.edu, 812-888-7401
Funding for this project was provided by the USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant Program through the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.