The National Service for Agrifood Health and Quality (Senasa) recalled that from today on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) must be implemented in a mandatory way to produce vegetables and store them until they are marketed within the production establishment, except for those registered as packaging. The measure, which covers the entire Argentine territory, was established in Joint Resolution 5/2018, where the mandatory nature of GAP for the fruit sector was also determined from January 2, 2020.

GAP are a set of practices applied with the fundamental objective of obtaining healthy and safe food, taking care of the environment, the health of workers and society as a whole. They include a series of mandatory minimum requirements to be met by the producer of fresh vegetables and fruits, which will mitigate the biological, physical and chemical dangers that may be present in these products.

Joint Resolution 5/2018 establishes seven points that are mandatory for the production and marketing of fruit and vegetables.

1) It establishes what is the mandatory documentation that covers the transfer of products and is essential to achieve traceability (know their origin and destination). At this point, producers must comply with the inscription in the National Sanitary Registry of Agricultural Producers (Renspa) and certain products must have the electronic Plant Transit Document (DTV-e) for their transfer. In the same way, the producer must identify the fruit and vegetable products, placing a label or label, according to current regulations.

2) Regarding phytosanitary products, only products authorized by Senasa should be used, in their original containers and for the permitted crops. In addition, producers must comply with the recommendations and restrictions for use, indicated on the label / label and register the application. At this point, it is established how to apply them, the security elements of those who handle them, how to preserve them and what to do with empty containers. All this, complying with the provincial and municipal regulations in force regarding the application and management of phytosanitary products.

3) Water for agricultural use must be free of contamination and dangerous substances.

4) To handle the vegetables and fruits at the time of harvest, conditioning and packaging on the farm, it is essential to comply with basic hygiene guidelines; mainly, with the adequate washing of the hands of all the operators (manipulators).

5) Animals should be prevented from entering cultivated areas and harvested product handling areas in order to minimize the possibility of biological contamination in crops.

6) Organic fertilizers, amendments and substrates acquired from third parties used in primary production activities must be registered with Senasa.

7) You must have the assistance of a Technician / Professional, to advise on the implementation of GAP, trained in the subject through personnel from national, provincial and municipal agencies, universities, agro-technical schools, Rural Change Program and other related programs, decentralized organizations, independent professionals and recognized private entities.

Download the GAP manuals and know in detail the seven points that are mandatory implementation