**4.1 Production system traceability: Gap standard for perishable produce**

The traceability of production and post-harvest activities involves, providing information on GAP activities, linked to the production process. It also provides information on the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and water, as well as social considerations such as labour conditions [11]. Information collection will likely expand to include evidence of sustainable production systems and energy efficiency.

Consequently, food retailers and customers have forced growers to follow certain growing practices that could lessen the microbial contamination of the perishable product. Many farmers in developed and developing countries apply GAP through sustainable agricultural methods, such as integrated nutrient management, conservation agriculture and integrated pest management. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) is the application of available knowledge to address economic, social sustainability and environmental [12]. It also emphasizes the need for the development of on-farm production and post-production processes, resulting in safe and healthy food and non-food agricultural products. The important functions of GAP are as follows:

#### **Figure 1.** *Block diagram of different standards to be followed in chain process.*

*Role of Traceability Systems for Food Safety within Post-Harvest Systems: Indian Context DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.110192*


The scope for Good Agricultural Practices starts from the selection of the site by a farmer, till the perishable produce is post-harvested. In the following section, a summary of the rules to be followed by farmers for quality output is listed.



#### **Table 1.**

*Standards followed in storing major perishable crops.*

Good personal hygiene is particularly important during the harvest of crops. Employee awareness, meaningful training and accessible facilities with hand wash stations encourage good hygiene [15].

d.**Post-harvest**: Loading, staging, and all food contact surfaces should be cleaned and sanitized at the end of each day. Packaging material should be stored in a clean area. Fruits and vegetables should be rapidly cooled after harvesting in order to prevent the growth of diseases and preserve quality. The temperature of the water bath used for cooling should not be more than 10°F colder than the temperature of the produce pulp. The capacity of the refrigeration chamber should not be exceeded by overload (**Table 1**).
