From the first working day of January 2020, fruit growers in Argentina needed to prove that they comply with Good Agricultural Practices (BPA). The same enforcement goes into effect in January 2021 for vegetable producers.
Basic requirements for BPAs include the obligation to use phytosanitary products authorized by Senasa (National Service for Agrifood Quality and Health) in their original containers and for permitted crops.
Among other specifications, the standard rule is that these products should be stored in a specific warehouse, locked, separated from other equipment and isolated from places where the crop is produced, or where the harvested product is handled and / or preserved, in order to avoid contamination.
Organic fertilizers, amendments and substrates purchased from third parties must be registered in Senasa, while those “produced by the person in charge of primary production must undergo treatment, composting or others, that minimize health risks”.
It also specifies that producers should have the assistance of a technician or professional to advise on the implementation of the BPA. The training of technical assistants will be mandatory through a course awarding certificates and periodic updates.
The measures are contained in Resolution 5/18 – published November 21, 2019 in the Official Gazette, which entered into force this year. The new legislation incorporates into Argentine Food Code (CAA) article 154, which states: “Every natural or legal person responsible for the production of fruits and vegetables must comply with the GAP when one or more of the following activities are carried out: primary production (crop-harvest), storage until the commercialization within the productive establishment, with the exception of those registered as packaging ”.
“Good agricultural practices are oriented towards environmental, economic and social sustainability for the productive processes of agricultural exploitation that contribute to strengthening the quality and safety of food and non-food products,” explained an official from the Department of Environmental Management at Senasa.
The standard establishes a deadline for complying with the requirement, as of January 2, 2020 for the fruit sector, and January 4, 2021 for the horticultural sector. Each producer must be registered in the National Sanitary Registry of the Agricultural Producer (Renspa), with which he can access the preparation of the Vegetable Transit Document (DTV) that allows traceability of the product along the chain.
Source: Agropages
