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Through GroupGAP, our staff works with operations in both group and individual settings to identify risks, develop operation specific food safety plans, and put food safety training into practice.

Each year, all operations within the group receive two internal audits conducted by North Shore EVP staff; a subset of farms in the group will also receive a third party USDA audit. Over time all operations in the group receive a third party USDA audit.
Since initiating Hawaiʻi GroupGAP in 2017, we have grown our program locally and merged with GroupGAP farms and food hubs across 7 states. This approach enlarges the total number of farms in the group, connecting our food safety team and Hawaiʻi farmers to more technical assistance and guidance from food safety experts and practitioners across the nation.

By standardizing the on-farm food safety training and documentation process our GroupGAP program builds a network of farms that share safety and quality standards. Through our training program we assist operations with record keeping, risk assessments, implementation of food safety practices, and document management. Our food safety team regularly networks with USDA and food safety professionals across the country to share best practices.This approach makes it easier than ever for your farm to become food safety certified

Our GroupGAP training program is focused on serving farmers and aggregators across the state of Hawaiʻi. We work collaboratively with food safety professionals across the country to lower costs, enhance our knowledge and foster new opportunities for training and development.

GAP (Good Agricultural Practices), Harmonized GAP (HGAP), and Harmonized GAP+ (HGAP+) are food safety and sustainability standards for farming, each with increasing levels of rigor. GAP provides general principles for safe and sustainable farming, focusing on worker hygiene, water use, and chemical handling. HGAP streamlines these standards into a unified framework aligned with the FDA’s Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). HGAP+ builds on this by incorporating stricter requirements to meet Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) standards, making it ideal for international trade and export. The choice depends on market needs, with HGAP suited for local markets and Harmonized GAP+ essential for nationwide retailers and global trade. Our GroupGAP program assists farmers with HGAP and HGAP+ training and certification.

Congratulations on starting your farm’s food safety program! Keeping a few basic records is a great way to begin. Some simple records to start with include: restroom cleaning logs, cleaning and sanitizing logs, harvest logs, pesticide applications, and fertilizer applications.

There are several record keeping systems an operation can use. Traditional paper records stored in binders or file cabinets are difficult to organize and keep clean while working on site. Digital record keeping on Excel or Google Docs is a good alternative to paper records. Our GroupGAP program strongly recommends using or transitioning to the digital record keeping system HeavyConnect.

Generally, food safety certification costs can vary depending on an operation’s infrastructure, level of organization, preparedness, and length of audit. The Hawaiʻi GroupGAP program cost is a flat fee, assessed annually. It is currently heavily subsidized due to successful grant proposals and philanthropic donors. Our research indicates that the GroupGAP program is the best approach to keeping food safety certification costs as low as possible. While the cost may rise slightly over time, we are committed to making GroupGAP affordable for Hawaiʻi farmers. In our program, Hawaiʻi farmers receive technical assistance, training, and audit support each year as part of the annual flat fee.

For operations participating in our program the process may take anywhere from 6-12 months or more. Certification is achieved more quickly when the operation is organized, keeps records consistently, and engages in regular communication with staff to meet USDA requirements. Maintaining HGAP/+ certified status is a continual process of adhering to a farm food safety plan, completing records, and passing annual internal and external audits.

USDA food safety certification is renewed annually with a passing audit and maintenance of required records and documentation. An operation can remain in the group for as long as they wish to maintain their certification and take advantage of the benefits of GroupGAP. Operations with ongoing food safety lapses can be removed from the group.

North Shore EVP is committed to the success of our participating operations and will work with them to address any water quality issues that may arise. We encourage water quality testing for all farms, and assist GroupGAP members with determining frequency of testing and developing mitigation practices when necessary.

North Shore EVP wants to help you access new markets. Food safety certification qualifies you to sell to commercial and institutional markets with third party audit requirements. Additionally, you may choose to continue selling to other markets such as CSAs or farmersʻ markets. Food safety certification allows you to choose from a variety of markets to sell in rather than being restricted to those with few or unclear quality and safety requirements.

Our food safety team has developed relationships with local buyers to facilitate new market access for growers. Our team is able to share information about what buyers are looking for and what they require (such as food safety certification and insurance), we also work to connect member operations to local buyers seeking certified products.

A food hub is a business or organization that actively manages the aggregation, distribution and marketing of source-identified food products primarily from local and regional producers to strengthen their ability to satisfy wholesale, retail, and institutional demand. Food hubs purchase produce from local growers and fulfill high volume contracts with some buyers such as hotels and hospitals. A food hub with food safety certification will be able to supply both commercial and institutional markets, including schools.

Our model is unique in Hawaiʻi although it is already a successful model in other areas of the country. As a non-profit organization our commitment is to empower farmers and communities across Hawaiʻi. Our food safety training and certification program, with producer and community support, can work to open new markets for operations, increase local food production, and create new jobs in agriculture across the State.

Signed into law in 2011, the Food Safety Modernization Act is the most comprehensive U.S. food safety regulation overhaul since the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. The law is intended to establish minimum standards for food safety practices and accompanying guidance to help keep the food supply safe. FSMA shifts the focus to proactively identifying hazards and preventing contamination rather than just responding to it. Rules and guidance were drafted by the governing authority, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), with input from other government agencies, industry and the public.

FSMA covers the entire supply chain, including food defense and transportation, through seven (7) rules. Growing operations are most affected by the Produce Safety Rule (PSR) which includes standards on how fresh produce is grown and handled. FSMA covers the processing and manufacturing of food for human or animal consumption.

A business is likely to be affected by FSMA if it raises livestock, grows produce, processes, transports, or distributes food for human or animal consumption.

If you operate a business that grows, handles, packs, processes, manufactures, or transports food, you may have to comply with FSMA. Exemptions exist for certain sized businesses (with documentation), and for some products that are not covered by the Produce Safety Rule. It is best to contact your local Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension agent, or food safety consultants to ask if you need to comply with FSMA and how to do so.

Engaging with Hawaiʻi GroupGAP and attaining USDA HGAP/+ food safety certification will help prepare a producer for a FSMA inspection, because the compliance requirements are aligned.

As of 2025, we have GroupGAP training materials available in Mandarin and Thai. Please contact us if you need an interpreter or would like to suggest translation into another language.