Are you a food vendor at an Alberta farmers’ market and thinking about becoming verified under the AFMA new vendor verification program?
Ensuring your food business meets food safety requirements and standards is one of the critical steps in the vendor verification program.
Vendors, here is what you need to know about what’s involved with the food safety component of the vendor verification program.
- AFMA is looking for the documentation that proves your food business meets AHS’ requirements. AFMA’s verification program is not asking for anything more than what AHS expects.
- When you begin the process to become verified, you will be asked to provide documentation and proof that your business and kitchen has met various AHS requirements.This could include providing AFMA with:
- production records
- cooking records
- temperature monitoring records and thermometer calibration records
- certificate of completion of food safety training
- traceability records and more
- In the verification program, food vendors are broken into two categories: low-risk and high-risk.
- Low-risk food vendors produce products such as baked goods like cookies, carbonated drinks, or granola. Low-risk vendors are required to submit various documents as a part of the verification process.
- High-risk food vendors produce products such as manufactured meats like sausage or jerky, baked goods with a meringue topping, or processed juice that has not been pasteurized. High- risk vendors are required to submit more documents than low-risk vendors.
- For example, perogies with no meat are a low-risk product, while perogies with bacon or another meat are a high-risk product.
- AFMA will look at the food products you produce and provide you with a checklist of documents that must be submitted.
- If you provide the required documents and everything is up to date, you are one step closer to being a verified vendor.
- If you don’t have the required documentation or records, AFMA will arrange for a virtual tour or on-site tour of your kitchen Or the next time you complete a production run, AFMA will ask you to complete the various forms and submit them once your production is complete.
Want to learn more? Contact us to find out how your farmers’ market business can become verified.