GLOBALG.A.P.
GLOBALG.A.P. today is the world's leading farm assurance program, translating consumer requirements into Good Agricultural Practice in a rapidly growing list of countries – currently more than 125.
What is GLOBALG.A.P.
Product certification, in particular of fruit and vegetables, as compliant with this standard is much in demand among the major European retail chains which aim to offer consumers high quality, safe products with documented traceability. The standard includes:
- Option 1 for agricultural companies, and option 2 for trading companies, those that condition fruit and vegetable products and those that engage in large-scale cultivation
- Option 2 covers both agricultural cultivation and the quality management system
How to certify
Companies intending to apply for certification for their fruit and vegetable products and for large-scale cultivation are required to meet the requirements and fulfil the obligations set out in the standard, and to submit the Application for Certification , accompanied by its appendix and to sign the CCPB financial agreement and to sign the Certification Contract and the sublicence that implie acceptance of the clauses in the Certification Regulations.
On receipt of the documentation, CCPB will arrange for the company to be added to the GlobalG.A.P. data base, carrying out an onsite certification inspection of the production sites, after which the relevant committee, whose members represent the parties involved in the certification process, will make a decision, and, if everything is in order, the committee will issue certification.
The company will continue to be under the CCPB surveillance programme whose aim is to check that compliance with the standard is being maintained.
More information on the GlobalG.A.P. standard can be found on their website www.globalgap.org
GRASP
In parallel with the certification of agricultural products, based on the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA (Integrated Farm Assurance) CCPB is able to perform assessments with regards to the module GRASP (GLOBALG.AP Risk Assessment on Social Practice - Risk Assessment in Social Practices).
The scheme provides the necessary elements for the implementation and evaluation of some issues related to welfare of workers in the farms in which the GLOBALG.A.P. standard has been implemented, integrating in this way, the chapter on health and safety at work.
The GRASP Module is based on the current legislation on labor and workers' rights, therefore, allows farmers to address important social issues and create awareness within the company.
The level of adequacy in this form is required by farmers who wish to show this information to their customers. As the result of conformity assessment, a certificate is published on the web in the GLOBALGAP database.
Chain of custody
The GLOBALGAP certification Chain of Custody can be required by all companies operating in the later stages of agricultural production or by all operators, wholesalers included, that implement a process of handling, packaging, distribution and sale and are interested to market GLOBALG.A.P. certified products under their own name, under their own management and accountability, ensuring proper identification and full traceability at every stage of production, through the systematic collection of evidences, in order to document the history of the products throughout the various stages of production and commercial distribution. It is therefore a product certification related to the production site that gives companies the possibility to look out into the overseas market.