Africa

GLOBALG.A.P. Certification

GFSI-Level Food Safety & Environmental Practices

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Charles Kouadio

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What is GLOBALG.A.P. Certification?

The SCS African food safety auditing team provides companies with certification to the leading standard for safe, sustainable agriculture, GLOBALG.A.P. For farming entities within the African region, GLOBALG.A.P. is an affordable, holistic approach to producing safe and sustainable fresh agriculture including a wide variety of crops. GLOBALG.A.P. certification opens valuable expansion opportunities to large and small producers, helping to satisfy the advanced food safety and sustainability specifications of retailers and major buyers in the worldwide marketplace.

GLOBALG.A.P. is the most widely accepted private sector food safety certification in the world. As such, this certification helps you reach new markets and grow your business globally while assuring your customers that your good agricultural practices for food safety and your environmental management practices meet industry-recognized GLOBALG.A.P. requirements. GLOBALG.A.P. is a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) benchmarked standard.

Program Details

Eligible Producers

SCS is accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board (ANAB) to conduct GLOBALG.A.P. audits for any producer of primary agricultural products including fruits and vegetables, combinable crops, and hops.


Certification Options

SCS offers certification to:

  • Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) Standard
  • Fruits and Vegetables
  • Combinable Crops
  • Hops
  • Harmonized Produce Safety Standard (HPSS)
  • Produce Handling Assurance (PHA) Standard
  • GRASP

The following certification options apply to all standards.

  • Option 1: Certification for Single-Site and Multi-Site - For For individual producers of single-site or multi-site operations with or without an implemented Quality Management System (QMS).
  • Option 2: Group Certification - for small producers seeking recognition under one group certificate, and for multi-site operations operating under a unified QMS and internal auditing procedure.
     

Certification Criteria

GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance is a globally harmonized scheme for Good Agricultural Practices with food safety and environmental components. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) is GFSI.

SCS certifies to IFA and is also approved for:

  • Fruits and Vegetables
  • Combinable Crops
  • Hops

GLOBALG.A.P IFA certification now has the added benefit of meeting Walmart’s new requirement to have Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices verified by a third party.

GLOBALG.A.P. Harmonized Produce Safety Standard is a separate standard, covering food safety and food traceability essentials for fruits and vegetables. HPSS is similar to GAP audits in the US market and is GFSI. It was designed for producers selling within or into the United States.

GLOBALG.A.P. Produce Handling Assurance Standard is a facility audit that can be performed as a standalone audit or in conjunction with an IFA or HPSS audit to assess a packinghouse.

GLOBALG.A.P. GRASP is a voluntary, farm-level social/labor management tool for global supply chains, to be used in combination with Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA).
 

Pre-Assessment

SCS can walk you through a pre-assessment process. Pre-assessment is a non-scored mock audit designed to assess the level of your preparedness for a certification audit. Ask about combining a pre-assessment with your initial audit for greater efficiency.
 

Smart Checklist Builder

The Smart Checklist Builder is designed to help you identify relevant GLOBALG.A.P. standards and add-ons based on your specific production processes or operations. Once you have chosen your combination of solutions, you can generate a customizable self-assessment checklist to kickstart your certification process.

Why Choose SCS?

SCS Global Services provides thorough, timely, and professional GLOBALG.A.P. audits. With three decades of expertise in food safety and sustainability in the African region, our local and regional network of experienced auditors can meet your product-to-market deadlines. Repeat customers choose SCS for three key reasons:

Expert Knowledge: SCS’s GLOBALG.A.P. auditors have an in-depth knowledge of farming and agriculture.

Superior Customer Care: Our team is dedicated to providing each and every client with the best possible service. This is the SCS difference!

Scheduling Flexibility: SCS will work with you to find a date that works best for you and your team.

  • Benefits
  • Process
  • Training
  • FAQs
  • Limit Risk - Minimize the potential for food safety incidents and recalls
  • Become a Preferred Supplier - Many retailers require GFSI benchmarked certification for their produce suppliers
  • Global Recognition - GLOBALG.A.P. IFA is recognized by more than 100 countries
  • Competitive Edge - Assure your customers that food has been grown, harvested and handled to rigorous standards
  • Improvement over Time - Demonstrate continual improvements to quality and safety processes
  • Professional Service - SCS is known for our thorough, timely audits and personal attention to our clients
  1. Apply for Auditing
    Fill out an SCS Registration form. Contact SCS at [email protected] to request guidance. SCS will return a proposal for your approval with suggested scope of work, timeline, and quote. To initiate the certification process, return a signed proposal and Work Order.
     
  2. Schedule the Audit
    SCS assigns an auditor and audit dates are proposed. Once an audit date is confirmed, an audit plan is provided to ensure that your team is prepared.
     
  3. On-Site Audit
    A team meeting is required at the beginning and the end of the audit. At the conclusion of the audit, the auditor discusses the audit results, including any non-conformities.
     
  4. Complete Corrective Actions and Technical Review
    Identified non-conformities must be addressed and evidence of corrective actions provided to SCS within 28 days. The auditor reviews and closes out non-conformities as warranted. Once this process is complete, the auditor submits an audit report.
     
  5. Make Certification Decision
    SCS conducts a final technical review of the audit report and Corrective Action documentation and makes the final certification decision. SCS can also provide client marketing support.
     
  6. Receive Certificate
    If certification is achieved, SCS issues the certificate and final report to the facility/operation and posts audit results in the GLOBALG.A.P. Directory, as well as to any retailer databases when requested. Annual audits are required to maintain certification.
     

GLOBALG.A.P. Growers Workshop: IFA - Crops Base; Fruits & Vegetables

This two-day course is designed for food safety and quality team members of all levels involved in the GLOBALG.A.P. program. The training explains the various farm certification options and the requirements upon which the Standard, inspections and audits are based. It is available in-person (public or onsite at your facility) or self-paced online, in either English or Spanish. See here.

Visit our Resource Center to view complementary webinars on GLOBALG.A.P. and more – see here

For other SCS training courses, including HACCP for Produce Operations, Internal Auditor, SQF and more see here.

SCS Global Services México ofrece capacitación en persona y en línea a su propio ritmo see here.

Horario de cursos ofrecidos en México - HACCP, SQF, GLOBALG.A.P.

  • What is GLOBALG.A.P.?

    GLOBALG.A.P. is an organization dedicated to providing multi-stakeholder standards to support food safety and responsible production in the agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture sectors.

  • What is GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA)?

    GLOBALG.A.P.™'s Integrated Farm Assurance provides farm-level guidance for producers. Its flagship standard for the fresh fruit and vegetable industry began as an effort to ensure basic food safety practices, but over the years has expanded into a comprehensive standard covering multiple aspects of product sustainability. In addition, there are now multiple Integrated Farm Assurance standards focused on hops production, grains, pulses, fodder, extracts and more.

  • What issues are covered by the Integrated Farm Assurance Version 6 (IFA V6) standard?

    The IFA V6 standard addresses ten core topics: 

    • Traceability
    • Food Safety
    • Worker health, safety and welfare
    • Biodiversity and habitats
    • Energy efficiency
    • Waste management
    • Fertilizers and biostimulants
    • Water management
    • Integrated pest management (IPM)
    • Plant protection products 

  • How long does certification take?

    From the onsite inspection to the issuance of the certificate typically takes from 4 to 8 weeks. 

  • Are multi-site and group certifications allowed?

    Yes, certifications are available to individual producers on a single-site or multi-site basis, whether or not you have implemented a Quality Management System (QMS).  Small producers may also seek recognition under one group certificate, and for multi-site operations operating under a unified QMS and internal auditing procedure.

  • What types of companies are covered under the GLOBALG.A.P. Chain of Custody Standard?

    GLOBALG.A.P. Chain of Custody certification is reserved for product processors, handlers, distributors, and retailers in the supply chain seeking to show that they have sufficient management systems in place properly segregate, identify, and trace products originating from GLOBALG.A.P. IFA certified farm. This certification demonstrates the entity™'s efforts to reduce safety risks and provide reassurance to customers, adding value to a brand in the market.

  • What additional audits can be bundled with our GLOBALG.A.P. certification?

    First, SCS can help you gain additional recognition under four GLOBALG.A.P. Add-On certifications (see our Service Options tab for details), which are designed to satisfy demand in specific regions of the world.  Secondly, SCS is accredited to conduct GFSI-benchmarked SQF certification, BRCGS, and PrimusGFS, and also conducts extensive audits and certifications under sustainable agriculture standards including SCS’ Sustainably Grown®, Fair Trade USA, Sustainability Standard (Sustainable Food Group), and others. 

  • What is the difference between IFA V6 and V6 Smart?

    The IFA Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Standard, Version 6 is GFS benchmarked, assuring international recognition to the highest level of assurance.  The V6 Smart standard contains a more flexible set of requirements, but is not GFS benchmarked.  Under V6 Smart: 

    • Unannounced audits are not mandatory
    • Remote audits are permitted for recertification as an emergency measure
    • A wider range of justifications are considered when extending a certificate’s validity
    • A performance-based orientation has fewer prescriptive requirements
    • Several “major musts” are downgraded to “minor musts”  

  • Does certification involve unannounced audits?

    As a GLOBALG.A.P. accredited certifier, SCS is required to conduct annual unannounced audits with no prior notification for at least 10% of our GLOBALG.A.P. clients.  This includes clients being certified under the IFA V6 GFS, PHA and HPSS.

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Charles Kouadio

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