CHANGES IN GENERAL REGULATIONS PART I | PART II … · CHANGES IN GENERAL REGULATIONS PART I | PART...

CHANGES IN GENERAL REGULATIONS

PART I | PART II | PART III EDITION 4.0 -1_FEB2012 TO EDITION 4.0 -2_MAR2013

VALID FROM: MARCH 2013 OBLIGATORY FROM: JUNE 2013

GENERAL REGULATIONS

PART I | GENERAL RULESENGLISH VERSION 4.0EDITION 4.0 -2_MAR2013

VALID FROM: MARCH 2013OBLIGATORY FROM: JUNE 2013

Code Ref: GR V4.0_March11; Edition: 4.0-12; English Version General Regulations Part I – General Rules Page: 2 of 39

1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

GLOBALG.A.P. is pleased to acknowledge the 1. Members of Crops, Livestock and Aquaculture Sector Committees (SCs) for their dedication and time over the last 4 years. (The members’ names are available on the GLOBALG.A.P. website under Governance). 2. Certification Body Committee (CBC) for their input: Det Norske Veritas – Italia, NSF-CMi, Intertek Deuschland, Moody International Certification Ltd, and LSQA. 3. Crop Protection Working Group members (the members’ names are available on the GLOBALG.A.P. website) for their contribution to the Crops Base Module. 4. Following producers and certifications bodies that voluntarily took part in the trial audits for the All Farm, Crops Base and Fruit and Vegetables Modules V4.

Producers: Pinex Cooperative Farmers and marketing society (Ghana), AT Agrícola Ltda. (Chile), Rancho Medio Kilo, S. de P.R. de R.L.(Mexico), Omniversal (Japan), Maruta (Japan), JA Kitahibiki Cooperative (Japan), Matsumoto Farm (Japan), Driscolls (USA), Werner Marquard of Altenmedingen (Germany).

Certification Bodies: Africert, NSF-CMi, NORMEX de Michoacán, SGS Japan, Control Union Japan, DNV Japan, Primuslabs, SGS Germany. 5. National Technical Working Groups in more than 30 countries to ensure global applicability; 6. Government and non-Government Organisations that took part in the revision process. 7. Board members who adopted the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance Scheme V4.0-Oct10 (in alphabetical order)

Andrea Artoni Conad/Coopernic Josse de Baerdemaeker VBT Hugo Byrnes Ahold Jorge Hernandez US Food Service Horst Lang Globus SB Warenhaus Holding Joan Mir ANECOOP Spain Carlos Perez Marchelot Bert Urlings Vion Food Group Richard Yudín Fyffes Johann Züblin Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund

and last but not least, GLOBALG.A.P. would like to thank all the GLOBALG.A.P. members and non-members for their continued support.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n GLOBALG.A.P. Retail and Food Service Members:

Aeon Co., Ltd., Ahold, Albert Heijn B.V., ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. OHG, ALDI Einkauf GmbH & Co. OHG Essen, ASDA Group Plc., CBL, Colruyt NV, Conad Soc. Coop., Coop Genossenschaft, Coop Norge Handel, Delhaize, Dohle Handelsgruppe Service GmbH & Co. KG, E. Leclerc, EDEKA AG, Eroski, FEDIS, Freshmark, Globus SB Warenhaus Holding, Grupo Carrefour, ICA, Inex Partners Oy, Kaiser's Tengelmann GmbH, Kesko, Lidl Stiftung & Co. KG, Marks and Spencer, McDonald's Corporation, METRO Group, Migros-Genossenschafts-Bund, Musgraves Supervalu Centra, NORMA Lebensmittelfilialbetrieb GmbH & Co. KG, OTTO (GmbH & Co KG), REWE Group, Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd, Schuitema, Somerfield, Spar Austria, Superunie B.A., Sysco Corporation, tegut... Gutberlet Stiftung & Co., Tesco, U.S. Foodservice, Wegmans Food Market, Wm Morrisons Produce Ltd

GLOBALG.A.P. Associate Members: ABCERT AG, AENOR, Agrar-Control GmbH, Agro Quality Support BV, Agrobase-Logigram SARL, Agron SA, AgroVet GmbH, An Bord Bia, Asociación Cámara Nacional de Agricultura y Agroindustria (CNAA), AsureQuality (AgriQuality), AWF Consulting, Baltic Control Ltd., BASF-Aktiengesellschaft, Bayer CropScience AG, BCS Öko-Garantie GmbH, Best Produce International UK Ltd., Blue Moon Ltd., BRTUV Avaliacoes da Qualidade S.A, Bureau Veritas Certification A/S, Denmark, Bureau Veritas Certification S.A.U. (Spain), CCPB Ltd., Center of Organic Agriculture in Palestine - COAP, Chrysal International, CMS - Consultores de Gestao Associados, Lda., ConAgra Foods, Inc., Control Union Certifications B.V., CORPORACION COLOMBIA INTERNACIONAL (CCI), CPS - Certification of Product and Systems, CSQA Certificazioni Srl, Czech Society for Quality, Det Norske Veritas Italia S.r.l., DKG Group Ltd., DLG e.V., DQS GmbH, DuPont, ECPA, ETKO, EU Star Certification, EUROCERT European Inspection and Certification, Fama, Fintrac Inc, Food Forum India, FOODCARE OE, Fundacion AGIL, Fundacion ArgenINTA, Globalfish.net, Green Veterinary Group Practice, Grodan Group, Horticultural Export Improvement Association, ICONTEC, IEH Laboratories & Consulting, INDCONSULT (Industrial & Commercial Consultants), Inspectorate de Argentina S.A., Instituto Agrotecnologia, Integra bvba, International Agri-Technology Centre Ltd, Intertek Food Services GmbH, Intervet/Schering-Plough Animal Helath, IRAM-Instituto Argentino de Normalizacion y Certificacion, Janssen Pharmaceutica PMP, Japan Good Agricultural Initiative (JGAI), Korea Agro-Fisheries Trade Corporation, Kvalitessystem i landbruket (KSL), Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics (KNUTE), Lacon - Privatinstitut für Qualitätssicher. und Zert, LGAI Technological Center S.A., LSQA (LATU Sistemas S.A.), Ministry of Food and Agriculture Ghana, Moody International Certification Ltd, Muddy Boots Software Ltd., MUTUMGAP, MVP Food Safety Consulting, NAK Agro B.V., National Britannia Certification Ltd, Natural Resources Institute of the University of Greenwich (NRI), NCS International Pty Ltd, Northern Great Plains Inc., NOVACERT, NSF-CMi Certification, Omniversal, Inc., Perishable Products Exports Control Board (PPECB), PrimusLabs.com, ProCert Safety AG, PROGIS Software GmbH, QA Plus Asia-Pacific, QAL GmbH, QUALISUD, Rainforest Alliance, Rohm and Haas Europe Services ApS - Succursale France AgroFresh, SAI Global Assurance Services, SATIVA Desenvolvimento Rural Lda, Sci-Qual International Pty Ltd, SGS Germany GmbH, Sigill Kvalitetssystem AB, Sino Analytica, SIRIM QAS INTERNATIONAL SDN. BHD., Star Farm Consulting Co., Ltd, Syngenta Crop Protection AG, TASTE - Technical Assistance for Sustainable Trade and Environment, TCS Consultation Services, The Real IPM Company, TMMOB Ziraat Mühendisleri ODASI, Trace Register, LLC, Tradecorp International, Tulare Ag Products, TÜV SÜD Management Service GmbH, Valagro, Validus, Vietnam Certification Centre- QUACERT, Waldemar Winckel GmbH & Co. KG, WIT Assessment (China), YARA International ASA, ZAS s.r.o., ZhongHua Certification Co., Ltd, ZimTrade


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n GLOBALG.A.P. Supplier Member

A.Espersen A/S, AGAP - Asociacion de Gremios Agroexportatores del Peru, Agrarmarkt Austria Marketing GesmbH., Agrexco, Agri Business & Farming Solutions - Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals Corporations Limited, AgroFair Europe B.V., Albafruit, ANECOOP Spain COOP, ANOVA Seafood BV, APO Conerpo soc. Coop. a.r.l., Apofruit ITALIA Soc. Coop. Agr., Ardo, Asociacion Nacional de Acuicultores de Colombia - ACUANAL, Asociacion Nacional de Bananeros - AUGURA, Asocolflores, Assured Produce, B & B S.r.l. di Bregliano M.S.S., B. Paulus GmbH, Binca Seafoods GmbH, Birds Eye Iglo Group Limited, Blue Skies, Blue Whale, Bonita Pacific Fruit Company N.V., Brava, British Ornamental Plant Producers, Capespan Continent N.V., Cargill Animal Nutrition, Castlerock Vineyards, CENA GmbH, Centro Servizi Ortofrutticoli (CSO), CHC Canadian Horticultural Council, Chilean Fresh Fruit Association (ASOEX), Chilean Pork Producers Association (ASPROCER), Chilean Poultry Producers Association (APA), China Sanlong Fruit & Vegetable Co.; Ltd, Clama GmbH & Co. KG, CMH - Le Centre Maraicher de Hesbaye, CNIPT, COATO, Cobana Fruchtring GmbH & Co. KG, Consukorra, Cooperatie Fruitmasters Groep, Copefrut, Cumbrian Seafoods Limited, De Groot Fresh Group, Del Monte Fresh Produce Company North America Inc., Delassus Casablanca Morocco S.A., Direction des Domaines Agricoles, DPA - Dutch Produce Association, Driscolls Strawberry Associates, Enza Ltd. New Zealand, Erzeugergroßmarkt Langfoerden-Oldenburg eG, European Egg Consortium GmbH - EEC, Farm Frites International, Femeg Produktions- und Vertriebs GmbH, Fepex, Findus Sverige AB, Fiskaaling P/F, Flamingo Holdings, Flower Label Programm e.V., Fresh Produce Exporters Association Of Kenya - FPEAK, Frosta AG, Fruits de Ponent S.C.C.L., Fruta del Pacifico, Fundacion para el Desarrollo Fruticola - FDF, Futura Kobenhavn A/S, Fyffes Group Ltd., Gasa Nord Gront I/S, Global Organics LLC, GPA Morocco, Greenpartners, Groexport, Hallvard Leroy AS, HEIDEMARK Mästerkreis GmbH u. Co. KG, Heiploeg BV, Hillfresh International BV, HMF Food Production GmbH & Co. KG, HQ Sustainable Maritime Industries, Inc., Hungarian Fruit & Vegetables Interprof. Org., Iceland Seafood GmbH, INAC (Instituto Nacional de Carnes), Indu-Farm (EPZ) Ltd., Jaguar, the Fresh Company, Jain Irrigation Systems Ltd., Jin Jin Europe B.V., K-Farm SDN BHD, Katsiamakas S.A., KC Fresh, Kelani Valley Plantations PLC, Lamb Weston/Meijer V.O.F., Landbrug og Fodevarer, Lava, Lenk Seafood Services GmbH, Loire Export, Lomanoryas, LTO-Netherlands, Luigi di Lenardo GmbH & Co. KG, Magrabi Agriculture, Marchelot S.A., Marine Harvest, McCain Foods Europe B.V., Mechelse Veilingen cvba, Mehadrin Tnuport Export, Mexico Calidad Suprema A.C., MPS Milieu Programma Sierteelt, New Zealand GAP, Oceanic Fruits Shipping, OCIALIS, OPST Obst Partner Steiermark GmbH, Orchard Fruit Co. S.L., Patagonian Fruits Trade S.A., Peter Vetter GmbH, Pfalzmarkt für Obst u. Gemüse eG, PPO Services AG, Primland sas, Prince de Bretagne, Productschap Tuinbouw, Profish, PVE, Queens Products B.V., Reo Veiling, SalmonChile, SantOrsola SCA, Scottish Sea Farms Ltd, Seachill Ltd, Seafood Connection B.V., Setraco NV, SHAFFE, Sime Darby Plantation Sdn Bhd, Staay Food Group, Sterman Masser Inc., Stutzer & Co AG, Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA), Telerscoöperatie FresQ u.a., telerscoperatie BGB ua, The Greenery, The Kenya Flower Council, The Oppenheimer Group, Total Produce plc, Tropical Aquaculture Europe SA, Uniban - Union de Bananeros de Urab, Union of Producers and Exporters of Horticulutral Crops (UPEHC), United Fresh Produce Association, UNIVEG Group of Companies, UTZ CERTIFIED, Van Oers United B V., Vanguarda do Brasil S.A, VBT (Verbond van Belgische Tuinbowveilingen), Veiling Borgloon C.V., Veiling Zaltbommel, Vereinigung der Erzeugergemeinschaften für Früh- und Speisekartoffeln, Versdirect.nl BV, VI.P - Verband der Vinschgauer Gen. für Obst und Gemüse, Vinh Hoan, Vion N.V., VLAM BMO, VOG - Verband der Südtiroler Obstgenossenschaften, Winfresh Limited , Zerres & Co.GmbH - FRUIT PARTNERS-, ZESPRI Group Limited, ZON Services

GLOBALG.A.P. technical responsible: Dr Elmé Coetzer. For further information, contact [email protected]


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................. 7

2 NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS ........................................................................................................... 7

2.1 DOCUMENT CONTROL ........................................................................................................ 7 3 CERTIFICATION OPTIONS ............................................................................................................ 8

3.1 OPTION 1 – INDIVIDUAL CERTIFICATION.......................................................................... 8

3.2 OPTION 2 (SEE PART II) ...................................................................................................... 8

3.3 BENCHMARKED SCHEMES................................................................................................. 8 4 REGISTRATION PROCESS ........................................................................................................... 8

4.1 CERTIFICATION BODIES/ FARM ASSURER* ..................................................................... 8

4.2 REGISTRATION .................................................................................................................... 9

4.3 ACCEPTANCE ..................................................................................................................... 10

4.4 APPLICATION AND CERTIFICATION SCOPE................................................................... 10 5 ASSESSMENT PROCESS ............................................................................................................ 13

5.1 OPTION 1 – SINGLE SITES AND MULTISITES WITHOUT QMS ...................................... 13 5.2 OPTION 2 AND OPTION 1 MULTISITE WITH QMS ........................................................... 14

5.3 INSPECTION TIMING .......................................................................................................... 18 6 CERTIFICATION PROCESS......................................................................................................... 20

6.1 NON-COMPLIANCE AND NON-CONFORMANCE ............................................................. 20

6.2 REQUIREMENTS TO ACHIEVE AND MAINTAIN GLOBALG.A.P. CERTIFICATION........ 20

6.3 CERTIFICATION DECISION ............................................................................................... 21 6.4 SANCTIONS ........................................................................................................................ 21

6.5 NOTIFICATION AND APPEALS .......................................................................................... 23

6.6 SANCTIONING OF CERTIFICATION BODIES ................................................................... 23

6.7 GLOBALG.A.P. CERTIFICATE AND CERTIFICATION CYCLE ......................................... 23 7 ACRONYMS AND REFERENCES................................................................................................ 24

7.1 ACRONYMS ......................................................................................................................... 24

7.2 REFERENCE DOCUMENTS ............................................................................................... 26 ANNEX I.1 RULES FOR USE OF GLOBALG.A.P. AND EUREPGAP TRADEMARK AND

LOGO ............................................................................................................................................. 27

1. GLOBALG.A.P. TRADEMARK ............................................................................................. 27

2. SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................................................... 27 3. GLOBALG.A.P. NUMBER (GGN) ........................................................................................ 28

4. REGISTRATION NUMBER .................................................................................................. 28 ANNEX I.2 GLOBALG.A.P. REGISTATION DATA REQUIREMENTS............................................. 29

1. TYPES OF MASTER DATA REQUIRED ............................................................................. 29


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n ANNEX I.3 GLOBALG.A.P. GUIDELINE ON PARALLEL PRODUCTION AND PARALLEL

OWNERSHIP ................................................................................................................................. 33

1. DEFINITIONS ....................................................................................................................... 33

2. CHANGES REGARDING VERSION 3.1 ............................................................................ 34

3. LIMITATIONS TO THE ELIGIBILITY FOR PP/PO .............................................................. 34

4. PP/PO FOR PRODUCER GROUPS ................................................................................... 34

5. REGISTRATION .................................................................................................................. 34

6. RULES FOR PMU AND PHU............................................................................................... 35 7. IDENTIFICATION OF PRODUCERS REGISTERED FOR PP/PO ..................................... 36

8. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PRODUCERS WITH PP/PO................................... 36


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n 1 INTRODUCTION This document describes the certification rules for any party seeking certification against a GLOBALG.A.P. Standard (Integrated Farm Assurance, Compound Feed Manufacturing, Plant Propagation Material, Chain of Custody, etc.), unless otherwise indicated in the Standard-specific Introduction.

Rules for benchmarked schemes are explained in the GLOBALG.A.P. benchmarking regulations.

The term “shall” is used throughout this document to indicate those provisions which, reflecting the requirements of GLOBALG.A.P., are mandatory.

2 NORMATIVE DOCUMENTS The following normative documents (and any other documents released as normative) are relevant to all applicants and GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate holders seeking certification:

a) GLOBALG.A.P. Certification and Sublicense Agreement: Contract between the CB and the producer. Sets legal framework in order to be granted the GLOBALG.A.P. Certification.

b) GLOBALG.A.P. Certification and License Agreement: Contract between the CB and FoodPLUS.

c) GLOBALG.A.P. Control Points and Compliance Criteria (CPCC): Document that sets the compliance requirements for producers.

NOTE: Guidelines included in the CPCC document to guide producers to comply with the requirements are not normative documents.

d) GLOBALG.A.P. Checklist – Integrated Farm Assurance: This document is used for all inspections and self-assessments

e) GLOBALG.A.P. Checklist – Producer Groups and Multisites with QMS: Sets requirements for quality management systems

f) National Interpretation Guidelines. Gives clarification and adaptation of the CPCC to the relevant country. Only available for countries where approved by the respective Sector Committees. These become obligatory for use as soon as they are approved and published.

g) GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations (this document): Defines how the certification process works as well as the requirements for quality management systems and related issues.

2.1 Document Control a) The latest versions of all normative documents can be downloaded free of charge from

the GLOBALG.A.P. website. b) Language: Original documents are in English. GLOBALG.A.P. documents will be

translated into other languages and published on the GLOBALG.A.P. website. Once published, these official GLOBALG.A.P. documents will be the only ones that may be used for certification in that language. In case of discrepancy between translations, the English version shall prevail.

c) After a thorough translation review by GLOBALWEBSITEG.A.P., the relevant Sector Committees may grant normative status to translated standard documents on a case-by-case basis. This status will be indicated on the documents.

d) For detailed information of the modifications, please contact the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat for the document history.

e) Changes to documents. 1. Normative documents are identified with a unique document code and a version

number and date.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n 2. The date in the version name indicates the date of publication of the document. The

date in the “Edition Update Register” indicates the date when the document comes into effect.

3. Version number: A change in the first or second digit (e.g. change from 3.x to 4.0; or 4.0 to 4.1) indicates a version change and affects the accreditation of the standard. A change in other digits (e.g. change from 4.0 to 4.0-1) indicates updates that do not affect the accreditation of the standard. When the changes do not affect the accreditation of the standard, the version will remain “4.0” and edition update shall be indicated with “4.0-x” (e.g."4.0-1").

4. Updates can be made independently in the GR and CPCC documents, but a version change will affect all normative documents.

5. The updates will be sent to all GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs as official communications. It is the responsibility of the CBs to inform their clients of such updates.

6. Modifications to normative documents are indicated in the “Editions Update Register” that is published separately.

3 CERTIFICATION OPTIONS Applicants can apply for certification under any of 2 options (individual or group certification under GLOBALG.A.P. or a benchmarked scheme). The options are based on the constitution of the legal entity applying for certification. The assessment process for each of these options is described under Section 5.

3.1 Option 1 – Individual Certification

a) Individual producer applies for certification (GLOBALG.A.P. or a benchmarked scheme).

b) The individual producer will be the certificate holder once certified.

Option 1 – Multisite without Implementation of a QMS 3.1.1a) Individual producer or one organization owns several production locations or management units that do not function as separate legal entities.

Option 1 – Multisite with Implementation of a QMS (see Part II) 3.1.2a) Individual producer or one organization owns several production locations or

management units that do not function as separate legal entities, but where a QMS has been implemented.

b) In this case the rules of the General Regulations Part II – QMS Rules must apply.

3.2 Option 2 (see Part II)

a) A producer group applies for group certification (GLOBALG.A.P. or a benchmarked scheme).

b) The group, as a legal entity, will be the certificate holder once certified. c) A group must have a QMS implemented and comply with rules set out in the General

Regulations Part II – QMS Rules.

3.3 Benchmarked Schemes The categories for certification under benchmarked schemes are explained in the GLOBALG.A.P. benchmarking regulations.

4 REGISTRATION PROCESS 4.1 Certification Bodies/ Farm Assurer*

a) The applicant shall, as a first step, choose a GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification body. Contact information on approved and provisionally approved CBs is available on


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n the GLOBALG.A.P. website. It is the responsibility of the applicant to verify whether the chosen CB is approved for the relevant scopes.

b) The applicant must register with an approved CB or farm assurer as the first step towards obtaining a GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate. Unless the applicant has assigned a farm assurer, the CB is by default the Farm assurer and is responsible for registration, data updates, and collection of fees.

c) GLOBALG.A.P. approved farm assurers are organizations (e.g. CB, producer group organizations, standard owners, consultants, etc.) that have signed a license agreement with GLOBALG.A.P. and acquired the right from producers to upload and/or register these producer activities in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database. The service includes the first registration and any subsequent modifications as well as settings of links in the database. The approved farm assurer must be granted these rights in writing from the producer or other legal entity in the GLOBALG.A.P. System.

*More information on farm assurers can be obtained in the farm assurer agreement available from the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat on request.

4.2 Registration

General 4.2.1a) The application must cover at least the information detailed in Annex I.2

(GLOBALG.A.P. registration data requirements). By registering, the applicant commits to comply with the obligation set in the Annex, including: (i) Compliance with the certification requirements at all times. (ii) Payment of the applicable fees established by GLOBALG.A.P. and by the CB. (iii) Communication of data updates to the CB. (iv) The terms and conditions of the Sub-License and Certification Agreement

b) This information will be used by GLOBALG.A.P. to supply the applicant with a unique GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN), which will be used as a unique identifier for all GLOBALG.A.P. activities. The GGN identifies the applicant and is not related to the product or certification status.

c) Any objective evidence found that indicates that the applicant has been misusing the GLOBALG.A.P. claim shall lead to the exclusion of the applicant from certification for 12 months after evidence of misuse. In addition, the applicants will be listed and the list must be checked before registration in the database. Any case of misuse shall be communicated to the GLOBALG.A.P. members.

d) Confidentiality, data use and data release: (i) During registration applicants give written access to FoodPLUS and the

certification bodies to use the registration data for internal processes and sanctioning procedures.

(ii) All data in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database is available to GLOBALG.A.P., the certification body and farm assurer, which the producer or producer group is working with, and can be used for internal processes and sanctioning procedures.

(iii) Minimum and obligatory data release level for all sub-scopes (and scopes in case of Aquaculture): The GGN, registration no., GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate no., scheme, version, option, CB, products and status, produce handling/processing declaration, number of producers (in Option 2), country of production and destination, Production Management Units and Produce Handling Units as well as information on parallel production and harvest exclusion per product (if applicable) are available to the public. In addition, every certificate holder’s company name and address is available to registered industry market participants including GLOBALG.A.P. members.

(iv) If an applicant (or member of a group) does not agree to the minimum release, the applicant is not in agreement with the Sub-License and Certification Agreement and cannot be certified, nor belong to a producer group seeking certification.

(v) No data other than in point (iii) can be released by GLOBALG.A.P. or CBs to any other party without written consent of the applicant.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n (vi) Information on the sector-specific requirements is included in the Data Use

and Release Agreement on the website. e) The service contract between the CB and producer may be valid for up to 4 years,

with subsequent renewal for periods of up to 4 years. f) An applicant:

(i) May not register the same product with different CBs. (ii) May not register the same product with different certification options (e.g.: It is

not possible to register salmon under both Options 1 and 3). (iii) May register different products with different CBs and/or different certification

options (e.g.: It is possible to register apples under Option 1 and cherries under Option 2, apples with one CB and cherries with another CB or both crops with the same CB.)

(iv) May not register production management units (PMU) or group members in different countries with any CB. The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat may grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis or within national interpretation guidelines.

g) Production management unit (PMU) is a production unit (can be a farm, field, orchard, herd, greenhouse, etc.) defined by the producer for units where segregation of output (agricultural products) is intended and all provisions have been made and put in place to keep separate records and prevent mixing in the case of parallel production. PMUs that can be considered to operate independently (based on factors such as geography, management, storage facilities, etc.) shall be registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database and indicated on the certificate.

Registration with a new CB 4.2.2a) When a producer that has already been registered, changes CB or applies to a

new CB for certification of a different product, the producer must communicate the GGN assigned by GLOBALG.A.P. to the new CB. Failure to do this will result in a surcharge of the registration fee of EURO 100 to an Option 1 producer and EURO 500 to an option 2 producer group.

b) Certificate holders who are sanctioned cannot change CB until the outgoing CB closes out the corresponding non-conformance or until the sanction penalty period is over.

c) Individual producer members of a producer group are not allowed to leave the group and register with another group (for the products registered) if there is any pending sanction on the producer issued by the group, or there are any issues relevant to the producer raised by the CB that have not been closed out.

4.3 Acceptance a) For the registration to be accepted, the applicant must satisfy all the following conditions:

(i) Submit to the CB the relevant application that shall include all the necessary information. The applicant shall have formally committed to comply with the obligations indicated above

(ii) Sign acceptance of the Sub-License and Certification Agreement with the CB, OR the applicant shall explicitly acknowledge the receipt and the inclusion of the Sublicense and Certification Agreement with his/her signature on the service contract/agreement with the CB and the CB must hand over a copy of the Sub-License and Certification Agreement to the producer

(iii) Be assigned a GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) (iv) To pay the GLOBALG.A.P. registration fee, as explained in the current

GLOBALG.A.P. fee table (available on the GLOBALG.A.P. website) b) The registration and acceptance process must be finalized before inspection can take

place. c) For first registration: the CB shall confirm the acceptance of the application and provide

the applicant with the GGN within 14 calendar days from receiving the completed application.

4.4 Application and Certification Scope


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n a) Any producer of primary agricultural products covered by the GLOBALG.A.P. Standards

may apply for GLOBALG.A.P. Certification. b) For GLOBALG.A.P. Certification, the term “producers” is defined as follows: A person

(individual) or business (individual or producer group) who is legally responsible for the production of the products relevant to the scope, and who has the legal responsibility for the products sold by that farming business.

Standards covered by GLOBALG.A.P. Certification: 4.4.1a) Only products covered by the GLOBALG.A.P. product list, published on the

GLOBALG.A.P. website, can apply for certification. b) GLOBALG.A.P. Certification covers the controlled production process of primary

products and does not cover wild/catch, wild fish/catch or crops harvested in the wild.

c) Refer to the Standard-specific Rules (published with the CPCC) for possible exceptions to the General Regulations contained in this document and for new standards released.

4.4.1.1 All Standards (i) Producers cannot receive certification for the production of products that are

not produced by them. (ii) Parallel production/ownership (of certified and non-certified products) is

possible when additional rules are implemented. See 4.4.3. 4.4.1.2 Integrated Farm Assurance: Fruit and Vegetables (i) GLOBALG.A.P. Certification covers fruit and vegetables used for fresh,

cooked or processed consumption by humans. Vegetables used solely for medicinal or aromatic purposes cannot be certified.

4.4.1.3 Integrated Farm Assurance: Other Crops (i) Combinable Crops: GLOBALG.A.P. Certification covers crops for cooked or

processed consumption by humans or animals or for use in the industry. (ii) Coffee (green) and Tea (iii) Flowers and Ornamentals

4.4.1.4 Integrated Farm Assurance: Livestock Scope (i) GLOBALG.A.P. Certification covers all livestock (see GLOBALG.A.P. product

list on GLOBALG.A.P. website) present on the farm as registered per PMU.

4.4.1.5 Integrated Farm Assurance: Aquaculture Scope (i) GLOBALG.A.P. Certification covers all production stages of finfish,

crustaceans and molluscs (see GLOBALG.A.P. product list on GLOBALG.A.P. website) present on the farm as registered per PMU.

4.4.1.6 Compound Feed Manufacturing (i) GLOBALG.A.P. Certification covers the commercial manufacturing of

compound feed for the feeding of livestock and aquaculture species as covered by the Integrated Farm Assurance Standards.

4.4.1.7 Plant Propagation Material (i) GLOBALG.A.P. Certification covers the production of propagation material

(see GLOBALG.A.P. definitions on the website) for the Integrated Farm Assurance Crop scopes.

Applicable CPCC scopes and modules in Integrated Farm Assurance 4.4.2a) It is not possible to certify the respective sub-scope without also verifying

compliance to the applicable scope. The inspection of compliance criteria of the scope must be interpreted according to the sub-scope applied for. Any certification applied for that introduces additional sub-scopes into an existing certificate must


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n have the scope inspected, taking into account the additional sub-scopes concerned.

b) The scopes are automatically coupled to the sub-scopes according to the choice of sub-scopes applied for. For more information on the structure and modular approach, please read the introduction to the CPCC document. The certification of: (i) Poultry automatically requires compliance with the All Farm Base and the

Livestock Base. (ii) Calf/Young beef and Dairy automatically requires compliance with the All

Farm Base, Livestock Base and the Ruminant Base Module. (iii) Tea automatically requires compliance with the All Farm Base and the Crops

Base. (iv) Atlantic salmon automatically requires compliance with the All Farm Base,

Aquaculture Module.

Parallel Production (PP) or Parallel Ownership (PO) 4.4.3

Refer to Annex I.3 GLOBALG.A.P. Guideline on Parallel Production and Parallel Ownership for clarification of rules.

4.4.3.1 Parallel Production (PP)

Parallel production of certified and non-certified products of the same species (e.g. bananas, salmon or pigs) is not possible on a single site on individual producer level (Option 1 or Option 2 member). Exception exists for Livestock as described in the relevant Livestock Base CPCC (LB 3.3 and 7.2.3)

Parallel production of certified and non-certified sub-species of a products (e.g. cherry tomatoes and roma tomatoes) is possible under all options and the PMUs shall be specified.

4.4.3.2 Parallel Ownership (PO)

This refers to the situation in which certified and non-certified product (the same product) are owned (purchased) by a producer at one time the same time.

4.4.3.3 Basic rules

In order to qualify for parallel production or parallel ownership of GLOBALG.A.P. certified and non-certified products (of the same accepted products), the producer : a) Shall register in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database for “Parallel

Production/Ownership (PP/PO)” (which will be visible on the GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate and via online certificate validation) Where a group member implements PP/PO, the group shall register for PP/PO,

b) Shall satisfy all of the following conditions for certification: (i) Different PMUs must be specified within the legal entity (at least one

aggregated PMU for all certified processes/products and one other aggregated PMU for all the non-certified processes/products)

(ii) Parallel production within the same PMU is not possible. Individual producers (Option 1, Option 1 Multisite with or without QMS, and individual producers within a producer group) for each registered product cannot have GLOBALG.A.P. and non-GLOBALG.A.P. products produced within the same production management unit (PMU)

(iii) All products are traceable to the respective PMU(s) on the farm and when leaving the farm (certified and non-certified products are fully segregated at all times). The traceability and recording system shall reflect the implementation of parallel production. See specific requirements for Livestock (LB 3.3)

(iv) Parallel ownership (when non-certified products are sourced) within the same PHU, however, is possible

(v) The “Traceability and Segregation” section in the All Farm Module (AF 12) shall be applicable


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n (vi) Product from a non-certified PMU shall not be moved to certified PMUs

(e.g. in aquaculture production) Note: Parallel production is not applicable to producer groups where some members are not registered for GLOBALG.A.P. Certification. However, if the group buys non-certified products, Parallel Ownership is applicable.

c) The producer registered for PP/PO shall consider methods to increase traceability to the identified PMUs or PHUs. (i) Acquire an own GLN with capacity to create sub-GLNs from the national

GS1 organization. Assign a sub-GLN to each specified PMU and PHU where applicable and register all products to be certified with the respective PMU/sub-GLN(s) in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database. All non-certified products and PMUs shall be registered with GLOBALG.A.P.

(ii) All certified products leaving the farm are labeled with the assigned sub-GLN that identifies the certified PMU they come from. (Non-certified products may be labeled with the sub-GLN of the specified PMU(s).

Burden of Proof 4.4.4

a) In the case of information (e.g. MRL exceedance, microbial contamination, etc.) bearing potential impact on the certified status/claim is transmitted to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat about a GLOBALG.A.P. certified producer, it is the responsibility of the producer to refute the claim by verifying and providing evidence for compliance with the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard.

In these cases: (i) If the CB conducts the investigation, the findings and actions taken will be

reported to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat, or (ii) If the retailer or owner of the product conducts their own investigation, they

shall report the findings back to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat who in turn will inform the CB to take appropriate action.

(iii) GLOBALG.A.P. will give the producer a certain amount of time to do this. (iv) If the CB does not deem the supplied evidence by the legal entity (producer or

PHU) adequate, the CB will issue a sanction and will follow the normal sanctioning procedures as described in GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations.

b) Producers will have to have full traceability in place – this could include mass balance, Chain of Custody Certification and any others records needed to verify and check the case. In case the evidence includes laboratory analyses, accredited laboratories (ISO 17025) and independent sampling (according to the rules as set out in the relevant CPCC) must be included.

5 ASSESSMENT PROCESS In order to achieve certification, a registered party must perform either a self-assessment (Option 1 and Option 1 Multisite without QMS) or internal inspections (Option 1 Multisite with QMS and Option 2) and receive external inspections by the chosen certification body.

5.1 Option 1 – Single Sites and Multisites without QMS

a) This section is applicable to applicants that are single legal entities (individual producer or company) with single production sites (farm) or multiple production sites that are not separate legal entities and are all centrally managed by the applicant.

b) Summary of assessments to be undertaken before certificate is issued (Initial Evaluation) and annually thereafter (Surveillance Evaluations):

Initial Evaluations (first year only) Subsequent Evaluations

Self-assessments by producer

1. Entire scope (all registered sites) 1. Entire scope (all registered sites)


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n

Externally by the CB

2. Announced inspection of entire scope (all registered sites)

1. Announced inspection of entire scope (all registered sites)

2. Unannounced inspection of (minimum 10% of certificate holders)

Self-Assessments 5.1.1

a) The self-assessment shall: (i) Cover all sites, products and processes under the certification scope and

comply with the requirements set in the applicable control points. (ii) Be carried out under the responsibility of the producer. (iii) Be carried out at least annually before the initial or surveillance inspections

against the complete checklist (Major and Minor Musts and Recommendations) of all relevant scope(s) and sub-scope(s) and registered areas. The completed checklist must be available on site for review at all times.

(iv) Comments and positive findings during the self-assessment shall be recorded as described by the checklist.

External Inspections 5.1.2a) The inspection (announced and unannounced) shall be carried out by a CB

inspector or auditor (see CB inspector and auditor requirements in Part III) b) The CB shall inspect the complete checklist (Major and Minor Musts and

Recommendations) of the applicable scope(s) and sub-scope(s).

5.1.2.1 Announced Inspections (i) Each applicant shall undergo one announced external inspection at the

initial assessment and thereafter once per annum. (ii) The inspection shall cover:

a) All accepted products b) All registered production locations c) Each registered product handling site/ fish processing facility (included

in IFA)

5.1.2.2 External Unannounced Surveillance Inspections

(i) The CB shall carry out unannounced surveillance inspections of a minimum of 10% of all certified producers the CB has certified under Option 1.

(ii) Unless the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat has approved a shortened checklist, the CB shall inspect the Major and Minor Musts of the applicable scope(s) and sub-scope(s). Any non-conformance will be handled in the same way as those found during an announced inspection.

(iii) The CB will inform the producer in advance of the intended visit. This notification will normally not exceed 48 hours (2 working days). In the exceptional case where it is impossible for the producer to accept the proposed date (due to medical or other justifiable reasons), the producer will receive one more chance to be informed of an unannounced surveillance inspection. The producer shall receive a written warning if the first proposed date has not been accepted. The producer will receive another 48-hour notification of a visit. If the visit cannot take place because of non-justifiable reasons, a suspension of all products will be issued.

5.2 Option 2 and Option 1 Multisite with QMS a) This section is applicable to groups and individuals with multiple sites who have

implemented a QMS and who comply with the requirements set in PART II. b) The applicant is responsible for ensuring that all producers and PMUs under the

certification scope comply with the certification requirements at all times. c) The CB does not inspect all producers or PMUs, but just a sample. Thus it is not the

responsibility of the CB to determine the compliance of each producer or PMU (this


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n responsibility rests with the applicant). The CB must assess whether the applicant’s internal controls are appropriate.

d) Summary of assessments to be undertaken before a certificate is issued (Initial Evaluation) and annually thereafter (Surveillance Evaluation):


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n Initial Evaluation (in the first

year) Subsequent Evaluation

Internally by the producer group and Option 1 multisite operation with QMS

1. Internal QMS audit 2. Internal inspection of each producer and/or (certified) PMU and/or all product handling units

1. Internal QMS audit 2. Internal inspection of each producer and/or (certified) PMU and/or all product handling units

Externally by the CB

First visit1. Announced QMS audit 2. Announced inspection to (minimum) square root of producer members and/or (certified) PMUs + Square root of the total number of central product handling units registered shall be inspected while in operation. Second visit (surveillance)

3. Unannounced (surveillance) inspection to (minimum) 50% square root of producers and/or (certified) PMUs

First visit1. Announced QMS audit 2.a) Announced inspection to (minimum) square root of actual number of producers and/or (certified) PMUs 2.b) If no sanction from previous surveillance: Announced inspection to (minimum) square root of actual number of producers and/or (certified) PMUs minus the number of producers and/or (certified) PMUs inspected unannounced during the previous (surveillance) inspection Second visit (surveillance)

3. Unannounced QMS audit to 10% of certificate holders 4. Unannounced (surveillance) inspection to (minimum) 50% square root of the actual number of producers and/or (certified) PMUs + First or second visit: Square root of the total number of central product handling units registered shall be inspected while in operation.

Where the produce handling does not take place centrally, but on the farms of the producer members, this factor shall be taken into account when determining the sample of producers to be inspected.

Internal Assessments 5.2.1

a) The applicant shall undertake internal assessments of all producers and/or PMUs to verify and ensure compliance with the certification requirements.

b) The internal assessments shall comply with requirements set in Part II and include: (i) A minimum of one internal audit of the QMS shall be carried out by the

internal auditor before the first CB audit and thereafter once per annum. (ii) A minimum of one internal inspection of each registered producer PMU and

produce handling facility (PHU) shall be carried out by the internal inspector before the first CB inspection and thereafter once per annum

c) Self-assessments by each member of the group are only required if it is an internal requirement by the group, but it is not a GLOBALG.A.P. requirement.

External Quality Management System (QMS) Audit 5.2.2a) The audit (announced and unannounced) shall be carried out by a CB auditor (see

CB auditor requirements in Part III) b) The audit (announced and unannounced) shall be based on the QMS Checklist

that is available on the GLOBALG.A.P. website.

5.2.2.1 QMS Announced Audits (i) The CB shall carry out one announced external audit of the QMS at the

initial assessment and thereafter once per annum.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n 5.2.2.2 QMS Unannounced Surveillance Audits

(i) The CB shall carry out additional QMS unannounced external audits on a minimum of 10% of the certified producer groups and multisites annually.

(ii) Non-conformance detected will be handled as in an announced audit. Non-conformances will lead to a sanction applied to the whole group or multisite.

(iii) The CB will inform the certificate holder. This notification will normally not exceed 48 hours (2 working days) in advance of the intended visit. In the exceptional case where it is impossible for the certificate holder to accept the proposed date (due to medical or other justifiable reasons), the certificate holder will receive one more chance to be informed of an unannounced surveillance inspection. The certificate holder shall receive a written warning if the first date has not been accepted. The certificate holder will receive another 48-hour notification of a visit. If the visit cannot take place because of non-justifiable reasons, a complete suspension will be issued.

External Producer or Site Inspections 5.2.3a) A CB inspector or auditor shall carry out the inspections. b) The CB shall inspect the complete checklist (Major and Minor Musts and

Recommendations) of the applicable scope(s) and sub-scope(s) during ALL inspections.

c) Initial inspection: As a minimum the square root (or next whole number rounded upwards if there are any decimals) of the total number of the producers and production sites in the certification scope must be inspected before a new certificate can be issued (initial certification or inspection by a new CB).

d) Surveillance producer inspections: (i) The CB shall carry out announced external inspections of each producer

group and multi-site annually. The minimum number of producers to be inspected per certificate holder depends on the outcome of the previous unannounced inspections and QMS audit.

(ii) The minimum number of producers/sites to be inspected during a certification cycle shall be equivalent to the square root of the current number of producers/sites; grouped by same type of activities.

(iii) The inspections shall be split into two: 50% shall be inspected unannounced during the validity period of a certificate (12 months), and the other 50% during the announced surveillance inspection.

(iv) Only if the producers inspected externally have no other sanctions raised in that surveillance inspection, the following regular announced inspection by the CB will be reduced to the square root of the current number of the producers/PMUs minus the number of producers/PMUs inspected unannounced (providing the findings from the Quality Management System audit carried out at the following regular announced inspection are also favorable to this reduction). Example 1: Applicant X has 25 registered producers/sites. The minimum number of producers/sites to be inspected is 5 for the initial inspection. Six months after the certificate was issued to Group X (full compliance with QMS audit and 5 farm inspections), the CB inspects 3 (50% of 5 = 3) producers unannounced. If the 3 producers show no non-conformances during this surveillance inspection, the CB will only check 2 (5 minus the 3 already inspected) producers during the following regular announced inspection IF the QMS audit during the regular announced inspection does not show any non-conformances. If any non-conformance is raised during the unannounced inspection, Group X will be sanctioned accordingly, and no reduction of sample size will result in the next regular announced inspection. Example 2: In producer group with 50 members during the initial audit 8 members (square root of 50) and during the following surveillance inspections 4 (0.5 x 8) members must be inspected. The total number of inspections in the first year is 12. In the next year, where no non-conformances are detected during the unannounced producer inspection,


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n the CB must inspect 4 producers and later another 4 during the unannounced producer inspections. Example 3: In a producer group with 5 members during the initial audit, 3 members (square root of 5) and during the following surveillance inspections 2 (0.5 x 3) members must be inspected. If in the next year the total number of group members decreased to 4, and no non-conformances were detected during the surveillance producer inspection, still 1 producer must be inspected.

e) Before a certification decision can be made, the square root of the total number of current producer members and PMUs must have been inspected during the last 12 months.

5.3 Inspection timing

Initial (First) Inspections 5.3.1a) This section is applicable to an applicant seeking GLOBALG.A.P. Certification for

the first time, to an already certified producer changing to a new CB or when adding a new product to the GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate.

b) No inspection can take place until the CB has accepted the applicant’s registration. c) Each production process for products registered and accepted for certification for

the first time must be completely assessed (all applicable control points must be verified), prior to issuing the certificate.

d) A product that has not yet been harvested shall not be included in the certificate (i.e. it is not possible to certify a product in the future).

e) The applicant must have records and the CB must inspect them, (i) From registration date onwards, and (ii) For at least 3 months before the first inspection takes place.

f) Products that are harvested/slaughtered/processed (as part of IFA) before registration with GLOBALG.A.P. cannot be certified. Records that relate to harvest or produce handling before the producer registered with GLOBALG.A.P. are not valid.

5.3.1.1 Integrated Farm Assurance: Crops (i) The initial inspection shall cover harvesting activities of each product to

be included for certification, as well as produce handling if it is included. (ii) Fieldwork can be checked at a different time where feasible, but this is

not obligatory. (iii) Alternative timing options may be followed where inspection during

harvest time is not possible, i.e. 1st inspection therefore takes place before or after harvest (though always after registration of the applicant). In these cases, justification for this alternative timing must be noted in the audit report. Examples of justification may be logistics and timing constraints of farmer and/or inspector, variation in harvest dates, etc. Additionally the following constraints need to be followed by the CB:

a) Practically, inspection of records and visual evidence require that the inspection must take place as close to harvest as possible for the inspector to verify as many control points as possible.

b) If the inspection is made before harvest, it will not be possible to inspect certain control points. As a result either a follow-up visit will be required, or proof of compliance may be sent by fax, photos or other acceptable means. No certificate will be issued until all control points have been verified and closed out.

c) If harvest has already taken place at the moment of inspection, the farmer must retain evidence for compliance of control points related to that harvest, otherwise some control points may not be able to be checked and certification will not be possible until the following harvest.

d) The CB must make sure that in the sampling for unannounced visits, those producers that did not receive a 1st inspection or the


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n re-certification inspection during harvest have a greater chance of getting an unannounced inspection during the next harvest (this needs to be conveyed to the farmer when discussing inspection timing). Additionally, the CB must make every effort to carry out the subsequent inspection during harvest.

(iv) Multiple Crops: The producer may be seeking certification for more than one crop (concurrent or consecutive crops), and the crops may not all have the same seasonal timing, i.e. harvest of one crop does not necessarily coincide with the harvest of other crops. The requirements above are applicable to crop groupings based on similarities in production systems. The CB shall verify all control points of these groupings, before the product(s) can be added to the certificate.

Example: A visit during pear harvesting is not required when pears are being added to the scope where apples are already included in the certificate. However, the pears can only be added to the certificate once all control points have been verified however, adding spinach to the scope would require an assessment during the spinach harvesting period.

Subsequent Inspections 5.3.2a) The subsequent inspection can be done any time during an “inspection window”

that extends over a period of 12 months: from 8 months before the original expiry date of the certificate, and (only if the CB extends the certificate validity in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database) up to 4 months after the original expiry date of the certificate.

Example: 1st certification date: 14 February 2012 (expiry date: 13 February 2013). 2nd inspection can be at any time from 14 June 2012 to 13 June 2013, if the certificate validity is extended.

b) There shall be a minimum period of 6 months between 2 inspections for recertification.

5.3.2.1 Integrated Farm Assurance: Crops

(i) The inspection shall be done at a time when relevant agronomic activities and/or handling (but not only storage) are being carried out. Inspection timing shall allow the CB to gain assurance that all registered crops, even if not present at the time of inspection, are handled in compliance with the certification requirements. Inspections off-season or when the farming activities are minimal shall be avoided.

(ii) When produce handling is included in the certification scope, the produce handling facility(ies) must be inspected when it is in operation at a frequency based on a risk assessment, but at least once every 2 years or when a new CB is used. The risk assessment should take into account the product(s) being packed as well as known food safety incidences related to that product as well as any directives from GLOBALG.A.P. to look at specific points. The CB must keep justification of the reason for the chosen inspection frequency on record. This is applicable for Option 1 producers. Refer to Part III, 5.5 for Option 2)

5.3.2.2 Integrated Farm Assurance: Livestock (i) The registered livestock species must be present on the farm at the time

of the inspection. (ii) The inspection timing in 2 certification cycles must take winter and

summer conditions into account where applicable.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n

5.3.2.3 Integrated Farm Assurance: Aquaculture (i) The registered aquaculture species must be present on the farm at the

time of the inspection. Fallowing dates must be recorded – see Aquaculture Base Module. Post harvest handling performed by same legal entity as the farm shall also comply.

6 CERTIFICATION PROCESS 6.1 Non-compliance and non-conformance a) Non-compliance (of a control point): A GLOBALG.A.P. Control Point in the checklist is

not fulfilled according to the Compliance Criteria, e.g. the producer does not comply with the Minor Must AF 2.2.2 in IFA.

b) Non-conformance (of the GLOBALG.A.P. Certification Rules): A GLOBALG.A.P. rule that is necessary for obtaining the certificate (see 6.2) is infringed.

c) Contractual Non-Conformances: Breach of any of the agreements signed in the contract between the CB and the producer related to GLOBALG.A.P. issues. (i) CB can impose a suspension of all products.

Case examples: trading with a product that does not comply with legal requirements; false communication by the producer regarding GLOBALG.A.P. Certification; GLOBALG.A.P. trademark misuse; or payments are not made following contractual conditions; etc.

6.2 Requirements to achieve and maintain GLOBALG.A.P. Certification Control Points and Compliance Criteria consist of three types of control points: Major Musts, Minor Musts and Recommendations. To obtain GLOBALG.A.P. Certification the following are required:

Major Musts: 100% compliance of all applicable Major Must and QMS control points is compulsory.

Minor Musts: 95% compliance of all applicable Minor Must control points is compulsory.

Recommendations: No minimum percentage of compliance.

Comments shall be supplied for all non-compliant and not applicable Major and Minor Must control points. In addition, comments shall also be supplied for all Major Musts, unless otherwise indicated on the checklist. This is obligatory for internal as well as external assessments.

Minor Must Compliance Calculation 6.2.1

a) For the sake of calculation, the following formula shall apply:

{

(Total number of

Minor Must control point)

- (Not Applicable

Minor Musts control points scored)

} x 5%

=

(Total Minor Must control point Non- compliance allowable)

e.g. (Total number of Minor Must control points/module – NA Minor Must) x 5%

(122 – 52) x 0.05 = 70 x 0.05 = 3.5.

This means that the total number of Minor Must control point non-compliance allowed is 3.5, which must be rounded down. Therefore this producer may only have 3 Minor Must control points that are non-compliant.

70 applicable Minor Must control points – 3 non-compliant Minor Must control points = 67. This gives a compliance level of 95.7%, whereas if 3.5 were rounded up to 4 it would give a compliance level of 94.2%, which would be not compliant with the certification rule.

NOTE: A score for example of 94.8% cannot be rounded to 95% (the pass percentage)


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n b) In all cases, after an inspection, the calculation to show compliance (or non-

compliance) must be available.

Applicable Control Points 6.2.2a) The control points to be taken into consideration to calculate the percentage of

compliance for Major and Minor Musts depend on the product and certification scope. The applicant shall ensure that each individual site and product comply with the certification requirements. Thus the compliance percentage shall be calculated taking into account all the control points applicable to each site and product. A full checklist shall be completed internally and externally for each individual producer (Option 1), for each producer group member (Option 2) or for each site (Option-1 Multisite) inspection

b) In a multisite operation (without QMS), compliance level is calculated for the entire operation in one checklist. Any applicable control point common to all sites (i.e. a packhouse) needs to be taken into account for all sites.

c) In a producer group or multi-site with QMS, compliance level is calculated per producer and/or PMU (each producer or PMU must comply with the certification requirements). Any applicable control point common to all producers (i.e. a pack-house or producer group requirements) needs to be taken into account for all producers.

d) The control points that are applicable to several sites, producers or products (e.g.: central pack-house, QMS requirements, etc.) shall be taken into consideration and calculated in each inspection of those concerned sites, producers or products.

E.g.: A producer seeking certification for Fruit and Vegetables needs to comply with 100% of applicable Major Musts and 95% of the applicable Minor Musts of the All Farm (AF), Crops Base (CB) and Fruit and Vegetables (FV) modules combined.

E.g.: A producer seeking certification for Combinable Crops and Dairy needs to comply with 100% of applicable Major Musts and 95% of the applicable Minor Musts of: o For Combinable Crops: the All Farm (AF), Crops Base (CB) and Combinable

Crops (CC) Modules combined. o For Dairy: the All Farm (AF), Livestock Base (LB), Cattle and Sheep (CS) and

Dairy (DY) Modules combined. E.g.: A producer group with a central pack-house. The applicable and non-

applicable control points of the product handling module shall be added to the control point for each producer. A non-conformance detected at pack-house level shall be considered for each producer.

E.g.: The producer seeks certification for green beans and coffee. A non-conformance of a Major Must is detected in the Coffee sub-scope. The Coffee cannot be certified. The green beans can only be certified IF the responsible CB justifies that there is no concern to the integrity of the producer and production as a whole resulting from the Major Must non-conformance in the Coffee sub-scope.

E.g.: The producer seeks certification for pigs and vegetables. A non-conformance with one of the Major Musts in the All Farm Base is detected; neither the pigs, nor the vegetables can be certified.

6.3 Certification Decision a) The CB shall make the certification decision within a maximum of 28 calendar days after

closure of any outstanding non-conformances. b) Any complaints or appeals against CBs will follow the CB’s own complaints and appeals

procedure, which each CB must have and communicate to its clients. In case the CB does not respond adequately, the complaint can be addressed to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat using the GLOBALG.A.P. Complaints Extranet, available on the GLOBALG.A.P. website (www.globalgap.org)

6.4 Sanctions a) When a non-conformance is detected, the CB shall apply a sanction (Warning,

Suspension of a product or Cancellation) as indicated in this section.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n b) Producers cannot change CB until the non-conformance that led to the respective

sanction is satisfactorily closed out. c) ONLY the CB or the producer group that has issued the sanction is entitled to lift it,

provided there is sufficient and timely evidence of corrective action (either through a follow-up visit or other written or visual evidence).

Warning 6.4.1a) A warning is issued for all types of non-conformance detected. b) If there is a non-conformance detected during the inspection, the producer must be

served a warning when the inspection is finalized. This is a provisional report that could be overridden by the CB certification authority.

c) Initial inspection: (i) Outstanding non-conformances shall be closed within three months from the

date of inspection. (ii) If the cause of the warning is not resolved within three (3) months, a

complete inspection must be performed before a certificate can be issued. d) Subsequent inspection:

(i) Outstanding non-conformances shall be closed within 28 calendar days. (ii) If the non-conformance is against a Major Must, the period given for

compliance before suspension is applied will depend on the criticality of the non-conformance in terms of safety of people, environment and consumers, evaluated by the inspector/auditor carrying out the inspection/audit decision on the period for implementing corrective actions. The CB shall make the decision on the period that is given (within the 28-day limit) to the producer for closing out the Major Must non-conformance. No time is given for compliance where a serious threat to the safety of people, environment and consumer is present and a suspension is issued immediately

If there is a food safety issue, this will be fast tracked to the certification body’s certification committee who will decide on a shorter period of corrective action days than the regular 28-day period. This will be communicated via an official warning letter.

(iii) If the cause of the warning is not resolved within the period set (maximum of 28 days), a suspension is imposed.

Product Suspension 6.4.2a) A suspension can be applied to one, several or all of the products covered by the

certificate. b) A product cannot be partially suspended for an individual producer (single or

multisite); i.e. the entire product must be suspended c) During the period of suspension, the producer will be prohibited from using the

GLOBALG.A.P. logo/trademark, license/certificate or any other type of document that is in any way linked to GLOBALG.A.P. in relation to the suspended product.

d) If a producer notifies the CB that the non-conformance is resolved before the set period, the respective sanction will be lifted, subject to satisfactory evidence and closing out.

e) If the cause of the suspension is not resolved within the set period, a product cancellation is imposed.

f) Two types of suspensions exist and these are explained below.

6.4.2.1 Self-declared Product Suspension (i) A producer or producer group may voluntarily ask the respective CB(s)

for a suspension of one, several or all of the products covered by the certificate (unless a CB has already imposed a sanction). This can occur if the producer experiences difficulty with compliance to the standard and needs time to close out any non-compliance.

(ii) This suspension will not delay the renewal date, nor will it allow the producer to avoid paying registration and other applicable fees. The


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n producer’s status shall change to “Self-declared Suspension” on product level.

(iii) The deadline for closing non-conformance is set by the declaring producer/producer group, which must be agreed upon with the respective CB(s) but must be closed out before the CB may lift the suspension.

(iv) The same applies for a member of a producer group that may voluntarily ask its group to temporarily suspend its product(s). Also here, the deadline for closing non-conformance is set by the declaring producer, which must be agreed upon with the respective producer group QMS but must be closed out before the producer group may lift the suspension.

6.4.2.2 Certification Body / Producer Group Declared Suspension (i) CBs can issue and lift product suspensions to producers and producer

groups. (ii) Producer groups can issue and lift product suspension to their accepted

producer members. (iii) CB/producer groups shall issue a suspension when a producer/producer

group cannot show evidence of implementation of effective corrective actions after a warning has been issued.

(iv) The CB/producer group can issue a suspension for certain products or for all products of the certified product scope.

(v) After the suspension is applied, the CB/producer group will set the period allowed for correction.

Cancellation 6.4.3a) A cancellation of the contract shall be issued where:

(i) The CB finds evidence of fraud and/or lack of trust to comply with GLOBALG.A.P. requirements, or

(ii) A producer/producer group cannot show evidence of implementation of effective corrective action after a CB declared suspension, or

(iii) When there is a contractual non-conformance. b) A cancellation of the contract will result in the total prohibition (all products, all

sites) of the use of the GLOBALG.A.P. logo/trademark, license/certificate, or any device or document may be linked to GLOBALG.A.P.

c) A producer that has received a cancellation shall not be accepted for GLOBALG.A.P. Certification within 12 months after the date of cancellation.

6.5 Notification and Appeals

a) The producer must either resolve the non-conformances communicated or appeal to the CB in writing against the non-conformances, explaining the reasons for the appeal.

b) If the non-conformances are not resolved within the permitted period, the sanction will be escalated.

6.6 Sanctioning of Certification Bodies

a) GLOBALG.A.P. reserves the right to sanction CBs based on evidence of not following procedures or clauses of the Certification and License Agreement signed between GLOBALG.A.P. and the CB (refer to General Regulations Part III if more information is required).

6.7 GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate and Certification Cycle

a) A certificate is not transferable from one legal entity to another when a production unit changes legal entity. In this case an initial inspection is required.

b) The certification cycle is 12 months subject to any sanctions and extensions in accordance with the scope described.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n Certificate Information 6.7.1

a) The paper certificate issued by a CB must conform to the templates available for the specific standards included in the standard-specific rules. The format may be different but it must include the same information.

b) The paper certificate shall match the information available in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database for that unique GGN at the time of issuing.

c) The scope of certification must be clearly defined in the certificate. For the GLOBALG.A.P. Aquaculture Scope, the scientific name of the species covered shall be also included.

d) Date of Certification: Date when the CB makes the certification decision after all non-conformances are closed out (e.g. 14 February 2011).

e) Valid from: (i) Initial Inspection: The initial date of validity will be the date when the CB

makes the certification decision (e.g. 14 February 2011). (ii) Subsequent Inspections: The valid from date for subsequent certificates

issued shall always revert to the valid from date in the original certificate (e.g. 14 February 2012, 14 February 2013, etc.), except when the certification decision is made after the expiration of the previous certificate. In this case the valid from date must coincide with the date of certification decision. (e.g. previous certificate valid to date: 13 February 2012; Date of certification decision: 25 February 2012; Valid from date 25 February 2012; Valid to date: 13 February 2013).

f) Valid to: (i) Initial Inspection: Date valid from plus 1 year minus one day. The CB may

shorten the certification cycle and the validity, but cannot prolong it. (ii) Subsequent Inspections: The validity date for subsequent certificates issued

shall always revert to the valid from date on the original certificate (e.g. 13 February 2012, 13 February 2013, etc.).

Extension of Certificate Validity: 6.7.2

a) The validity may be extended beyond the 12 months (for a maximum period of 4 months) only under the following conditions: (i) The product is re-accepted in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database for a full next cycle

within the original validity period of the certificate. (ii) The full certification license fee and registration fee shall be paid for the next

cycle (iii) The producer shall be re-inspected during that extension period.

b) If a certificate that was not extended and not "re-accepted" expires and the subsequent inspection (to be performed by the same CB) is going to take place in less than 12 months after the expiration date, a valid justification must be given and a new certification cycle shall start. By setting the same “valid to” date as before, the old cycle can be reinstated. The cycle cannot be changed if the certificate was extended and a product "re-accepted" during the old certification period/cycle. The CB shall apply the rules for initial (first) inspection if the certificate expired for more than 12 months.

Maintenance of GLOBALG.A.P. Certification 6.7.3

a) The registration of the producer and the proposed products for the relevant scopes must be re-confirmed with the CB annually before the expiry date. Otherwise the product status will change from “Certified” to “Certificate not renewed or re-registered”.

b) The complete checklist/shortened reward checklist and the verification process must be completed by the inspector annually.

7 ACRONYMS AND REFERENCES 7.1 Acronyms AB Accreditation Body CB Certification Body / Crops Base in IFA


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n CC Compliance Criteria CoC Chain of Custody CP Control Point CPCC Control Points and Compliance

Criteria IFA Integrated Farm Assurance HACCP Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points NTWG National Technical Working Group SC Sector Committee CBC Certification Body Committee IAF International Accreditation Forum MLA Multilateral Agreement EA European co-operation for

Accreditation CL Checklist QMS Quality Management System BMCL Benchmarking Checklist GFSI Global Food Safety Initiative IPRO Integrity Program CIPRO Certification Integrity Program PMU Production Management Unit PHU Product Handling Unit


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n 7.2 Reference Documents (i) EN 45011 or ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996. General requirement for bodies operating product

certification systems. (ii) IAF Guidance on the Application of ISO/IEC Guide 65:1996. Issue 2 (IAF GD 5:2006) (iii) ISO/IEC 17020:2004 General criteria for the operation of various types of bodies

performing inspection. (iv) ISO/IEC 17025:2005. General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration

laboratories. (v) ISO/IEC 17011 General requirements for accreditation bodies accrediting conformity

assessment bodies. (vi) ISO 19011 Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management systems auditing.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n ANNEX I.1 RULES FOR USE OF GLOBALG.A.P. AND EUREPGAP TRADEMARK AND LOGO GLOBALG.A.P. is the owner of the trademarks “EUREPGAP” and “GLOBALG.A.P.” and the logo collectively the “GLOBALG.A.P. trademark”. The “EUREPGAP” trademark shall be replaced by the trademark “GLOBALG.A.P.” with further notice. The “EUREPGAP” trademark shall be used until further notice alone or in conjunction with “GLOBALG.A.P.”.

The certification body is expected to verify the correct use of the GLOBALG.A.P. trademark on farms at all times. Infringement of these rules by suppliers could lead to sanctions.

1. GLOBALG.A.P. trademark (i) The GLOBALG.A.P. trademark shall never appear on the product, consumer packaging of

the product nor at the point of sale where in direct connection to single products.

(ii) Producers may only use the GLOBALG.A.P. trademarks on pallets that only contain certified GLOBALG.A.P. products and that will NOT appear at the point of sale.

(iii) GLOBALG.A.P. certified producers may use the GLOBALG.A.P. trademark in business-to-business communication, and for traceability, segregation or identification purposes on site at the production location.

(iv) GLOBALG.A.P. retailer, associate and supplier members can use the trademark in promotional print-outs, flyers, hardware and electronic displays (not directly linked to certified product) and in business-to-business communication.

(v) GLOBALG.A.P. approved Certification Bodies can use the trademark in promotional material directly linked to their GLOBALG.A.P. certification activities in business-to-business communication, and on GLOBALG.A.P. Certificates they issue.

(vi) The GLOBALG.A.P. trademark shall never be used on promotional items, apparel items or accessories of any kind, bags of any kind, or personal care items, or in connection with retail store services.

2. Specifications The EUREPGAP logo and the GLOBALG.A.P. logo must always be obtained from the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. This will ensure that it contains the exact corporate color and format, as below:


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n 3. GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) (i) The GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) is a 13-digit numerical number, not including the

GLOBALG.A.P. trademark, and is unique to each and every producer and any other legal entity in the GLOBALG.A.P. System. For this number GLOBALG.A.P. uses existing Global Location Numbers (GLN) issued and to be purchased from the local GS1 organization (www.gs1.org) or alternatively – in its absence – GLOBALG.A.P. assigns its own interim GLN.

(ii) The GGN can be used on the product and/or final packaging at the point of sale. The legal entity that labels GGN shall be a holder of a valid certificate of GLOBALG.A.P. (IFA, PPM or CoC) or of a GFSI recognized post-farm gate standard or any other standard recognized by GLOBALG.A.P. For Aquaculture; if the GGN is to be placed on the final packaging; the GLOBALG.A.P. auditor shall audit sections AB 12 and AB 13 when product is owned by the same legal entity during handling, OR shall audit the CoC Standard, except for control point CoC 3.2.

(iii) The GGN issued by GLOBALG.A.P. shall only be used in connection with the GLOBALG.A.P. System. It is prohibited to use it in any other context or in relation to third parties.

(iv) Whenever a need arises to identify the organization in other contexts or additional applications, the organization may apply for their own GLN and report this number to GLOBALG.A.P., who shall register the organization under their own number and withdraw the GGN accordingly.

4. Registration Number (i) The registration number is a number that may be issued by the certification body to

identify the producer. This number serves as an alias identification to the GGN.

(ii) The number is made up of the certification body name (in its short form as agreed between the CB and the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat: “CB Short Name”) followed by a space, followed by the number of the producer or group, as issued by the certification body. The GLOBALG.A.P. trademark shall not appear in this number, e.g.: CBXYZ_12345.

(iii) The registration number may be used, on request of a customer and with prior permission of the issuing certification body, on the product or final packaging at the point of sale. GLOBALG.A.P. does not claim any responsibility with respect to traceability and authenticity of products labeled with this registration number.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n ANNEX I.2 GLOBALG.A.P. REGISTATION DATA REQUIREMENTS 1. Types of Master Data required The CB must record the following data and the GLOBALG.A.P. Database needs to be updated accordingly (as required in the current database manual).

1.1 Company and location information

1.2 Production Management Unit /Produce Handling Unit information

1.3 Product information

1.4 Checklist information

This information shall be updated regularly whenever there is a change. It must be update latest with the re-acceptance of products for the next certificate cycle and/or the re-certification.

1.1 Company Information of Legal Entity

The following information regarding the company (producer group, producer as individual certificate holder or producer member in a producer group) is necessary to supply each producer in the system with a unique GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN).

1.1.1 Company

(i) Company name

(ii) Contact details: street address

(iii) Contact details: postal address

(iv) Postal code

(v) City

(vi) Country

(vii) Phone number (if available)

(viii) Fax number (if available)

(ix) E-mail address (if available)

(x) GLN (if available)

(xi) Legal registration by country as published and approved by the GLOBALG.A.P. Board. This number is only used for internal verification to avoid double registration (e.g., tax number, VAT number, producer number etc.)

(xii) Previous GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN)

(xiii) Northern/Southern Latitude (voluntary) and Eastern/Western Longitude (voluntary)

1.1.2 Contact person (responsible for legal entity)

This is the information required for the person in the company who is legally responsible for the legal unit as well as for the internal inspector(s) and/or auditor(s) of producer groups.

(i) Title

(ii) First name

(iii) Last name

(iv) Contact details: Street address

(v) Contact details: Postal address


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n (vi) Postal Code

(vii) City

(viii) Country

(ix) Phone number (if available)

(x) Fax number (if available)

(xi) E-mail address (if available, obligatory for auditors and inspectors)

(xii) Roles (Responsible, Inspector, Auditor, etc.)

(xiii) Product scope of internal auditors/inspectors of producer groups

If more persons need to be affiliated, their data can also be entered into the database (either by certification body, producer group or producer or other designated farm assurer).

1.2 Company Information of Legal Entity The following information regarding the company Production Management Units (PMU) or Produce Handling Unit (PHU) of the company (legal entity) to be certified is necessary. This information is obligatory for multi-site certificates and where the applicant registers for Parallel Production. The PHU is obligatory for post-harvest operations performed under same legal entity as the farm.

1.2.1 PMU and/or PHU

(i) Company name and produce handling facility (if different)

(ii) Contact details: Street address

(iii) Contact details: Postal address

(iv) Postal Code

(v) City

(vi) Country

(vii) Phone number (if available)

(viii) Fax number (if available)

(ix) E-mail address (if available)

(x) Sub-GLN(s) (if available)

(xi) Legal registration by country as published and approved by the GLOBALG.A.P. Board. This number is only used for internal verification to avoid double registration (e.g., tax number, VAT number, producer number etc.)

(xii) Previous GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN), available

(xiii) Northern/Southern Latitude (voluntary) and Eastern/Western Longitude (voluntary). Compulsory for aquaculture production units at farm level (refer to Aquaculture Base Module).

(xiv) Facility information: (e.g. sites) coordinates must be supplied for producers seeking certification against the Aquaculture scope as requested in the applicable control points and entered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database as soon as the service is available. Facilities can be entered with a time line and will be linked to the PMU or PHU


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n 1.2.2 Contact Person of PMU or PHU (if applicable) This is the information required for the user or person in the company who is legally responsible for the certification.

(i) Title

(ii) First name

(iii) Last name

(iv) Contact details: Street address

(v) Contact details: Postal address

(vi) Postal Code

(vii) City

(viii) Country

(ix) Phone number (if available)

(x) Fax number (if available)

(xi) E-mail address (if available)

(xii) Login name (if different from e-mail address)

1.3 Product Information This information gives more detail on the product(s) to be certified and shall be used to invoice the producer. This information must be updated if there are any changes detected during the external inspections (to avoid incorrect invoicing).

a) Product(s)

b) Parallel Production

c) Subcontracted activities

d) Quantity information (based on requirements as explained in fee table)

(i) Crops: Annual Area under production (ha or acres), voluntary: estimated yield (tons)

(ii) Livestock: Annual quantity of production (tons)

(iii) Aquaculture: Annual Quantity of production (Tonnage to be registered in the database shall be for first audit, maximum estimated tonnage of live weight at point of harvest at the farm and for the 2nd audit on, real tonnage of live weight at point of harvest at the farm for the previous 12 months. For broodstock/seedlings (estimated numbers of organisms).

(iv) Compound Feed Manufacturing: Annual quantity of production (tons)

(v) Plant Propagation Material: Annual area under production (ha or acres)

e) Option (1, 2, 3 and/or 4 per product)

f) Scheme name (if a benchmarked scheme; Options 3 and/or 4, per product)

g) Certification body(ies) to be use per product

h) Country of Destination (it is possible to declare a group of countries, e.g. European Union)

i) Integrated Farm Assurance specific requirements:

(i) Crops: Covered or non-covered crop


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n (ii) Crops: First harvest (first crop) on an area during a certification cycle or further

harvest (subsequent crop) of the same or different crop on the same area during the certification cycle

(iii) For Fruit and Vegetables: Exclusion of produce handling when not applicable (for each product certified)

(iv) For Fruit and Vegetables: The GLOBALG.A.P. Number(s) (GGN) of certified producer(s) subcontracted for produce handling (if applicable).

(v) For Fruit and Vegetables: If produce handling is included, the producer must declare whether products are also packed for other GLOBALG.A.P. certified producers.

(vi) For Coffee and Tea: The GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) of the processing unit(s) as indicated in the Chain of Custody certification must be entered into the GLOBALG.A.P. Database as soon as the producer knows it, and it must be communicated to the CB and updated whenever there are changes.

(vii) For Livestock and Aquaculture: the GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) of the compound feed manufacturer(s) supplying compound feed; even when GGN remains the same (for integrated operations).

(viii) For Livestock: The GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) of the transporter(s) must be entered into the GLOBALG.A.P. Database as soon as the transportation is covered by GLOBALG.A.P. and the producer knows it, communicated to the CB and updated whenever there are changes.

(ix) For Aquaculture: The GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) of the seedlings supplier(s) (compulsory) and broodstock supplier(s) (voluntary), still when GGN remains the same for integrated operations must be entered into the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.

1.4 Checklist Information This information gives more detail on the audit report linked to the certificate.

a) Product(s)

b) Auditor/Inspector

c) Type of Audit

d) Checklist Version

e) Audit Report (including checklist data)


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n ANNEX I.3 GLOBALG.A.P. GUIDELINE ON PARALLEL PRODUCTION AND PARALLEL OWNERSHIP This Annex is clarifying the requirements as set out in Part I, 4.4.3 and CPCC AF 12. One of the major changes from GLOBALG.A.P. IFA Version 3 to Version 4 is the introduction of the Parallel Production and Parallel Ownership concept. This guideline’s purpose is to define terms and explain the rules that apply to producers, which produce and/or own non-certified products in addition to GLOBALG.A.P. certified products. NOTE: The following text will use the term producer indistinctly for individual producers as well as producer groups. In case rules do not apply to both, this will be mentioned. 1. DEFINITIONS Parallel Production (PP): PP is the situation where a farmer produces the same product partly as certified and partly as non-certified. Example: A producer or a producer group member grows apples. Only a part of the apple production will be certified.

A situation in which a farmer produces one product as certified and another product as non-certified is not Parallel Production (e.g.: apples certified and pears non-certified). This is also true for the case where some members of a producer group do not participate in certification. Parallel Ownership (PO): PO is the situation where producers buy non-certified products of the same products they grow under certified production. Example: A producer or a producer group member grows certified apples and buys non-certified apples from other producer(s).

In the case of producer groups (PG), Parallel Ownership is only applicable when the group or any of its members buy non-certified products from external sources (i.e. to buy non-certified product from other producer groups or from producers who are not members of the group) of the same products as the ones included in the certificate.

It is not considered PO when: • A producer/producer group buys additional certified products from another GLOBALG.A.P.

certified producer(s). However, the chapter of Traceability and Mass Balance of the QMS checklist (QM MB 3) shall be checked.

• Some members of a producer group are not registered for GLOBALG.A.P. Certification of a product that the group is being certified for.

• A certified producer handles products for non-certified producers as a subcontractor, i.e. the certified producer does not buy the non-certified products (This clarifies and overrules GR Intro v4 3.1.2.ii.e.).

Production Management Unit (PMU): Production Management Unit (PMU) is a production unit (can be a farm, field, orchard, herd, greenhouse, etc.) defined by the producer for units where segregation of output (agricultural products) is intended and all provisions have been made and put in place to keep separate records and prevent mixing of the products in the case of Parallel Production […] (IFA General Regulations Version 4, Part I, 4.2.1 g)).

In Parallel Production, the PMUs shall be specified for the GLOBALG.A.P. and the non-GLOBALG.A.P. production processes and each PMU shall be administrated so that traceability and segregation is guaranteed at any moment.

Parallel Production within a PMU is not possible. Product Handling Unit (PHU): A product handling unit is a unit defined by the producer, where products are stored and handled. Segregation of product at all time (input, process, output) is guaranteed and provisions have been made and put in place to keep separate records. Handling certified and non-certified own product and handling own certified and sourced non-certified product is possible within the same product handling facility.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n Site: A production area (e.g. fields, plots) that is owned or rented and ultimately managed by one legal entity, and where the same input factors (e.g. water supply, workers, equipment, etc.) are used.

One site may contain several non-touching areas (areas that do not share a common border; non-contiguous) and production of more than one product on the same site is possible.

In case of multi-site producers with QMS that register for Parallel Production or Ownership, each site shall be registered as a different PMU. 2. CHANGES REGARDING VERSION 3.1 Parallel Production allows producers under version 4 to produce one product partly as certified and partly as not certified, while in version 3.1 producers intending to certify the production process of a product had to include: • Crops: the entire crop (same product) grown by the producer/producer group; • Livestock: ALL animals of that type present on farm, EXCEPT Grandparents; • Aquaculture: ALL fish and all stages of that type present on farm. Parallel Ownership allows producers to buy from non-certified sources the same products that are included in the scope of their certificates, while under version 3.1, certified producers could not own (by growing or purchasing) non-certified products of the same ones they had certified. 3. LIMITATIONS TO THE ELIGIBILITY FOR PP/PO 3.1 Parallel Production is only possible in the following circumstances: • Parallel Production of certified and non-certified sub-species of a product with distinctive

visible differences detectable by the average consumer (e.g. cherry tomatoes and roma tomatoes) is possible in one contiguous production area under all options (1& 2).

• Parallel Production of certified and non-certified products of the same species (e.g. bananas, salmon or pigs) without distinctive visible differences detectable by the average consumer can only take place in non-contiguous areas with separate recording system for the agronomic activities undertaken.

The non-contiguous areas shall be separated by physical elements (e.g. road, barriers,) that prevent accidental mixing, spraying, drifting, etc. NOTE: This point overrules and clarifies the GR V4, Part I, 4.4.3.1 “Parallel Production (PP) of certified and non-certified products of the same species (e.g. bananas, salmon or pigs) is not possible on a single site on individual producer level (Option 1 or Option 2 member)”. Exception exists for Livestock as described in the relevant Livestock Base CPCC (LB 3.3 and 7.2.3). 3.2 There is no pre-condition for the registration for Parallel Ownership. All producers buying non-certified products of the same products they grow under certified production processes shall register for Parallel Ownership. 4. PP/PO FOR PRODUCER GROUPS A Producer Group (PG) has to register for PP/PO in the following scenarios: • When at least one member registers for Parallel Production • When at least one member registers for Parallel Ownership • When the group purchases the same products included in its certificate from external non-

certified producers or producer groups. When a producer group registers for PP/PO, the same rules as for individual producers apply. 5. REGISTRATION

5.1 Registration steps


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n (i) The producer shall inform its CB/Farm Assurer of his application for PP/PO during the

registration process. (ii) The CB/Farm Assurer shall register the producer in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database for

PP and or PO. (iii) The producer shall identify at least two Production Management Units (PMU): one for

all certified processes and one other for all the non-certified processes (see 6.1). (iv) Those producers who opt for using Sub-GLNs (Option B; see point 8, AF 12.1.2. of

this Annex) to increase traceability of their operations, shall register all PMUs (those regarding certified processes and those regarding non-certified processes) in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database by assigning products to the PMU as soon as this is possible. This is not possible for producers who opt for not using Sub-GLNs (Option A; see point 8, AF 12.1.2 of this Annex).

(v) In the event that a producer acquires a GLN and assigns Sub-GLNs to the PMUs and PHUs specified, these shall be registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.

(vi) All products shall be traceable to the respective PMU(s) and certified and non-certified products shall be fully segregated at all times. The traceability and recording system shall reflect the implementation of Parallel Production. See specific requirements for Livestock (LB 3.3).

(vii) The “Traceability and Segregation” section in the All Farm Module (AF 12) shall be applicable.

5.2 Registration timing

Producers can register for PP/PO at any time, but cannot use it as corrective action to a non-conformance detected.

Example 1. In case the CB detects the production or ownership of non-certified products of the same type the producer has certified without registration for PP/PO. Example 2. When certain part of the production has been found non-compliant and producer wants to segregate it and maintain the certification for the rest of the production.

When non-conformances are detected, the producer shall be sanctioned accordingly and shall implement corrective actions for the entire production.

In case producers want to register for PP/PO during the validity of their certificates (e.g. because they need to purchase non-certified products, which they did not expect at the time of their registration), Certification Bodies will have to carry out an extraordinary inspection to check the applicable control points and update the information in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database and the paper certificate.

In case producers want to register for Parallel Ownership at the beginning of the season, when they are not sure whether they will buy non-certified products, CBs shall evaluate that the traceability and segregation procedures are available and ready for implementation. When the purchase of products from non-certified sources begins, CBs shall require evidences of implementation (documentary or through on-site assessment).

6. RULES FOR PMU AND PHU

6.1 Rules for PMUs

(i) Producers who register for Parallel Production shall identify at least two PMUs: one aggregated PMU for all certified processes and one other aggregated PMU for all the non-certified processes.

(ii) One PMU cannot have certified and non-certified production processes for the same product, i.e. Parallel Production is not possible within the same PMU.

(iii) One PMU can include one or more production areas. (iv) A PMU can contain more than one product, which may be registered for Parallel

Production as long as the same certified and non-certified product is not in one PMU. (v) Product from a certified PMU shall not be moved to non-certified PMUs (e.g. in

aquaculture production) or it would lose its certified status.

6.2 Rules for PHUs


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n (i) It is possible to handle products with certified and non-certified origin in the same

product handling facility. However, producers registering for Parallel Ownership shall identify two PHUs – for administrative / recording reasons only (one for GLOBALG.A.P. products and other one for the non-GLOBALG.A.P. products).

7. IDENTIFICATION OF PRODUCERS REGISTERED FOR PP/PO All producers opting for PP/PO shall register this feature in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database and it will be visible via online certificate validation.

The information necessary to do the certificate validation is made available via the identification of the final products with the producer’s GGN or Sub-GLNs (see AF 12.1.2 Identification of GLOBALG.A.P. products), which is an obligation for all producers qualified for PP/PO.

Additionally, the registration for PP/PO shall also be specified in the paper certificate. 8. ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR PRODUCERS WITH PP/PO All producers registered for PP/PO shall have in place a series of measures to guarantee traceability and segregation and to facilitate the identification of the certified product, which will be checked by the Certification Bodies (CBs) during the assessment.

The additional requirements to be checked by the CBs are all Major Musts and are included in the following Control Points and Compliance Criteria (CPCCs) of All Farm Module. In case of Option 2, the Mass Balance, Traceability and Segregation section of the QMS Checklist is applicable: AF 12.1.1 Segregation of GLOBALG.A.P. certified and non-certified products Producers must have in place a system that avoids mixing of certified and non-certified products. This can be done via physical identification or product handling procedures. Records shall be available and demonstrate the proper operation of the segregation system. AF 12.1.2 / QMS Checklist MB 3.1.2. Identification of GLOBALG.A.P. Products Producers or producer groups registered for Parallel Production or Parallel Ownership (PP/PO) need to have a system in place to ensure that all final products originating from a certified production process are correctly identified.

Apart from the internal traceability and identification system that the producer or producer group shall have, they shall also use one of the following 2 product identification options that will facilitate the identification of the certification status: Option A: Use of the GGN All final, ready to be sold (either from farm level or after product handling), products shall be identified with the GGN of the producer where the product originates from a certified process. Producer groups can use the GGN of the group or the GGN of all those members where the products come from.

Products originated from non certified process (either own non-certified PMUs or purchased to non-certified producers) are NOT allowed to carry the GGN of the producer.

Consignments with products of mixed origin (certified and non-certified) where segregation has not been maintained shall be sold as not certified and are not allowed to carry the GGN.

In case the organization has or acquires a GLN to identify the organization in other contexts or additional applications, it shall replace the GGN assigned by GLOBALG.A.P. at registration. Option B: Use of GLN and Sub-GLNs Instead of using the GGN assigned by GLOBALG.A.P., producers can increase transparency and the accuracy of the traceability system by acquiring a GLN with capacity to generate Sub-GLNs from the national GS1 organization and assigning a Sub-GLN to each PMU and PHU (certified and non-certified) specified by the producer.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n In the event of Parallel Production: • All final, ready to be sold (either from farm level or after product handling), products shall be

identified with the Sub-GLN of the PMU where the product originates from a certified process.

• In the event that a consignment originates from several certified PMUs, producers shall use all the corresponding PMU’s Sub-GLNs or the Sub-GLN assigned to their certified PHU.

• Products originated from non-certified processes can use the Sub-GLN of the corresponding PMUs, however, this is not obligatory.

• Consignments with products of mixed origin (certified and non-certified) may carry the Sub-GLNs of the corresponding PMUs or the Sub-GLN of the non-certified PHU and shall be sold as non-certified. In the event of Parallel Ownership, producers shall define two PHUs for administrative reasons only (one for the certified products and the other one for the non-certified ones; however it can be the same phsysical structure) and assign one Sub-GLN to each one of them:

• Consignments with 100% certified origin, shall carry the Sub-GLN of the corresponding certified PMUs or of the certified PHU.

• Consignments with mixed origin (certified and non-certified) may carry the Sub-GLN of the non-certified PHU and shall be sold as non-certified. This type of consignments shall not use the Sub-GLN of the certified PMU.

• Consignments with non-certified origing may carry the Sub-GLN of the non-certified PHU, however, this is not obligatory.

AF 12.1.3 Correct dispatching of GLOBALG.A.P. Products Producers shall have in place a final check to ensure correct dispatch of certified and non-certified products.

This check shall consist on the verfication of the proper operation of the documented identification and traceability systems, the evaluation of the orders placed by the clients and the transaction documents generated indicating the certification status of the products. AF 12.1.4 Transparency of the certification status and origin

Producers registered for PP/PO shall include the GGN (option A) or Sub-GLN (option B) of the certificate holder and reference to the GLOBALG.A.P. certified product status in all transaction documents (sales invoices, delivery orders, etc.) used with clients.

The use of the GGN or Sub-GLN in transaction documents is necessary for facilitating the consultation of the certification status of the producers and is obligatory even if producers have own traceability codes. AF 12.1.5 Identification of purchased products Producers shall have appropriate documented procedures in place for identifying products from different sources.

These procedures shall be documented and maintained, appropriately to the scale of the operation, for identifying certified and non-certified products from different sources (i.e. other producers or traders).

Records shall include: • Product description including sub-species/variety if necessary (e.g. cherry tomatoes) • GLOBALG.A.P. certification status • Quantities of product(s) purchased • Supplier details (name, identification numbers, address, etc.) • Copy of the certificates when purchases have been made from other GLOBALG.A.P.

certified producers • Traceability data/codes related to the purchased products (these can be own supplier codes

traceable to the GLOBALG.A.P. certificate owner) • Purchase orders issued by the producer being assessed and invoices corresponding those

orders and issued by the producer’s suppliers. • List of approved product suppliers.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n AF 12.1.6 Records of sales Sales documents shall demonstrate a consistent balance between certified and non-certified input and output.

For this purpose, sales documents shall include records of quantities sold and descriptions provided (product description, certification status, GGN or Sub-GLN, etc.). AF 12.1.7 Mass balance Producers qualified for PP/PO shall have in place a documented system to ensure the proper segregation of GLOBALG.A.P. certified and non-certified products. This system shall be consolidated in mass-balance controls that require the evaluation of the input and output records.

Certified and non-certified incoming, stored and outgoing product quantities shall be recorded independently to facilitate the mass balance verification process that producers shall carry out to verify the proper operation of the segregation system.

The frequency (weekly, monthly, etc.) of the mass-balance verification shall be appropriate to the scale of the operation, but shall be at least annual. AF 12.1.8 Conversion Ratios In order to ensure the accuracy of the mass balance results, it is necessary that producers calculate the conversion ratios for each relevant handling process and have them available for inspection.

The product waste and losses generated shall be recorded per crop (not necessarily per shipment) and considered for the mass balance together with the input and output quantities.


1202

06_g

g_gr

_par

t_i_

v4_0

-1_e

n

If you want to receive more information on the modifications in this document, please contact the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat mailto:[email protected]. When the changes do not affect the accreditation of the standard, the version will remain “4.0” and edition update shall be indicated with “4.0-x”. When the changes do affect the accreditation of the standard, the version name will change to “4.x”.

EDITION UPDATE REGISTER

New document Replaced document Date of publication

Description of Modifications

120206_gg_gr_part_I_v4_0-1_en

110330_GG_GR_PART_I_IFA_ENG_Final_V4

6 February 2012 Modification GLOBALG.A.P to GLOBALG.A.P.; 1 , 4.4.3, Annex I.3: 1, Annex I.3: 6.2, Annex I.3: 8 – amendment; 4.4.3.1, 5.1.2.2 (ii), 5.2.2.2 (ii), 6.2.2 (d), 6.4.1 (d) (ii), 6.4.2.1 (iii)/(iv), Annex I.2: 4 (ii), Annex I.3: 5.2 – modification of wording; 5.2 – modification of table; Annex I.3 – small changes in wording; Annex I.2: 1.2.1 – deleted “ponds”; Annex I.3: 3 – deleted “different ponds”, “farm (see farm definition)”



15 March 2013 4.4.3.1, 4.4.3.2, 4.4.3.3 – deleted, 5.1.2.1 (ii) c) – modification of wording; 5.3.1 f), 6.7.3 a) – amendment; 6.2.2 – deleted E.g.; Annex I.3 – 1. – one sentence deleted

GENERAL REGULATIONS

PART II | RULES FOR OPTION 2 ANDOPTION 1 MULTISITES WITH QMSENGLISH VERSION 4.0EDITION 4.0 -2_MAR2013


Code Ref: GR V4.0_March11; Edition: 4.0-2; English Version General Regulations Part II – General Rules Page: 2 of 13

1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 REQUIREMENTS FOR MULTISITES WITH QMS AND PRODUCER GROUPS ............................ 3

1.1 LEGALITY, ADMINISTRATION AND STRUCTURE .................................................................. 3

1.2 MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION ..................................................................................... 4

1.3 DOCUMENT CONTROL ............................................................................................................. 5

1.4 COMPLAINT HANDLING............................................................................................................ 6

1.5 INTERNAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AUDIT ........................................................... 6 1.6 INTERNAL PRODUCER AND PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT UNIT (PMU) INSPECTIONS . 6

1.7 NON-COMPLIANCES, CORRECTIVE ACTION AND SANCTIONS ......................................... 7

1.8 PRODUCT TRACEABILITY AND SEGREGATION ................................................................... 7

1.9 WITHDRAWAL OF PRODUCT ................................................................................................... 8

1.10 SUBCONTRACTORS ................................................................................................................. 8 1.11 REGISTRATION OF ADDITIONAL PRODUCERS OR PMUS TO THE CERTIFICATE ........... 8

ANNEX II.1 INTERNAL AUDITOR AND INSPECTOR QUALIFICATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES ................................................................................................................................ 9

ANNEX II.2 GLOBALG.A.P. STATUS DEFINITIONS FOR PRODUCER GROUP MEMBERS .......... 11

Code Ref: GR V4.0_March11; Edition: 4.0-2 English Version General Regulations Part II – General Rules Page: 2 of 13


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

This part establishes the requirements producer groups and multisites (where a QMS has been implemented) must comply with to achieve certification. These requirements need to be internally and externally assessed via the GLOBALG.A.P QMS Checklist to ensure completeness and effectiveness.

1 REQUIREMENTS FOR MULTISITES WITH QMS AND PRODUCER GROUPS 1.1 LEGALITY, ADMINISTRATION AND STRUCTURE

1.1.1 Legality a) There shall be documentation, which clearly demonstrates that the applicant is or belongs

to a legal entity. b) The legal entity must have been granted the legal right to carry out agricultural production

and/or trading, and be able to legally contract with and represent the group members and production sites.

c) The legal entity shall enter into a contractual relationship with GLOBALG.A.P. through the signature of the GLOBALG.A.P. Sublicense and Certification Agreement with a GLOBALG.A.P. approved CB, and becomes the sole holder of the GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate.

d) A single legal entity can only operate one QMS per crop per country. Only a legal entity that can be certified under Option 1 can join a group for Option 2 certification. If a group or multisite joins another group or multisite, the 2 quality management systems shall merge into one to be managed by one single legal entity that will be the certificate holder.

1.1.2 Producers and Production Sites

1.1.2.1 Requirements for Producer Groups (i) There shall be written contracts in force between each producer member and the

legal entity. The contracts shall include the following elements: a) Producer group name and legal identification b) Name and/or legal identification of the producer c) Producer contact address d) Details of the individual production locations and any production management

units (PMU), including certified and non-certified products e) Details of area (crops) or quantity (tonnage) f) Producer commitment to comply with the requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P.

Standard, demonstrated by the product acceptance status in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database

g) Producer agreement to comply with the group’s documented procedures, policies and where provided, technical advice

h) Sanctions that may be applied in case of GLOBALG.A.P. and any other internal requirements not being met

i) Signature of producer and group representatives (ii) The producer group registered members must be legally responsible for their

respective production locations (and any declared PMUs), although this takes place under the common QMS of the group.

(iii) The producer cannot sell own products that are certified under the group option except through the group.

1.1.2.2 Requirements for Multisites (i) All PMUs shall be owned or rented and under the direct control of the legal entity. (ii) For PMUs that are not owned by the legal entity, there shall be written contracts

in force between each PMU owner and the legal entity. The contracts shall include the following elements: a) Certificate holder name and legal identification b) Name and/or legal identification of the site owner c) Site owner contact address d) Details of the individual PMUs


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

e) A clear indication that the site owner does not have any responsibility or input or decision capacity regarding the production operations over the rented-out site

f) Signature of both parties’ representatives (iii) The certificate holder is legally responsible for all the registered production,

including placing the product on the market.

1.1.3 Producer and Site Internal Register

(i) A register shall be maintained of all contracted group member producers and of all the applicable sites used for production in accordance with the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard.

1.1.3.1 Requirements for Producer Groups (i) All producers in the producer group internal register must be registered

individually on the GLOBALG.A.P. Database according to the requirements of the General Regulations PART I: Annex I.2.

(ii) The register shall at least contain the following information for each producer: a) Name of producer b) Name of contact person c) Full address (physical and postal) d) Contact data (telephone number and e-mail and/or fax number) e) Other legal identity ID (VAT Number, ILN, UAID, etc.) where required for the

country of production as published in Annex I.1 f) Product registered g) Growing/Production area and/or quantity for each registered product h) Certification body(ies) if a producer makes use of more than 1 CB i) GLOBALG.A.P. Status

(iii) Those producers of the legal entity who do not apply to be included in the GLOBALG.A.P. Group Certification must be listed separately and are not required to be registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database (unless they have applied for a benchmarked option or any other GLOBALG.A.P. Standard). This list is for management purposes within the producer group, and the disclosure of its contents externally is not required, unless it is needed for clarification of any issues raised for example on the effectiveness of the producer group’s quality management system. The additional rules for Parallel Production and Ownership are not applicable for these cases. All data protection rules shall be published and observed.

1.1.3.2 Requirements for Multisites

(i) Additionally, the register shall at least contain the following information for each site: a) Relation of legal entity with the production management unit (ownership,

rented, etc.) b) PMU location c) Product registered d) Growing/Production area and/or quantity for each registered product

1.2 MANAGEMENT AND ORGANIZATION

a) The QMS must be robust and show that the group’s registered members or PMUs comply in a uniform manner with the GLOBALG.A.P. standard requirements.

1.2.1 Structure a) The structure must enable the appropriate implementation of a quality management

system (QMS) across all registered producer members or PMUs. b) The applicant shall have a management structure and sufficient suitably trained

resources to effectively ensure that the requirements of GLOBALG.A.P. are met by all producers and at all PMUs.


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

c) The organizational structure shall be documented and shall include individuals responsible for: (i) Managing the implementation of GLOBALG.A.P. (ii) Managing the QMS (iii) The internal inspections of each producer member and/or PMU annually (i.e. internal

inspector(s)) (iv) The internal audit of the quality management system and verifying the internal

inspections (i.e. internal auditor) (v) Technical advice to the group (depending on the scope of the group). This could be

the same person as in (i) above

1.2.2 Competency and Training of Staff a) The competency requirements, training and qualifications for key personnel (those

mentioned in 1.2.1 but also any other identified personnel) shall be documented and shall meet any defined competency requirements laid out in the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard.

b) The management shall ensure that all personnel with responsibility for compliance with the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard are adequately trained and meet the defined competency requirements. (i) Internal auditor competence (as set out in Annex II.1) shall be checked by

management. (ii) Internal inspector competence (as set out by Annex II.1) shall be checked by the

internal auditor. (iii) Where the internal auditor does not have the necessary Food Safety and G.A.P.

training, but only QMS training/experience, another person with these qualifications (and identified in the QMS) must form part of the “audit team” to perform the approval of the farm inspections

c) Records of qualifications and training shall be maintained for all key personnel (managers, auditors, inspectors, etc.) involved in compliance with GLOBALG.A.P. requirements to demonstrate competence.

d) Records of completed online training and passed exams as offered by GLOBALG.A.P. for every internal inspector/auditor shall be maintained.

e) If there are more than one internal auditor or inspector, they shall undergo training and evaluation to ensure consistency in their approach and interpretation of the standard (e.g. by documented shadow audits/inspections).

f) Systems shall be in place to demonstrate that key staff is informed and aware of development, issues and legislative changes relevant to the compliance to the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard.

1.3 DOCUMENT CONTROL

a) All documentation relevant to the operation of the QMS for GLOBALG.A.P. Compliance shall be adequately controlled. This documentation shall include, but is not limited to: (i) The Quality Manual (ii) GLOBALG.A.P. operating procedures (iii) Work Instructions (iv) Recording Forms (v) Relevant external standards, e.g. the current GLOBALG.A.P. normative documents

b) Policies and procedures shall be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate compliance checks of the requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard.

c) Procedures and policies shall be available to relevant staff and producer group registered members.

d) The contents of the Quality Manual shall be reviewed periodically to ensure that it continues to meet the requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard and those of the applicant. Any relevant modifications of the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard or published guidelines that come into force must be incorporated into the Quality Manual within the period given by GLOBALG.A.P.

1.3.1 Document Control Requirements a) There shall be a written procedure defining the control of documents.


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

b) All documentation shall be reviewed and approved by authorized personnel before issue and distribution.

c) All controlled documents shall be identified with an issue number, issue date/review date and be appropriately paged.

d) Any change in these documents shall be reviewed and approved by authorized personnel prior to their distribution. Wherever possible an explanation of the reason and nature of the changes shall be identified.

e) A copy of all relevant documentation shall be available at any location where the QMS is being controlled.

f) There shall be a system in place to ensure that documentation is reviewed and that following the issue of new documents, obsolete documents are effectively rescinded.

1.3.2 Records a) There shall be records to demonstrate effective control and implementation of the QMS

and compliance with the requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard. b) Records shall be kept for a minimum of 2 years. c) Records shall be genuine, legible, stored and maintained in suitable conditions and shall

be accessible for inspection as required. d) Records that are kept online or electronically are valid. If a signature is required, this can

be a password or electronic signature that ensures the unique reference and authorization of the person signing. If a written signature of the responsible person is needed then this must be present. The electronic records must be available during the CB inspections. Back-ups must be available at all times.

1.4 COMPLAINT HANDLING

a) The applicant shall have a system for effectively managing customer complaints and the relevant part of the complaint system shall be available to the producer members.

b) There shall be a documented procedure that describes how complaints are received, registered, identified, investigated, followed up and reviewed.

c) The procedure shall be available to customers as required. d) The procedure shall cover both complaints to the applicant and against individual producers or

sites.

1.5 INTERNAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM AUDIT

a) The QMS for the GLOBALG.A.P. Scheme shall be audited at least annually. b) Internal auditors shall comply with the requirements set in Annex II.1 c) Internal auditors shall be independent of the area being audited.

(i) It is permitted for the same person to initially develop the QMS and then undertake the required internal annual QMS audit, however the person responsible for the day-to-day ongoing management of the QMS is not allowed to undertake the internal QMS audits.

d) Records of the internal audit, audit findings and follow up of corrective actions resulting from an audit shall be maintained and available.

e) The completed QMS checklist with comments for every QMS control point must be available on site for review by the auditor during the external audit.

f) Where the internal audit is not performed in one day but continuously over a 12-month period, a pre-defined schedule shall be in place.

1.6 INTERNAL PRODUCER AND PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT UNIT (PMU) INSPECTIONS

a) Inspections shall be carried out at each registered producer (and corresponding production locations) or PMU at least once per year against all the relevant GLOBALG.A.P. Control Points and Compliance Criteria.

b) Internal inspectors shall comply with the requirements set in Annex II.1 c) Internal inspectors shall be independent of the area being audited. Internal inspectors cannot

inspect their own daily work. d) New members of the group and new PMUs shall always be internally inspected and approved

prior to entering into the internal GLOBALG.A.P. register.


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

e) The original inspection reports and notes shall be maintained and available for the CB inspection. f) The inspection report shall contain the following information:

(i) Identification of registered producer and/or production location(s) (ii) Signature of the registered producer or PMU responsible (iii) Date (iv) Inspector name (v) Registered products (vi) Evaluation result against each GLOBALG.A.P. control point (vii) The checklist shall include details in the comments section for the

1. Major Musts control points that are found to be compliant, 2. Major and Minor Musts control points that are found to be non-compliant, and 3. Major and Minor Musts control points that are found to be non-applicable; unless a

checklist is issued by GLOBALG.A.P. that pre-determines which CPCCs must be commented on. This is needed to enable the audit trail to be reviewed after the event.

(viii) Details of any non-compliances identified and period for corrective action (ix) Inspection result with calculation of compliance (x) Duration of the inspection (xi) Name of Internal auditor that approved the checklist

g) The internal auditor (or audit team; see Annex III.2) shall review and make the decision on whether the producer or site is compliant with the GLOBALG.A.P. requirements, based on the inspection reports presented by the internal inspector.

h) In case there is only one internal auditor who also performs the internal inspections, another person, e.g. management representative identified in the QMS, must approve the internal inspections.

i) Where the internal inspections take place continuously over a 12-month period, a pre-defined schedule shall be in place.

1.7 NON-COMPLIANCES, CORRECTIVE ACTION AND SANCTIONS

a) There shall be a procedure to handle non-compliances and corrective actions, which may result from internal or external audits and/or inspections, customer complaints or failures of the QMS.

b) There shall be documented procedures for the identification and evaluation of non-conformances and non-compliances to the QMS by the group or by its members, respectively.

c) Corrective actions following non-compliances shall be evaluated and a timescale defined for action.

d) Responsibility for implementing and resolving corrective actions shall be defined. e) A system of sanctions and non-conformances shall be operated with producers or PMUs that

meet the requirements defined in the GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations Part I. f) Mechanisms shall be in place to notify the GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification body

immediately of suspensions or cancellations of registered producers or PMUs. g) Records shall be maintained of all sanctions including evidence of subsequent corrective actions

and decision-making processes.

1.8 PRODUCT TRACEABILITY AND SEGREGATION

a) Product meeting the requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard and marketed as such shall be traceable and handled in a manner that prevents mixing with non-GLOBALG.A.P. approved products.

b) There shall be a documented procedure for the identification of registered products and to enable traceability of all products both conforming and non-conforming to the applicable production sites. A mass balance exercise must be carried out to demonstrate compliance within the legal entity.

c) Effective systems and procedures shall be in place to negate any risk of mislabeling or mixing of GLOBALG.A.P. certified and non-GLOBALG.A.P. certified products.

d) If a member of the group registers for Parallel Production, the Traceability and Segregation control points (AF 12) shall be applicable for that member.

e) For Fruit and Vegetables Certification: The produce handling site shall operate procedures which enable registered product to be identifiable and traceable from receipt, through handling, storage and dispatch.


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

1.9 WITHDRAWAL OF PRODUCT

a) Documented procedures shall be in place to effectively manage the withdrawal of registered products.

b) Procedures shall identify the types of event that may result in a withdrawal, persons responsible for taking decisions on the possible withdrawal of product, the mechanism for notifying customers and the GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification body, and methods of reconciling stock.

c) The procedure shall be capable of being operated at any time. d) The procedure shall be tested in an appropriate manner at least annually to ensure that it is

effective and records of the test retained.

1.10 SUBCONTRACTORS

a) Where any services are subcontracted to third parties, procedures shall exist to ensure that these activities are carried out in accordance with the requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard (see Control Point All Farm AF 4.1).

b) Records shall be maintained to demonstrate that the competency of any subcontractor is assessed and meets the requirements of the standard.

c) Subcontractors shall work in accordance with the group’s QMS and relevant procedures and this shall be specified in service level agreements or contracts.

1.11 REGISTRATION OF ADDITIONAL PRODUCERS OR PMUS TO THE CERTIFICATE

New producers and sites may be added (subject to internal approval procedures being met) to a certificate in effect. It is the responsibility of the certificate holder (group or multisite) to immediately update the certification body on any addition or withdrawal of sites to/from the list of registered producers. a) Up to 10% of new producers sites in one year can be added to the approved list by registering

the producers sites with the GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification body without necessarily resorting to further verification by the certification body.

b) When the number of approved registered producers sites increases by more than 10% in one year, further external sample inspections (minimum is the square root of new producers/sites) of the newly added producers-sites and optionally an audit of the QMS will be required during that year before additional producers can be added to the approved list.

c) Regardless of the percentage by which the number of approved registered producers sites increases in one year, should the newly registered farms increase the area or number of livestock of previously approved registered products by more than 10% in one year, or there is a 10% change of producers, further external sample inspections (minimum is the square root of new producers/farms) of the newly added farms or producers and optionally an audit of the quality management systems will be required during that year before additional farms or producers can be added to the approved list.


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

ANNEX II.1 INTERNAL AUDITOR AND INSPECTOR QUALIFICATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES 1 KEY TASKS

1.1 Inspectors:

a) May undertake inspections of farms (PMUs within a multisite or those of members of a producer group) to assess compliance with the certification requirements

b) May not perform auditors’ tasks c) Must produce timely and accurate reports on such inspections

1.2 Auditors:

a) Auditing the QMS of the producer group or multisite to assess compliance with the certification requirements

b) The approval of the members of the group or approval of the PMUs of a multisite, based on inspection reports of the internal inspector. If an internal auditor conducts the inspection, he/she cannot approve that inspection report

c) To produce timely and accurate reports on such audits

2 QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

2.1 Formal Qualifications

2.1.1 Inspector: (i) A post high school diploma in a discipline related to the scope of certification

(Crops and/or Livestock and/or Aquaculture) or an agricultural high school qualification with 2 years experience in the relevant sub-scope after qualification.

2.1.2 Auditor: (i) A post high school diploma in a discipline related to the scope of certification

(Crops and/or Livestock and/or Aquaculture) or an agricultural high school qualification with 2 years experience in the relevant sub-scope after qualification or 2 years experience in quality management systems with 2 years experience in the relevant sub-scope after qualification.

2.2 Technical Skills and Qualifications

2.2.1 Inspector Training (i) One-day practical inspection course setting out basic principles of inspection. (ii) Two witness inspections (accompanying an audit, could be GLOBALG.A.P. or

other) OR 2 shadow audits by the CB.

2.2.2 Auditor Training (i) Practical knowledge of quality management systems. (ii) Completion of an internal auditor-training course related to QMS (min. 16 hours).

2.2.3 Food Safety and G.A.P. Training (i) Training in HACCP principles either as part of formal qualifications or by the

successful completion of a formal course based on the principles of Codex Alimentarius or training in ISO 22000.

(ii) Food hygiene training either as part of formal qualifications or by the successful completion of a formal course.

(iii) For Crop Scope: Plant protection, fertilizer and IPM training either as part of formal qualifications, or by the successful completion of a formal course.

(iv) For Livestock and Aquaculture Scopes: Basic veterinary medicine and stockmanship training including animal health and welfare issues.

2.2.4 Online Training (i) The completion of the training and passing of the exam when made obligatory.


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

2.3 Communication Skills

a) “Working language” skills in the corresponding native/working language. This must include the locally used specialist terminology in this working language.

b) Exceptions to this rule must be consulted beforehand with the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.

NOTE: The relevant CB shall have a complete and current list of all the producer group internal inspectors and auditors. These internal inspectors shall be approved by the CBs during the external inspections.


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

ANNEX II.2 GLOBALG.A.P. STATUS DEFINITIONS FOR PRODUCER GROUP MEMBERS

GLOBALG.A.P. defines 2 types of statuses:

1. Producer Statuses (linked to the legal entity of a producer group member) 2. Product Statuses (linked to the products of a producer group member)

1. PRODUCER STATUS The following status refers to the producer members of a producer group. The status definitions for producers certified individually and producer groups are explained in Annex III.3.

1.1 Producer Status: “Not confirmed” Producers group members in the status “Not Confirmed“ are those whose registration data are recorded in the database and associated with a Farm Assurer (CB/3rd party). The registration information has not yet been confirmed or reconfirmed by the Farm Assurer. Registration fee is not yet payable by the producer group member in this status.

1.2 Producer Status: “Registered“ Producers or producer groups in the status “Registered“ are linked to a farm assurer. The producer status "Registered" is a pre-condition for product acceptance and certification. The status “Registered” can only be set by a farm assurer.

1.3 Producer Status: “CB/PG Accepted“ Producer group members will be automatically set from the producer status "Registered" to the producer status “CB/PG Accepted“, as soon as one or more products have been set to the product status "Accepted". “CB/PG Accepted” producer group members must pay the registration fee to the farm assurer, according to the current fee table published on www.globalgap.org.

1.4 Producer Status: “Annulled“ Producer group members in the status “Annulled“ are still recorded in the database (they still have a valid GGN), but not linked to a certification body or a producer group anymore. All registration information will be stored in the database for at least 5 years and can be re-activated at anytime. Producer group members in this status do not pay the registration fee.

2. PRODUCT STATUSES Product statuses within GLOBALG.A.P. Certification refer to the status of the production process of the product under consideration. The producer can only be certified with reference to one or more production processes of the product(s). Although the term “product status” is used, it only refers to the status of the production process of the product out of which the product is delivered and not to that of the product itself.

2.1 Product Status: “Not confirmed" As soon as a producer group member or producer group registers products in the database, these products are set to the status “Not confirmed". Additional products can be entered at any time when the producer group member is in the status “Not Confirmed”, “Registered” or "CB/PG Accepted". If a product certificate is not renewed, the product status is automatically set to “Not confirmed". New products cannot be registered when the producer is in the status “Annulled”.


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC

2.2 Product Status: "Accepted" The producer group itself sets the product status “Accepted” for the producer members of the group. All products of producer group members shall be set to the product status "Accepted" before they can be set to the status “Internally Approved” and be affiliated to the producer group certificate. This status is the trigger for the registration fee. Products with status “Self-declared suspension” or “Suspension” cannot be re-accepted. Product quantities/growing areas need to be entered for producer members of the producer group. The product quantities of the group will be aggregated based on the information of the group members.

2.3 Product Status “Internally Approved” As soon as the producer group sets the product status to “Internally Approved” for one or more product(s) of the producer group member, the producer will form part of the group certificate and take on the overall product status within the group certificate and will appear on the Annex. The producer group shall, at this time, pay the certificate license fee to the CB according to the GLOBALG.A.P. fee table available on www.globalgap.org. Additional products that have already been accepted by the CB on group level may be added later, i.e. by changing the product status of these products to “Internally Approved” and by the CB issuing an updated certificate, without changing the certificate validity.

2.4 Product Status “Self-declared suspension” A producer group member can ask the producer group for a voluntary suspension of a product.

2.5 Product Status: “Product Suspended” A suspension of the product of producer group member from the certificate of the group is issued when a producer group member does not present evidence of corrective actions that close out a non-conformity after a warning has been issued. The respective producer group must set the respective products to the status “Product Suspended”. The respective producer group must lift the suspension.


1303

15_g

g_gr

_par

t_ii_

v4_0

-2_e

n_TC



New document Replaced document Date of publication

Description of Modifications

120206_gg_gr_part_II_eng_v4_0-1 110301_GG_GR_PART_II_IFA_ENG_Final_V4

6 February 2012

Modification GLOBALG.A.P to GLOBALG.A.P.; 1.10 – corrected reference; Annex II.1 – Key tasks c) took reference off

120306_gg_gr_part_II_v4_0-1_en 120206_gg_gr_part_II_eng_v4_0-1

6 March 2012 1.1.3.1 (i) – corrected reference

130315_gg_gr_part_II_v4_0-2_en 120306_gg_gr_part_II_v4_0-1_en

15 March 2013 Annex II.1 – 2.2.4 deleted

GENERAL REGULATIONS

PART III | CERTIFICATION BODY AND ACCREDITATION RULESENGLISH VERSION 4.0EDITION 4.0 -2_MAR2013


1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C

Code Ref: GR V4.0_March11; Edition: 4.0-2; English Version General Regulations Part III – General Rules Page: 2 of 35

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION AGREEMENT ........................................................................ 4

2 CERTIFICATION BODY APPROVAL PROCESS ...................................................................... 4

2.1 CB APPROVAL BY GLOBALG.A.P. ....................................................................................................... 4 2.2 EXTENSION OF SCOPES, SUB-SCOPES AND APPROVED MODIFIED CHECKLISTS ..................... 5 2.3 ACCREDITATION BODY REQUIREMENTS .......................................................................................... 6

3 OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................. 6

3.1 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................................. 6 3.2 TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION OF STAFF ........................................................................................ 7 3.3 CB CERTIFICATION DATA COMMUNICATION WITH GLOBALG.A.P. ................................................ 8 3.4 INDEPENDENCE, IMPARTIALITY, CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTEGRITY OF CB ............................... 9

4 PRODUCER REGISTRATION AND ACCEPTANCE ................................................................. 9

4.1 GENERAL ............................................................................................................................................... 9 4.2 PRODUCER REGISTRATION ................................................................................................................ 9 4.3 APPLICATION AND CERTIFICATION SCOPE .................................................................................... 10

5 ASSESSMENT PROCESS ........................................................................................................ 11

5.1 EXTERNAL INSPECTIONS .................................................................................................................. 11 5.2 OPTION 1 PRODUCERS ..................................................................................................................... 11 5.3 OPTION 2 PRODUCER GROUPS AND OPTION 1 MULTISITES WITH QMS .................................... 11 5.4 UNANNOUNCED SURVEILLANCE INSPECTIONS (OPTION 1 ONLY) AND AUDITS (QMS ONLY) . 14 5.5 INSPECTION OF PRODUCE HANDLING SITES (OPTION 2, FRUIT AND VEGETABLES, WHERE

APPLICABLE) ....................................................................................................................................... 15 5.6 EXTERNAL INSPECTIONS AND AUDITS OF BENCHMARKED SCHEMES ...................................... 15

6 CERTIFICATION PROCESS ..................................................................................................... 15

6.1 GENERAL ............................................................................................................................................. 15 6.2 INSPECTION DURATION .................................................................................................................... 16 6.3 PRODUCER NON-CONFORMANCE AND SANCTIONS ..................................................................... 16 6.4 VALIDITY OF GLOBALG.A.P. CERTIFICATE ...................................................................................... 17

7 TRANSFER BETWEEN CERTIFICATION BODIES ................................................................. 17

7.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................................. 17 7.2 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS ............................................................................................................... 18 7.3 TRANSFER OF PRODUCERS BETWEEN CBS .................................................................................. 18

8 CERTIFICATION BODY SANCTIONS ...................................................................................... 19

8.1 GENERAL RULES ................................................................................................................................ 19 8.2 TYPES OF NON-CONFORMANCES ................................................................................................... 20

9 INTEGRITY PROGRAM (IPRO) ................................................................................................ 21

9.1 BIPRO – BRAND INTEGRITY PROGRAM ........................................................................................... 21 9.2 CIPRO – CERTIFICATION INTEGRITY PROGRAM ............................................................................ 21 9.3 SANCTION STEPS FOR CERTIFICATION BODIES ........................................................................... 23


1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


ANNEX III.1: GLOBALG.A.P. CB INSPECTOR QUALIFICATIONS (OPTIONS 1 AND 3) ............. 27

1. GLOBALG.A.P. SUB-SCOPE INSPECTOR ............................................................................. 27

2. FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS .................................................................................................... 27

3. TECHNICAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS ........................................................................ 27

3.1 INSPECTOR TRAINING ....................................................................................................................... 27 3.2 FOOD SAFETY, G.A.P. TRAINING AND WORK EXPERIENCE ......................................................... 27 3.3 COMMUNICATION SKILLS .................................................................................................................. 28 3.4 INITIAL TRAINING BEFORE SIGN-OFF BY THE CB .......................................................................... 28 3.5 MAINTENANCE OF COMPETENCY .................................................................................................... 28 3.6 SUBSEQUENT CHAIN OF CUSTODY (COC) ..................................................................................... 28

4. KEY TASKS ............................................................................................................................... 29

4.1 GLOBALG.A.P. FARM INSPECTIONS ................................................................................................. 29 4.2 GENERAL ............................................................................................................................................. 29 4.3 INDEPENDENCE AND CONFIDENTIALITY ........................................................................................ 29

ANNEX III.2: GLOBALG.A.P. CB AUDITOR QUALIFICATIONS (OPTION 1 MULTISITE WITH QMS, OPTIONS 2 AND 4) .................................................................................................................. 30

1. GLOBALG.A.P. SUB-SCOPE AUDITOR ................................................................................. 30

2. FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS .................................................................................................... 30 3. TECHNICAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS ........................................................................ 30

3.1 LEAD ASSESSOR TRAINING .............................................................................................................. 30 3.2 FOOD SAFETY, G.A.P. TRAINING AND WORK EXPERIENCE ......................................................... 30 3.3 COMMUNICATION SKILLS .................................................................................................................. 31 3.4 INITIAL TRAINING BEFORE SIGN-OFF BY THE CB .......................................................................... 31 3.5 MAINTENANCE OF COMPETENCY .................................................................................................... 31

4. KEY TASKS ............................................................................................................................... 32

4.1 GLOBALG.A.P. PRODUCER GROUP AUDITS ................................................................................... 32 4.2 GLOBALG.A.P. FARM INSPECTIONS ................................................................................................. 32 4.3 GENERAL ............................................................................................................................................. 32 4.4 INDEPENDENCE AND CONFIDENTIALITY ........................................................................................ 32

ANNEX III.3 GLOBALG.A.P. PRODUCER AND PRODUCT STATUSES........................................ 33

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


1 LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION AGREEMENT a) The License and Certification Agreement establishes the rights and obligations of the

GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat as the GLOBALG.A.P. System co-coordinator and of the Certification Body (CB) as the neutral organization for auditing, inspection, certification and licensing activities within the framework of the GLOBALG.A.P. System.

b) The License and Certification Agreement, including its updates, must be accepted and signed by the CB as part of the application procedure to become and to remain a GLOBALG.A.P. approved CB and to be listed as such on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website.

c) The License and Certification Agreement, the Sub-license and Certification Agreement and the General Regulations complement each other and GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs must continuously comply with all.

2 CERTIFICATION BODY APPROVAL PROCESS 2.1 CB Approval by GLOBALG.A.P.

2.1.1 Provisional Approval a) The CB must complete the steps listed below before carrying out any GLOBALG.A.P.

inspections/audits, issuing any GLOBALG.A.P. (Option 1, Option 2, or Benchmarked) Certificates (accredited or non-accredited) and before provisional approval can be granted. (i) The applicant CB must register in the GLOBALG.A.P. CB Extranet

(http://cb.globalgap.org), send a completed application form in English and pay an evaluation fee (according to the latest version of the GLOBALG.A.P. fee table) to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat for initiating the approval process.

(ii) After the positive evaluation of the application and before provisional approval, the applicant CB shall complete ALL of the following steps: 1. Sign the GLOBALG.A.P. License and Certification Agreement 2. Pay the annual CB License Fee 3. Register all auditors and inspectors in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database 4. Have all the auditors and inspectors complete the necessary GLOBALG.A.P.

training, including the exams for the General Regulations and for the Control Points and Compliance Criteria in the relevant sub-scope.

5. Pay the relevant training fees per registered auditor/inspector according to the latest version of the GLOBALG.A.P. fee table.

b) As a condition for provisional approval, the applicant CB intending to certify Option 1 producers shall have at least one inspector (for producer inspections) and one auditor (for the certification committee) who have passed the necessary exam for the applied sub-scope and scope respectively as well as the General Regulations. Applicant CBs wanting to certify Option 2 producer groups or Option 1 multi-site producers with QMS shall have at least one auditor (for producer member inspections and QMS audits) and at least a second auditor (for the certification committee) who have passed the necessary exam for the applied sub-scope and scope respectively.

c) Nominate a “GLOBALG.A.P. Scheme Manager” (according to point 3.2.a). d) Nominate an in-house trainer (according to point 3.2.d) and register for the in-house

trainer training. e) The CB intending to certify a benchmarked standard shall show proof of approval by the

scheme or standard owner. f) CBs shall apply to an accreditation body (AB) for accreditation to EN 45011 or ISO/IEC

Guide 65 or ISO/IEC 17065 in the relevant GLOBALG.A.P. Sub-Scope(s) and Approved Modified Checklists or in the relevant Full Benchmarked Scheme (see GLOBALG.A.P. Benchmarking Regulations). A copy of the confirmation of this application to the AB must be forwarded to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.

g) The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat will allow provisionally approved CBs with previous EN 45011 or ISO/IEC GUIDE 65 or ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation that are not yet GLOBALG.A.P. accredited to issue a limited number of non-accredited certificates during the application phase for accreditation. The maximum number of producers that may receive non-accredited certificates (Options 1, Option 2, and Benchmarked Options 3 & 4) per scope is 20.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


Example 1: If a CB has one producer group (Option 2) of 33 producers, it can only issue a non-accredited certificate for 20 of the 33 producers. The CB cannot issue further certificates for any Option 1 or Option 2 producers, until it has received accreditation.

Alternatively, the CB can issue 20 Option 1 certificates for 20 individual producers. Example2: A CB can issue a non-accredited certificate for an Option 2 producer

group covering 12 producers and 8 non-accredited Option 1 certificates for 8 individual farmers (i.e. not connected to the Option 2 group) (for a total of 20 producers).

h) There is a provision by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat to allow provisionally approved CBs with no previous EN45011 or ISO/IEC GUIDE 65 or ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation, and that are not yet GLOBALG.A.P. accredited to issue a limited number of non-accredited certificates during the application phase for accreditation. These CBs must apply for accreditation to only issue certificates under Option 1 rules and for only one scope in the beginning. As soon as accreditation for Option 1 is obtained, other scopes can be applied for, and/or the CB can apply for accreditation for Option 2 certification. The maximum number of producers that may receive non-accredited Option 1 (benchmarked option 3) certificates for the first scope approval is 5.

i) The non-accredited certificates shall not indicate neither the GLOBALG.A.P. nor the AB logos.

2.1.2 Final Approval The CB must complete the steps below before issuing any accredited GLOBALG.A.P. certificates and before final approval can be granted. a) CBs must obtain EN45011 or ISO/IEC GUIDE 65 or ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation within 6

(six) months after the date of provisional approval. This period can be extended for an additional time span of 6 months if the AB provides justified reasons that are acceptable to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat explaining the delay. The CB shall submit the justified reasons to GLOBALG.A.P.

b) Once accreditation has been obtained, the CB must send a copy of the accreditation evidence to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.

c) If accreditation has not been achieved within a maximum period of one year, the provisional approval will be withdrawn and the CB shall not appear as provisionally approved on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website and cannot issue any GLOBALG.A.P. Certificates (accredited or non-accredited). During this period the annual CB License Fee will apply. The CB may re-apply for provisional approval after a new standard version is introduced.

d) As a condition for final approval, the provisionally approved CB shall have at least one in-house trainer (according to point 3.2) who completed the required training available for the applied sub-scope.

e) Only after the CB has been accredited to EN45011 or ISO/IEC GUIDE 65 or ISO/IEC 17065 with the applicable GLOBALG.A.P. (or benchmarked) Sub-Scope can the CB place the GLOBALG.A.P. trademark/logo on the certificate according to the applicable GLOBALG.A.P. certificate template, which must be followed at all times.

2.2 Extension of Scopes, Sub-scopes and Approved Modified Checklists a) GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs who want to extend their scope of GLOBALG.A.P. Certification

must follow all steps and requirements mentioned in 2.1 and must apply for the accreditation of the new scope before signing the agreement of extension of scope with FoodPLUS GmbH.

b) GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs who want to extend their sub-scope of certification within a scope, must have a minimum of 1 inspector or auditor who complies with specific GLOBALG.A.P. inspector or auditor sub-scope requirements (Annexes III.1 and III.2 respectively). A formal application must be sent to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. The CB must apply for the accreditation of the new sub-scope before signing the agreement of extension of scope with FoodPLUS GmbH.

c) The precondition for scope or sub-scope extension (provisionally approved status) is the availability of an in-house trainer for the new sub-scope(s).

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


d) GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs willing to extend their approval to a benchmarked scheme -within the same scope and sub-scope- must send an application request to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.

e) Certification bodies interested in certifying the Chain of Custody Standard must apply to GLOBALG.A.P. for extension. Approval is granted per scope according to the already approved sub-scope e.g.: a CB that is approved for one of the Crops sub-scope can certify Chain of Custody for all the other Crops sub-scopes.

f) CBs accredited on 1st January 2011 for version 3 shall achieve EN45011 or ISO/IEC GUIDE 65 or ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation for version 4 (for the same scopes or sub-scopes as version 3) until 1st January 2012.

2.3 Accreditation Body Requirements

a) The accreditation body to which the CB applies must be a signatory of the IAF Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) program for Product Certification (IAF Product MLA) or for GLOBALG.A.P. Sub-Scope of the MLA (level 4 and 5). In addition, the AB must have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with FoodPLUS GmbH within either EA or IAF. b) The accreditation document issued by the AB to the CB shall clearly state:

(i) The extent of the accreditation sub-scope(s) and/or Approved Modified Checklist it has been approved for

(ii) The GLOBALG.A.P. normative documents and its versions (iii) Limitation to Option 1 (if applicable) (iv) Territorial limitation (if applicable)

c) An initial AB assessment of a GLOBALG.A.P. Scope (Crops or Livestock or Aquaculture) will require at least one witness assessment for each sub-scope (for the scope in case of Aquaculture).

d) The AB shall only grant the accreditation for Option 2 if the AB has completed at least one Option 2 witness assessment.

e) The extension of the accreditation to new sub-scope(s) within an already accredited scope must include at least the assessment of the personnel competency.

f) The AB during its surveillance program shall carry out a witness assessment once a year. Selection shall take into consideration and preference shall be given to the Option 2 and the Option 1 multisite with QMS certificates of the CB.

g) GLOBALG.A.P. provides the AB access to all records (relevant to the AB) of the integrity program and complaint management system relevant to the AB through the AB extranet. The AB shall at least annually review the content of the AB extranet and take this into account in its next assessment.

h) The AB shall follow the GFSI Requirements on the application of ISO/IEC 17011:2004 during the accreditation process.

3 OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS 3.1 General Requirements a) All the points described in the General Regulations MUST be accepted and included in the

relevant operational document of the CB for GLOBALG.A.P. Certification of all scopes, sub-scopes and Approved Modified Checklists, and be available for accreditation body evaluation. This requirement for Approved Modified Checklists is fulfilled by the compliance of the relevant sub-scope requirements.

b) The CB shall fulfil ALL of the following conditions: (i) Continuously register all employed and/or subcontracted auditors and inspectors in the

GLOBALG.A.P. Database. (ii) All qualified GLOBALG.A.P. auditors and/or inspectors complete the compulsory online

and/or face-to-face training requirements set by GLOBALG.A.P. in the relevant sub-scope.

(iii) Pay the relevant training fee per registered auditor/inspector according to the latest version of the GLOBALG.A.P. fee table.

(iv) Pay the annual Certification License and Certificate Fee. There is a period of 6 weeks to pay the Certification License and Certificate Fee to GLOBALG.A.P. (The relevant amounts are indicated in the current updated GLOBALG.A.P. fee table, as published on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website).

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


c) The CB is responsible for communicating to their GLOBALG.A.P. registered clients all updates, as well as date of first application and grace period of any new GLOBALG.A.P. versions of normative documents and any edition updates issued by GLOBALG.A.P.

d) GLOBALG.A.P. shall be entitled to participate, upon prior notice and at its own cost, in inspections or audits carried out by certification bodies.

e) The information collected by GLOBALG.A.P. regarding the CBs and their activities including records of the Integrity Program and the complaint management system is made available on the CB Extranet to ABs for facilitating accreditation evaluation.

f) Certification Body shall immediately inform GLOBALG.A.P. of changes in personnel relevant for the management of the GLOBALG.A.P. Scheme (e.g. change of the Scheme Manager, in-house trainer, etc.) and of all changes that may affect their function as an independent Certification Body, in particular withdrawal of accreditation or corporate changes.

g) Certification Body shall actively cooperate with GLOBALG.A.P. during management of complaints related to the CB or to the producers contracted by the CB. => 3.2.a) (ix)

3.2 Training and Qualification of Staff a) Every CB approved by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat will nominate a contact person, called

the “GLOBALG.A.P. Scheme Manager”, who will be the representative of the CB before the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. This person: (i) Must be fluent in English. (ii) Must at least qualify as a GLOBALG.A.P. inspector (see Requirements for

GLOBALG.A.P. inspector in Annex III.1). (iii) Must be committed to assist in any harmonization activities performed by the

GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. (iv) Must be part of the operational and/or management decision-making process of the CB. (v) Shall be responsible for returning to GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat the requested signed

reception of any communication requiring written receipt. (vi) Shall be responsible for communication and administration of users within the

GLOBALG.A.P. System. (vii) Shall respond to GLOBALG.A.P. operational enquiries as required in the

communication. If the GLOBALG.A.P. Scheme Manager is not available, a substitute shall assume these responsibilities.

(viii) Shall distribute all communication received from the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat to all CB staff involved in GLOBALG.A.P. activities in all countries.

(ix) Shall attend the annual Scheme Manager (update) meeting. b) For carrying out GLOBALG.A.P. inspections and audits, the CB must employ/contract only

inspectors and auditors that fulfil the GLOBALG.A.P. requirements (See Annex III.1 and III.2 respectively).

c) CBs can only subcontract inspections to inspection bodies that are ISO/IEC 17020:2004 accredited or audits to certification bodies that are ISO/IEC Guide 65 or ISO 17065 accredited to a relevant sub-scope. The sub-contractors shall implement the relevant requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations.

d) All approved CBs must have a sub-scope and version (i.e. version 4) specific CB In-House Trainer for each certification decision taken after 1 January 2011. This person needs to have passed the ‘CB In-house Trainer Training’ exam for the relevant sub-scope and version. Failing the General Regulations or base modules of the exam requires re-attending a GLOBALG.A.P. ‘CB In-house Training course and successfully passing the exam within 6 months. The In-house Trainer shall be available in-house; i.e. not hired occasionally by the CB.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


e) The CB In-House Trainer(s) must attend the GLOBALG.A.P. ‘CB In-House Trainer Training’ for each scope and pass the exam for each sub-scope the CB issues or plans to issue certificate(s). The person who attends must comply with at least inspector qualification requirements for the respective sub-scope. The training and exam must be repeated for each new standard (CPCC) version.

f) The In-House Trainer(s) shall be responsible for training all their GLOBALG.A.P. auditors and Inspectors (based on GLOBALG.A.P. Online Training materials and other normative documents), according to the requirements of the current License and Certification Agreement. The CB in-house trainer(s) shall also ensure that all of their registered GLOBALG.A.P. auditors and inspectors complete and pass all the required GLOBALG.A.P. training and tests.

g) In case of change in personnel, the new In-House Trainer shall complete the required training within 3 months. If this is not feasible the new person shall register at least within 3 months for an upcoming course.

h) Only those Option 2 auditors who have completed the ‘CB Option 2 Auditor Training’ and passed the exam shall be allowed to carry out Option 2 audits for V4. The training and the exam shall be repeated for each new standard version. Option 2 auditor already registered on 1st January 2011 shall complete the CB Option 2 Auditor Training and pass the exam prior to 1st of January 2012.

i) Every inspector and auditor shall complete the GLOBALG.A.P. Online Training and pass the online tests (including exams of the updates) within 3 months after its release provided that it is available in the inspector’s/auditor’s language. The in-house trainer(s) shall monitor the genuineness and the completeness of the process. New inspectors shall complete the online trainings for the relevant sub-scopes before being signed-off.

j) GLOBALG.A.P. reserves the right to randomly ask for the proof of qualification of the inspectors and auditors approved by the CB. In the case that the CB is not able to submit such proof and/or the inspectors and auditors do not comply with the qualification requirements, GLOBALG.A.P. reserves the right to block those persons in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database and inform the relevant accreditation body.

k) The CB shall carry out a GLOBALG.A.P. witness assessment and/or re-inspection for each of its GLOBALG.A.P. inspectors/auditors at least once every 4 years to verify competence.

l) The CB shall verify, record and monitor the requirements set for inspector/auditor qualification including requirements for initial training and for maintenance of competency.

m) The CB shall have in place a system for the on-going calibration and training of its inspectors and auditors.

3.3 CB Certification Data Communication with GLOBALG.A.P. a) The objective is to: “Know at any point in time, instantly and worldwide”:

(i) The present status and status history (ii) The certified products, per (iii) Area / Volume, for (iv) Each unique producer (legal entity), in (v) All schemes and Options (per product), with (vi) Central validation of certificates by market participants (online validation tool), and (vii) Audit/Inspection and Compliance details

b) Therefore the CB data communication with GLOBALG.A.P. must:

(i) Ensure that as soon as the CB has made the certification decision, no certificate is issued before the product status is updated to “Certified” in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.

(ii) Ensure that as soon as a sanction has been issued, the producer’s status must be changed in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database to the relevant status (time between issuing the sanction and updating the database must not exceed more than 1 working day)

(iii) For the status of all other producers, these must be sufficiently updated so as to ensure that the status (see General Regulations Part I, Annex I.3 Producer Statuses in GLOBALG.A.P. Database) of a producer on the GLOBALG.A.P. Database is up-to-date

(iv) Ensure availability of immediately accessible information on all audit and inspection details (including those of the unannounced surveillance inspections and audits) as well as details for each certificate

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


3.4 Independence, Impartiality, Confidentiality and Integrity of CB a) In accordance with EN 45011 or ISO/IEC Guide 65 or ISO/IEC 17065, the GLOBALG.A.P.

approved CB must be structured to ensure separation of activities that may cause a conflict of interest. All CB personnel must operate at high levels of professional integrity, be free from commercial, financial or other pressures that might affect their judgment, and are expressly forbidden from promoting any goods or services during evaluation activities.

b) Confidentiality: Information relating to the applicant producer including details of products and processes, evaluation reports and associated documentation will be treated as confidential (unless otherwise required by law). No information is released to third parties without the prior consent of the applicant producer unless stated otherwise in the General Regulations or the Sublicense and Certification Agreement.

c) Data Protection: Within the framework of the GLOBALG.A.P. System, only parties to the system, previously defined, will be authorized to view the data (the producer, CB and GLOBALG.A.P.). In addition, the producer can offer personal data to trading partners who have been previously authorized by the producer, or the producer may instruct a third party to do this. This authorization can be revoked online at any time. Any further access to the producer’s personal data is illegal and is prevented by the operator of the database in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

d) GLOBALG.A.P. will keep the applicant's/producer's certification history entered in its database for 5 years.

4 PRODUCER REGISTRATION AND ACCEPTANCE GLOBALG.A.P. Certification granting procedure must be clearly identified in the CB operational documentation, and must follow the GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations, which must commence with the registration of the applicant producer as a first step. 4.1 General a) All production management units (PMU) to be certified shall be registered in the

GLOBALG.A.P. Database. In the case of Parallel Production, all PMUs for non-certified product(s) shall also be registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.

b) The product scope is linked to the location where that product is produced. Products produced in a non-registered location cannot be certified, and likewise products that are not registered but are grown on a registered location cannot be certified.

c) Only producers or producer groups may apply to register their production process for GLOBALG.A.P. Certification.

d) Certificate and Sublicense is issued to the registered producer, for PMUs where the products are produced (and packed or handled if applicable) and for the products declared.

e) Only the legal certificate holder (i.e. the legal entity that is indicated on the certificate) may market products with reference to a GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate. Members of a producer group are not legal certificate holders thus they shall not market any products under their name with reference to the group certificate. All products that are sold without reference to the certificate shall be recorded in a group mass balance system.

4.2 Producer Registration a) Producers must register and re-register annually with an approved CB (or Farm Assurer) as

the first step towards obtaining a GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate. b) The CB and producer will agree on Service of Notice terms, which must include a commitment

by the CB to confirm the receipt of formal application for (first) registration within 14 calendar days after the CB received the unique GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) from the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.

c) Each CB sets up and explains to its prospective clients its own detailed fee structure, which should specify the relevant GLOBALG.A.P. fees.

d) The CB shall explain to its prospective clients that the payment of the relevant GLOBALG.A.P. inspection and certification fee does not guarantee the issuing of the certificate.

e) When a producer or producer group that has previously had a GGN applies for registration, the CB must act according to the GLOBALG.A.P. procedure for transfer between Certification Bodies as set out in section 7 below.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


f) When a producer or producer group wants to change to a new CB, the accepting CB must as a first step for all applicants carry out a search in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database to verify the status before any further actions are taken.

g) When a producer or producer group uses the services of more than one CB, each CB shall conduct the respective inspections (Option 1) and QMS audit (Option 1 multisite with QMS or Option 2) independently. (i) When one of the CBs issues a sanction, all CBs operating with that producer or

producer group have the obligation to communicate with each other, regarding the scope and, if appropriate, details of actions to be taken across all CBs.

(ii) The communication of a sanction to all CBs operating on that farm is an obligation which the producer or producer group must undertake, but can also be made by GLOBALG.A.P. directly to the CBs involved.

(iii) The communication between CBs shall include all relevant details, but the sanction issued shall be valid and all relevant CBs must observe this.

h) The CB shall establish and implement procedures for collecting data updates of the accepted producers, such as PMU or product area changes and inclusion/de-listing of members within a producers group. 4.2.1 Registration Data Requirements a) The CB must:

(i) Record during registration all the information requested in the General Regulations Part I, Annex I.2 Registration Information.

(ii) Keep the GLOBALG.A.P. Database updated accordingly (as required in the current database manual). This information shall be updated regularly whenever there is a change. It must be updated at the latest with the re-acceptance of products for the next certificate cycle and/or the re-certification.

4.2.2 Data Release Levels a) The CB must provide the producer or producer group with the different data release

levels as described in the GLOBALG.A.P. data use document available on the website. b) The level of data privacy must be defined and signed by the Producer/Producer Group

during registration with the CB. The data owner is responsible to grant and determine the level of the rights for data access. The data owner, however, can transfer the responsibility to other users (e.g. certification body or farm assurer).

4.3 Application and Certification Scope

4.3.1 Integrated Farm Assurance: Fruit and Vegetables 4.3.1.1 Harvest Exclusion

(i) If produce is sold in the field before harvest and the buyer is responsible for harvesting, the Harvesting section (FV.4) in the Control Points and Compliance Criteria can be excluded from the producer’s certificate.

(ii) As long as the harvesting process (whether done by the producer or subcontracted) takes place while the produce belongs to the producer, all points relating to harvest must be included in the inspection and the certificate.

(iii) “Harvest exclusion” applies where the produce does not belong to the producer anymore at some point in time prior to harvest commencing and the producer has no control over the harvesting process. It is also not an activity that is subcontracted by the producer.

(iv) The producer must apply for exclusion per product during registration with detailed justification.

(v) The CB will make the decision as to whether harvesting may be excluded or not based on the following requirements. The producer must have a contract with the buyer that states that the harvester/buyer will: a) Take ownership of the produce before harvesting. b) Be responsible for ensuring that harvest takes place only after the Pre-

Harvest Interval (PHI) has been observed, and c) Handle the produce after harvest (not just harvest). d) Buy all the produce (Harvest Exclusion is not possible if the producer

harvests some part of the crop and sells another part before harvest).

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


(vi) If the producer does not know the buyer at the time of registration with GLOBALG.A.P.: a) A declaration from the producer to inform the buyer (new owner which is

harvester AND postharvest handler) about the Pre-Harvest Interval (PHI). b) A contract with the buyer as soon as he/she has been identified that

includes all issues under point (v). If harvesting is excluded for the producer or producer group, produce handling shall also be excluded for that producer or producer group.

4.3.2 Integrated Farm Assurance: Aquaculture Aquaculture certification cannot be achieved for “wild fish/catch” that are not farmed. GLOBALG.A.P. certified aquaculture products cover finfish, crustaceans and molluscs, as well as all stages of the specific species present on the farm, as long as the seedlings are derived from domesticated broodstock under controlled systems (except for the passive collection from the planktonic phase), and the seedlings supply is under commercial status (and not only research status). Post harvest handling under same legal entity shall demonstrate compliance as well for the mass balance and traceability section under the Aquaculture Module in order to achieve certification.

5 ASSESSMENT PROCESS 5.1 External Inspections a) The inspections shall be carried out by a GLOBALG.A.P. auditor or inspector who complies

with the requirements as set out in Annex III.1 b) The CB shall inspect the complete checklist (Major and Minor Musts and Recommendations)

of the applicable scope(s) and sub-scope(s). c) The inspection shall cover:

(i) All accepted products. (ii) All registered production locations. (iii) Each registered product handling site (included in IFA). (iv) Where relevant, the administrative sites.

5.2 Option 1 Producers

a) One announced external inspection shall be carried out at each applicant during the initial assessment and thereafter once per annum.

5.3 Option 2 Producer Groups and Option 1 Multisites with QMS 5.3.1 External QMS Audits of Option 2 Producers Groups and Option 1 Multisites (with

implemented QMS) a) The evaluation process shall involve a sampling of the components to assess

compliance with the standard and enable certification. All documentation, sites, personnel and operations that are declared by the group to be relevant and pertinent to the setting up and administration of the QMS as described in Part II must be evaluated.

b) The evaluation process is designed to establish that the group’s QMS and administrative structure meet the criteria and that the internal audits and inspection of producers meet the requirements for competency, independence and accuracy.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


c) The evaluation process is divided into two elements: (i) Audit of the group’s QMS and (ii) Inspection of a sample of registered producers/production sites (see 5.3.2)

d) The CB shall send the audit plan to the management of the applicant prior to the audit. e) The CB auditor shall carry out the audits (announced and unannounced) (see CB

auditor requirements in Annex III.2). f) The audit (announced and un-announced) shall be based on the QMS Checklist that is

available on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website. g) The audit of the QMS or “System Check” will be undertaken at the central office of the

group or administrative centre for the group scheme and at the central produce handling unit.

h) The evaluation process of the QMS will take one or more days of the requirements included in General Regulations Part II will take at least 3/4 day to 1 day, depending on the size of the group and will include: (i) Opening meeting with management (ii) Review of all relevant documentation (iii) Evaluation of records (iv) Review of internal audits and inspections conducted (v) Review of mass balance exercise (vi) Discussion / interviews with key staff (vii) Closing meeting including review of non-conformances and non-compliances

identified i) As part of the QMS audit, the results of the external and internal audits and inspections

will be compared, to identify structural and non-structural non-conformances. j) The final report and result can only be concluded after both the QMS and the minimum

sample of the members are evaluated.

5.3.2 External inspection of Option 2 Producer Group Member and Option 1 Multisites with QMS

5.3.2.1 Initial Inspection: a) Before a new certificate can be issued (i.e. initial certification, inspection by a new CB,

as a minimum the square root (or next whole number rounded upwards if there are any decimals) of the total number of the producers and production sites/PMUs in the certification scope must be inspected.

b) The final selection and communication to the producer group of which and how many producers/PMUs to inspect shall normally be done by the CB after the QMS audit, using criteria based on the group structure and defined in a sampling procedure, which is risk based. The notification shall normally not exceed 48 hours (2 working days) per producer.

c) Certification bodies shall, based on justifiable criteria increase the verification rate of total numbers of registered producers/PMUs. The producer group has the right to appeal such a decision. Reasons for increase could arise from:

(i) Failure of compliance with 100% Major Must and 95% Minor Must control point on producer member level

(ii) Failure to comply with all QMS and if applicable, all the product handling requirements

(iii) Customer complaints; e.g.: illegal pesticide residue detection (iv) Inconsistencies between the internal audit/inspection reports and the CB

inspection/audit findings d) Producers that move from one group to another shall have a higher possibility of being

included in the sample of producers chosen by the CB. e) A minimum inspection sample size is made by taking a random and shall be based on

the square root of the number of registered producers that have been registered for each combination of sub-scopes. This will mean that during the inspection of each of these selected producers/PMUs, all the products in that sub-scope combination must be inspected. The square root must be rounded upwards to the next whole number if there are any decimals. Example 1: An applicant has 4 registered PMUs, and the CB, after the QMS audit, sets the square root as the sample. Therefore, 2 sites (√4) must be inspected at this initial

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


inspection. Example 2: A group has a total of 64 producers of which 48 seek certification for the sub-scope combination of cattle and sheep, dairy and poultry, and 16 seek certification for the sub-scope combination of cattle and sheep, dairy, poultry and fruit and vegetables. The minimum sample size for each combination of sub-scopes will be √48 + √16 = 7 + 4 = 11 producers to be inspected externally by the CB.

f) Additionally sample size calculation shall be based on the numbers of registered producers separated into subgroup combinations taking into account production type as set out in the following point.

g) Producers will also be classified by production type, within the respective sub-scope and sub-scope combination. These may include, but are not limited to the following examples: (i) Housed livestock (ii) Open-field livestock or crops (iii) Covered/protected crops (iv) Perennial crops (v) Fresh water activities (aquaculture) (vi) Sea sites (aquaculture)

Example 1: If a group of producers (64 in total) is being inspected for GLOBALG.A.P. for dairy, cattle and sheep and poultry, and these are all produced in the open field: then the square root of the total number of producers within the group would be the sample size (8). Example 1.1: If, however, within that group of 64 producers, 16 of them were to produce poultry indoors as well, then the square root of that small group of producers (4) would also be inspected, as they have a different combination of production types. The square root of the 48 (64-16) and the square root of the 16 (4) means that a total of 7 + 4 = 11 producers will be inspected. Example 1.2: If within that group of 64 producers, there are 16 that additionally have indoor pig production (under GLOBALG.A.P., then the square root of that small group of producers (4) would also be inspected, as they have a different combination of sub-scopes that are GLOBALG.A.P. certified. The square root of the 32 (64-16-16) and two times the square root of the 16, one for each group will be inspected (a total of 6 + 4 + 4 = 14 producers will be inspected).

Example 2: In a producer group with 14 producers where all 14 produce strawberries under protection as well as in open field (i.e. two types of production systems and one product), only 4 producer members need to be inspected.

h) In the case where an Option 2 group has a member with multiple sites, that member shall be taken into account for calculating the sample size and not the amount of sites/PMUs. This member shall have a higher chance to be sampled based on the associated risk. This, however, does not imply that the CB must choose this member for external inspections every year. Provided that the internal inspections covered all the sites/PMUs of this member, the CB shall inspect only the square root of the sites/PMUs of that member. In case that member operated a QMS, it shall be merged with the central QMS of the group, as there can be only one QMS for the group. Example: in a group of 25 members, one member classifies as a member with multiple sites (4), The CB shall inspect 5 members (square root of 25). If the multisite member is chosen as one of the 5 members, 2 (square root of 4) of his sites will be inspected. In total 6 sites for the group will be inspected).

5.3.2.2 Surveillance Producer (Option 2)/PMU (Option 1 Multisite) Inspections: a) The CB shall carry out announced external inspections to each producer group and

multi-site annually. The minimum number of producers to be inspected per certificate holder depends on the outcome of the previous unannounced inspections and QMS audit.

b) The minimum number of producers/PMUs to be inspected during a cycle shall be equivalent to the square root of the current number of producers/PMUs.

c) The inspections shall be split into two: 50% shall be inspected unannounced during the validity period of a certificate (12 months), and the other 50% during the announced surveillance inspection.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


d) These inspections shall be done during 2 separate visits that shall be minimum 30 days apart from each other.

e) Before a certification decision can be made, the square root of the total number of current producer members /PMUs must have been inspected during the last 12 months.

f) Only if the producers inspected externally have no sanctions raised in that surveillance inspection, the following regular announced inspection by the CB will be reduced to the square root of the current number of the producers/PMUs minus the number of producers/PMUs inspected in the surveillance or equivalent 50% of the square root (providing the findings from the quality management system audit carried out at the following regular announced inspection are also favorable to this reduction). Example 1: Six months after the certificate was issued to Producer Group X (full compliance with QMS audit and 5 farm inspections), the CB inspects 3 (50% of 5 = 3) producers unannounced. If the 3 producers have no non-conformities during this unannounced inspection on the day of the inspection, then the CB will only check 2 (5 minus the 3 already inspected) producers during the following regular announced inspection IF the QMS audit during the regular announced inspection does not show any non-conformances. If any non-conformance is raised during the “unannounced” inspection, Group X will be sanctioned accordingly, and no reduction of sample size will result in the next regular announced inspection. Example 2: In Producer Group Y with 50 members during the initial audit 8 members (square root of 50) and during the following surveillance inspections 4 (0.5 x 8) members need to be inspected. The total number of inspections in the first year is 12. In the next year, where no non-conformances are detected during the unannounced producer inspection the CB need to inspect 4 producers (i.e. 50% square root of 50) and later another 4 (i.e. square root of 50 minus the 4 inspected during the announced) during the unannounced producer inspections. Example 3: In Producer Group Z with 5 members during the initial audit 3 members (square root of 5) and during the following surveillance inspections 2 (0.5 x 3) members need to be inspected. In the next year the total number members decreased to 4, and no non-conformances were detected during the surveillance producer inspection. In this case the CB still needs to inspect 1 producer.

5.4 Unannounced Surveillance Inspections (Option 1 only) and Audits (QMS only)

a) The CB shall carry out unannounced surveillance: (i) Inspections of a minimum of 10% of all its producers certified under Option 1, and (ii) QMS audits of a minimum of 10% of all the groups and multisites certified under

Option 2. b) The selection of the 10% must not only take into account total numbers, but also must

be calculated considering factors such as geography, legislation (where several jurisdictions are covered by the CB), crop type, compliance history, etc.

c) The 10% shall be calculated for the calendar year. The number of unannounced surveillance inspections and audits per year shall reflect 10% of the certificates issued for Option 1 and 2, respectively, in that year.

d) The 10% shall be distributed among the countries where the CB has certificate holders. It must be representative of the countries.

e) The calculation of the 10% shall be done per scope. f) There shall be a minimum of 1 inspection or audit per year and scope; i.e. if the CB has

≤10 Option 1 certified producers, at least 1 producer must be inspected, or if the CB has ≤10 Option 2 certificate holders, at least 1 must be audited annually.

g) CBs with only one Option 2 certified producer group shall perform an unannounced QMS audit at least every 2 years.

h) CIPRO assessments may count towards the number of unannounced surveillance inspections or audits per year.

i) Unless the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat has approved a shortened unannounced inspection checklist, the CB shall inspect the Major and Minor Musts of the applicable scope(s) and sub-scope(s). Any non-conformance will be handled in the same way as those found during an announced inspection. This is only true for Option 1.

j) The CB will inform the certificate holder in advance of the intended visit. This notification will normally not exceed 48 hours. In the exceptional case where it is impossible for the certificate holder to accept the proposed date (due to medical or other justifiable

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


reasons), the certificate holder will receive one more chance to be informed of an unannounced surveillance inspection or audit. The certificate holder shall receive a written warning if the first proposed date has not been accepted. The producer will receive another 48-hour notification of a visit. If the visit cannot take place because of non-justifiable reasons, a suspension of all products will be issued.

5.5 Inspection of Produce Handling Sites (Option 2, Fruit and Vegetables, where applicable) a) For the external inspection the square root of the total number of central produce

handling sites registered shall be inspected while in operation. If there is only one central produce facility, it shall be inspected every year (i.e. the alternate year’s inspection may occur during a period when the site is not in operation.)

b) Where central produce handling sites are utilized, (i.e. less than one produce handling site per producer group member/PMU), these (using the square root sampling) shall be inspected by the CB using the combined QMS and produce handling checklist made available by GLOBALG.A.P. Where the produce handling does not take place centrally, but on the farms of the producer members or the PMUs, this factor shall be taken into account when determining the sample of producers to be inspected.

c) For the internal inspections, every produce handling site must be inspected.

5.6 External Inspections and Audits of Benchmarked Schemes a) Benchmarking: The scheme applying for benchmarking is assessed for equivalence by

comparing content and performance criteria against GLOBALG.A.P. Refer to the Benchmarking Regulations for more information.

b) The benchmarked scheme rules are equivalent to the GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations. c) Benchmark Validation: The individual producer will be the certificate holder once certified.

For validating certification, all legal entities shall be registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.

d) Scheme Rules: All registered producers/sites/farms certified operate under the Benchmarked Scheme rules.

e) GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs: All certification carried out within a full benchmarked standard must be done by GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs that must be accredited to EN 45011 or ISO/IEC GUIDE 65 or ISO/IEC 17065 to the scope of the benchmarked standard.

f) Frequency: The applicant scheme must ensure verification of producers according to rules for Option 1 and of producer groups/multi-sites with a QMS according to rules for Option 2.

6 CERTIFICATION PROCESS 6.1 General a) The CB shall make the certification decision within a maximum of 28 calendar days after

closure of any outstanding non-conformances. b) The person who makes the certification decision or at least one member of the certification

committee of the CB shall comply with auditor qualifications as set out in Annex III.2 for the scope the certificate is being issued regardless if the decision is for an Option 1 producer or regardless if the CB does not have any Option 2 clients.

c) Each CB will be responsible for the information filed: documentation related to GLOBALG.A.P. procedures or GLOBALG.A.P. clients must be made available to the AB and to GLOBALG.A.P. on request.

d) On completion of the full evaluation process a full written report will be produced which summarizes the evaluation activity undertaken (date of the inspection, sites and facilities inspected and duration of inspection/audit), provides objective evidence and information on how the producer or the producer group complies with the requirements of the standard, and where applicable, lists any non-compliances and/or non-conformances identified.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


e) Compliance is indicated with a “Yes” (for compliant), “No” (for not compliant), and “N/A” (for not applicable). Control points that are indicated as “No N/A” in the compliance criteria field of the checklist, unless specifically indicated in the respective compliance criteria text, must be inspected and commented. In cases of exception where the control point is not applicable, the answer must be given as “yes” with a clear justification.

f) Unless indicated otherwise in the checklist comments (evidences) shall be recorded in the checklist that enables the audit trail to be reviewed after the event and shall include details of references taken during the inspection. It is obligatory to give comments for all the complied, not-complied and not-applicable Major Musts and QMS control points as well as to all not-complied and not-applicable Minor Must control points inspected/audited in all external inspections/audits (by CB), self- assessments and internal inspections/audits. Comments and evidences, such as which document(s) were sampled, workers interviewed, etc., shall be site- and product specific and included in the checklist to give confidence that all the control points have been properly assessed for all sites and products.

g) In Option 2 the evaluation report format will be based on the QMS Checklist (available on www.globalgap.org). The evaluation report will form the basis by which a decision can be made on the award of a certificate to the group.

h) Copies of the report will only be provided to other parties if the applicant provides access by written authorization except to the regulatory authorities and the AB and CB.

i) A certificate is not transferable from one owner or legal entity to another when a production unit changes owner or legal entity.

6.2 Inspection Duration a) The inspection report shall include a recording of the inspection duration. b) Sufficient inspection duration shall allow the auditor/inspector to have an opening meeting with

the farm management (re-confirm the scope, etc.); inspect all applicable control points; inspect all products of the inspection scope; visit all production, storage, processing and other critical locations (e.g. water source); inspect the used machinery; interview personnel; evaluate the records; complete the checklist with sufficient comments and present the result to the producer right after the inspection has finished.

c) The GLOBALG.A.P. inspection shall normally not be shorter than 3 hours per legal entity (Option 1 producer).

d) The minimum of 3 hours duration shall apply to the most simple circumstances (i.e. one location, one or few crops, simple machinery, few workers, no produce handling, subsequent inspection, documentation is well organized, etc.)

e) Option 2 members might have inspections of shorter time duration depending on the complexity of the farming situation.

6.3 Producer Non-conformance and Sanctions See also GR Part I. 6.4 Sanctions

a) All corrections and corrective actions will be assessed; with clarification provided to show whether the action(s) taken and evidence provided is sufficient to close the non-conformance.

b) Evidence of the resolution of non-conformances can be provided in the form of documentary evidence and/or photographic evidence as appropriate. Evidences shall be filed and must be made available to GLOBALG.A.P. on request.

c) There may be occasions where demonstration of the resolution of a non-conformance can only be confirmed by a further site visit. Where this is required, a charge may result.

d) All non-conformances against the a QMS in Option 2 shall be resolved before a certificate can be issued to the group.

e) Satisfactory corrective actions must be completed to achieve approval level on producers and/or PMU level before a certificate can be issued to the group or company.

f) Lifting of a sanction: A sanction will not run out with the cycle, but it stays with the GGN. g) The outgoing CB can lift the non-conformance of an expired certificate without evidence, but in

this case the outgoing CB shall ensure that the accepting CB is fully aware of the cause of the non-conformance. 6.3.1 Open Non-conformance

a) The status “Open non-conformance” is set in the database when:

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


(i) A producer or producer group does not comply with 100% Major Must or 95% Minor Must control points within 28 days after an initial inspection. If the cause of the warning is not resolved within three (3) months, a complete inspection must be performed before a certificate can be issued.

(ii) The CB issues a Letter of Non-conformance. b) The status “open non-conformance” cannot be given to producer group members’

products. c) The Letter of Non-conformance may be given to the producer where the producer

cannot comply with certain control points due to reasons beyond their control (e.g. force majeure (natural disaster), local legislation.) In the case a CB issues a Letter of Non-conformance, the GLOBALG.A.P. logo cannot be used and the CB accepts the liability. The Letter of Non-conformance is not meant to replace or avoid sanctioning of the producers.

6.4 Validity of GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate

6.4.1 Paper Certificate Requirements a) After positive certification decision, the CB shall issue a certificate according to the

latest version of the GLOBALG.A.P. certificate template. b) The paper certificate may only be issued based on the information available at that time

in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database for that unique GGN. c) A list of all the producers and PMU/PHUs to which the certificate relates shall be issued

in an appendix referred to in the certificate. The CB shall keep this list up-to-date. d) GLOBALG.A.P. CBs or their subcontracted parties shall not issue any communication

other than the certificate to or about a producer to demonstrate any status described in GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations Annex II.2 and III.3 unless it refers to a sanction, in which case the producer must be informed.

6.4.2 Maintenance of GLOBALG.A.P. Certification a) The registration of the producer and the proposed products for the relevant scopes must

be reconfirmed with the CB annually before the expiry date. b) For the process of certification to be continued without interruption, the inspector must

complete the full checklist and verification process annually.

7 TRANSFER BETWEEN CERTIFICATION BODIES 7.1 Introduction a) This explains how to proceed when the producers (registered in the GLOBALG.A.P.

Database) change CBs and how to transfer producers between CBs working with GLOBALG.A.P.

b) The objective is to assure the maintenance of the integrity of GLOBALG.A.P. Certificates issued by one CB if subsequently transferred to another CB, and to guarantee that a producer’s history within GLOBALG.A.P. is addressed in the review process when entering into contract with a GLOBALG.A.P. CB.

c) These are the minimum requirements for the transfer of producers found in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database (and, where applicable, their corresponding certificates) between CBs working with GLOBALG.A.P. CBs may implement procedures or actions, which are more stringent than those contained herein, provided that a producer or producer group’s freedom to choose a CB is not unduly or unfairly constrained.

d) Only Producers and Producer Groups registered in the database may change CBs. All producers must first resolve any outstanding sanction(s) before being able to transfer to a new CB or the outgoing CB must communicate knowledge of the non-conformance(s) beforehand to the accepting CB.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


7.2 General Requirements a) The accepting CB must keep the existing GGN of the transferred producer or producer group. b) Double registration is not allowed (i.e. one producer or producer group can have only one

GGN even if the same producer or producer group is affiliated with more than one CB. c) The accepting CB must close the registration process including entering into a Sublicense and

Certification Agreement with the producer/producer group before accepting the transfer. d) Accepting CBs must be accredited in the relevant GLOBALG.A.P. Scope. Newly approved

GLOBALG.A.P. CBs that are not yet accredited therefore cannot take on clients that are transferring from an already approved and accredited CB (unless the producer has not yet been certified).

7.3 Transfer of Producers between CBs a) The transfer between CBs takes place when a producer that is found in the GLOBALG.A.P.

Database changes from the original GLOBALG.A.P. approved CB [hereinafter referred to as the “outgoing CB”] to another GLOBALG.A.P. approved CB [hereinafter referred to as the “accepting CB”].

b) Transfer of producers between CBs can take place either: i) When a producer’s or producer group’s certificate has expired (Producer Transfer) or ii) During a cycle while a producer has a valid GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate (certificate

transfer).

7.3.1 Producer Transfer

a) This type of transfer of a producer from one CB to another CB takes place after the producer’s certificate has expired and also if there is no binding service contract between the producer and the outgoing CB.

b) The producer or producer group will apply for certification for the next cycle to another CB (“accepting CB”).

c) The inspection by the accepting CB must be seen as an initial inspection or audit and the rules for Options 1 and 2 as set out in General Regulations Part I must be followed.

d) The outgoing CB may shorten the validity of the issued certificate. e) If the Date of Acceptance (signing of Sublicense and Certification Agreement) and

Date of Audit are AFTER the outgoing CB’s certificate expiry date, because it is only possible to inspect during harvest, there will be a period when the producer does not have a valid certificate.

f) If, however, the Date of Acceptance (signing of Sublicense and Certification Agreement) and perhaps also the Date of Audit are BEFORE the outgoing CB’s certificate expiry date, the certification decision can only take effect as soon as the certificate expires.

g) In this case, the certification cycle of the producer will remain the same as before. h) The outgoing CB remains responsible until its certificate expires. The producer may

sign a Sub-license Agreement and Certification Agreement with the accepting CB while under contract with the outgoing CB. The Sub-license Agreement and Certification Agreement are binding with the accepting CB only once the outgoing CB has released the producer’s GGN in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.

Audit date

Date ofAcceptance

CertificationDecision

NoCertification

Accepting CB Certificate valid for 12 months

Outgoing CB Certificate valid to

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


Note 1: If the certification decision is made AFTER the outgoing CB certificate has expired even if the Dates of Acceptance and Audit were before the expiration date, there will be a period when the producer will not have a valid certificate. Note 2: In case of transfer, the registration produce in the database might not be finalized before the inspection and certification decision might not be taken within 28 days. 7.3.2 Certificate Transfer a) This type of transfer of a producer from one CB to another CB takes place during a

certification cycle and can only continue on request and after approval from the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.

b) A Certificate Transfer may occur when an outgoing CB is not able to deliver it contractual obligation (e.g.: there is a loss of accreditation of the outgoing CB, the outgoing CB has stopped its GLOBALG.A.P. activities, the outgoing CB has been taken over by the new accepting CB, the Licence and Certification Agreement has been terminated, etc.)

c) The accepting CB must assume all responsibilities for the transferred certificates.

8 CERTIFICATION BODY SANCTIONS 8.1 General Rules a) The GLOBALG.A.P. Board defines the types and levels of sanctions described here. b) Appeal against a sanction proposed by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat or by the (Integrity

Surveillance Committee (ISC) must be received within 5 working days after the receipt of sanction notification. The ISC or the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat evaluates the appeals. The second appeal against a re-confirmed sanction by the ISC follows the arbitration procedure as described in the License and Certification Agreement and in the Equivalent Certification System Owner Agreement (ECSO).

c) GLOBALG.A.P. established an Integrity Surveillance Committee (ISC), which decides on the sanctions as outlined in this document, following a case-by-case approach.

d) The Integrity Surveillance Committee consists of: (i) 3 permanent and 2 substitute members. (ii) A representative of the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat who may participate in the ISC

meetings. (iii) A representative of the accreditation bodies who may participate as an independent

observer. (iv) A public sector observer without voting right. (v) The ISC shall invite a representative of the concerned equivalent scheme owner.

e) The Integrity Surveillance Committee may take any of the following actions: (i) Issue sanctions as defined in this document 9.3. (ii) Request additional/extra integrity assessments of CBs. (iii) Decide that the sanctioned CB has to pay the cost of the assessment or re-assessment

visit(s). The rate of any assessment visit and the necessary travel time is 1000 € per day including travel costs. If an assessment visit is planned to exceed 3 days, the Integrity Surveillance Committee must approve.

(iv) Pronounce fines.

Audit date

Date ofAcceptance

CertificationDecision

Accepting CB Certificate valid for 12 months

Outgoing CB Certificate valid to

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


(v) Require the CB to reimburse the costs directly linked to the investigation and sanctioning process of a particular case. The burden of proof of the amount of costs lies with the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.

(vi) Advise the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat to cancel the contract with the CB concerned. (vii) Request that particular inspectors/auditors, who have not performed according to the

GLOBALG.A.P. Regulations, repeat the online exam in the presence of a GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat representative. The CB will cover the additional exam fee and other expenses.

(viii) Request that particular inspectors/auditors attend a GLOBALG.A.P. approved training course. The CB will cover participation, exam fee and other expenses.

f) By default, sanctions are applicable to the CB as a whole. The Integrity Surveillance Committee may limit the sanctions to scope, sub-scope level or to a geographical area only.

g) Sanctioning steps 1 to 5 (see Section 9.3 below) are not necessarily consecutive (e.g. it is possible for a CB after receiving a 1st Warning due to an incomplete database entries, to receive Red Card and jump to step 4 immediately due to CIPRO result.)

h) Sanctions will be communicated to the concerned accreditation body and where applicable to the Equivalent Certification System Owner (ECSO) or to the owner of Approved Modified Checklist (AMCO).

i) In case of a CB suspension by the AB or a CB having lost its accreditation due to other circumstances, the CB is not allowed to issue new certificates. The ISC’s decision will take into consideration the reason of the suspension to determine whether existing certificates issued by the CB are still valid and will consider issuing a Red Card.

j) The Equivalent Certification System Owner (ECSO) can ask GLOBALG.A.P. to carry out additional integrity assessment(s) beyond the ones already initiated by GLOBALG.A.P. GLOBALG.A.P. may charge a separate fee for those additional assessments.

8.2 Types of Non-Conformances Two types of Non-conformances can lead to sanctioning of CBs.

8.2.1 Contractual Non-conformances Contractual non-conformances are found when CBs are not in compliance with contracts signed with GLOBALG.A.P. These may include, but are not limited to: a) Misleading or false communication on GLOBALG.A.P. Certification and logo use b) Refusal to sign the License and Certification Agreement and any amendments after a

period set by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat c) Neglecting to pay any of the GLOBALG.A.P. fees (e.g.: CB license fee, training fee,

certification license fee, producer registration fee, etc.) d) Failure to provide proof of accreditation within the established periods during CB

approval e) Confirmed fraud f) Loss of accreditation (based on AB decision)

8.2.2 Standard or General Regulations Non-conformances a) Standard or General Regulation non-conformances are found when the CBs do not

comply with the rules set out in the General Regulations or do not interpret the Control Points and Compliance Criteria according to the GLOBALG.A.P. rules. Examples of such non-conformances include but are not limited to: (i) Not participating in annual compulsory CB trainings. (ii) Not following the online training requirements. (iii) Incomplete or late upload of certification data. (iv) Unreliable registration and audit data. (v) No response to GLOBALG.A.P. official communication and/or complaints. (vi) Confirmed fraud. (vii) Not applying approved National Technical Working Group guidelines, unless

justified and communicated to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. (viii) Conflict of interest (e.g. consultancy and certification). (ix) Delay or non-application of producer sanctions. (x) Inadequate internal training. (xi) Not complying with the scope of the external inspections.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


(xii) Not obeying CB operational requirements and deadlines, such as not responding to corrective actions or delaying of issuance of certificates.

b) The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat, the relevant AB and the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrity Surveillance Committee (ISC) will be responsible for addressing these types of non-conformances.

9 INTEGRITY PROGRAM (IPRO) The Integrity Program consists of 2 pillars:

a) BIPRO: Brand Integrity Program (e.g. contractual issues, database, logo use, administrative requirements, complaint management, etc.).

b) CIPRO: Certification Integrity Program (e.g. inspection, audit or certification performance of the CB, etc.).

c) The IPRO sanctioning procedures are illustrated in a flow chart at the end of the document.

9.1 BIPRO – Brand Integrity Program The following non-conformances fall under BIPRO: a) Non-conformances as defined in 8.2. The ISC may be requested to judge the CB immediately

e.g. 8.2.2a (vi) confirmed fraud. b) Repeated incomplete or missing registration in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database as defined in

section 9.3- Sanctioning Steps. c) Any outstanding payment of invoices accepted by the CB that has not been settled within

three months after the second written warning by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat will result in a Red Card, and finally in Step 5 – Contract Cancellation.

d) Incomplete or wrong database entries and/or issued certificates. e) The sanction level derived from database entries will be re-set (annulled) in case the CB does

not exceed the threshold (see: point 9.4) within 12 months after the latest sanction or after the start of the monitoring process.

9.2 CIPRO – Certification Integrity Program a) CIPRO is risk based and consists of 2 kinds of assessments:

(i) Office assessments to check CB certification performance. (ii) Producer assessments or witness CB assessments to check CB inspection and audit

performance.

9.2.1 Evaluation and Classification of Assessment Results

a) Each assessment is documented in a CIPRO assessment report. A representative of each assessed site (producer, producer group or CB office) shall sign the assessment report.

b) Each CIPRO assessment report is sent to the CB, to the accreditation body and, where applicable, to the ECSO/AMCO. Accreditation bodies are encouraged to use it as an input for their next assessment. CBs and ECSO/AMCO can use these reports as a management feedback for their continuous improvement processes.

c) Evidence from one or more classified CIPRO assessment reports and the failure of the CB to demonstrate improvement from previous assessments is the basis for GLOBALG.A.P. to propose an overall performance classification of the CB to the ISC. The CB will be informed about their proposed performance classification and shall be given the opportunity to respond in a written statement within 14 (fourteen) days after notification. The relevant AB and where applicable the ECSO/AMCO will be notified by GLOBALG.A.P.

d) ISC decision-making is based on ALL the following: (i) The individual assessment reports presented by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat

taking into consideration all previous assessments. (ii) The proposed performance classification by GLOBALG.A.P. (iii) The CB’s written statement (pleading).

e) The assessment reports submitted to the ISC are anonymous and shall not disclose the name of the CB(s) involved.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


f) The GLOGALGAP Secretariat may request a summary of follow-up measures, but not necessarily require a corrective action plan on each case.

g) In case the CB representative is present and accepts the assessment findings, the integrity assessor can decide that the CB can book this integrity assessment as an unannounced inspection under the 10% rule.

9.2.1.1 Classification

Classification #1 (i) Definition: a) Unacceptable performance, which puts the overall competency of the CB in

question: serious infringements of the GLOBALG.A.P. or an equivalent standard’s rules are observed. These include, but are not limited to, objective evidence for: • Deliberate and/or repeated ignorance or negligence of the GLOBALG.A.P.

or an equivalent standard’s regulations. • Misuse of the GLOBALG.A.P. or an equivalent standard’s license. • One or more serious technical failures in the inspection/audit process. • Large number of minor technical failures in the inspection/audit process. • Verified fraud.

(ii) Procedure a) Further assessment(s) can be planned to investigate whether it was an isolated

incident or a general way of working, but one single assessment can also result in Classification #1.

b) The CB is put forward to the ISC immediately and implements corrections/corrective actions on the farm and CB levels immediately.

c) The CB reports its immediate remedial action to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat and where applicable to the ECSO/AMCO.

Classification #2 (i) Definition a) Very poor performance, which implies serious and immediate improvement

measures by the CB: a number of assessments raise serious doubts and concerns.

b) Deliberate mismanagement is suspected, but objective evidence of fraud was not found.

(ii) Procedure a) The CB shall immediately verify corrections/corrective actions on farm level. b) New assessments (re-assessments) will be scheduled to verify the effectiveness

of the corrective measures within maximum of 10 months. c) If no improvement is observed in the re-assessment, the CB is put forward to ISC. d) CB shall be put forward to ISC immediately in any cases where a potential food

safety risk has not been identified. e) CB may be put forward to ISC immediately where a second assessment receives

Classification #2.

Classification #3 (i) Definition a) Inadequate performance, which requires the CB to improve performance and

implement improvement measures. The result of a number of assessments raises some concerns.

(ii) Procedure a) New assessments (re-assessments) will be scheduled to verify the effectiveness

of the corrective measures within maximum of 15 months. b) If no improvement is observed, the CB will be put forward to ISC. Classification #4 a) The CB’s performance is good and acceptable. No systematic and serious non-

conformances have been found. The CB has good performance. No specific re-assessments are scheduled.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


Classification #5 a) The CB has shown a high level of implementation of the GLOBALG.A.P.

requirements. Low priority is given to schedule subsequent assessments.

9.3 Sanction Steps for Certification Bodies a) The sanctions, as set out in table 9.3 below, are applicable to all CBs in violation of the rules

and where a non-conformance (similar to those in 9 above) has been observed. b) The penalty will depend on the severity of the non-conformance or the recurrence of non-

conformance. c) GLOBALG.A.P. and the respective accreditation body and the equivalent standard owner will

work closely together with the Integrity Surveillance Committee. Table 9.3 Sanction Steps for Certification Body Non-conformances

9.3.1 Step 1 – 1st Warning a) Decided by the Integrity Surveillance Committee (ISC) or by GLOBALG.A.P.

Secretariat. A 1st warning due to BIPRO non-conformances can be followed by a 2nd warning without the approval of the ISC.

b) 1st warning can be issued: (i) Where non-conformances as defined in the General Regulations are detected. (ii) Where the CB does not react or does not report on written requests by the

GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. (iii) Where the number of incomplete or wrong database entries and/or issued

certificates reached 5 GLOBALGAP Numbers (GGN) or 1% of the total number of GGNs registered under a CB, whichever is higher.

9.3.2 Step 2 – 2nd Warning a) Decided by the Integrity Surveillance Committee or by GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. b) 2nd warning can be issued:

(i) Where 1st warning has not been closed out after the indicated deadline. (ii) Where the CB does not react or does not report on repeated written requests by

the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. (iii) Where the number of incomplete or wrong database entries and/or issued

certificates again reached 5 GLOBALG.A.P. Numbers (GGN) or 1% of the total number of GGNs registered under a CB, whichever is higher.

9.3.3 Step 3 - Yellow Card

a) Judged and decided by the Integrity Surveillance Committee and implemented by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. The Yellow Card is published on the GLOBALG.A.P.

Sanctioning Steps Decision Maker

Step1 1st Warning GLOBALG.A.P. (Information to AB)

Step2 2nd Warning GLOBALG.A.P. and/or the Integrity Surveillance Committee (Information to AB)

Step3 Yellow Card

Integrity Surveillance Committee (Information to AB and publish on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website)

Step4 Red Card

Integrity Surveillance Committee (Information to AB and publish on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website. CB is not allowed to (re) issue new certificates for 1 – 6 months)

Step5 Contract Cancellation

Integrity Surveillance Committee (Information to AB and publish on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website. Cancellation of the License and Certification Agreement)

* Note: Sanctioning steps 1 to 5 are not necessarily consecutive.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


Website and the GLOBALG.A.P. members are informed. b) A Yellow Card can be lifted by the ISC when the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat has

verified the effectiveness of the improvement during one or more verification (re) assessments and found it satisfactory.

c) A Yellow card can be issued: (i) For the period when the CB implements improvement measures due to CIPRO

assessment results. The timeframe for improvement is maximum 10 months. GLOBALG.A.P. schedules a follow-up assessment to evaluate improvement.

(ii) Where improvements observed in a re-assessment are not sufficient. (iii) Where no reaction on written requests by GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat after Step 2

– 2nd Warning. (iv) Where after Step 2 – 2nd Warning the number of incomplete or wrong database

entries and/or issued certificates again reaches 5 GGNs or 1% of the total number of GGN registered under a CB, whichever is higher.

9.3.4 Step 4 – Red Card

a) Judged and decided by the Integrity Surveillance Committee and implemented by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. The Red Card is published on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website and the GLOBALG.A.P. members are informed.

b) Temporarily full or partial prohibition of the use of the GLOBALG.A.P. License is imposed, i.e. the CB is not allowed to issue new or re-issue certificates for 1 to 6 months.

c) ISC may lift this sanction only if confidence in the reliability of the CB’s operation can be reassured.

d) The CB will pay the verification (re) assessments. e) Red Card can be issued (non-exhaustive list):

(i) Where CB performance does not show sufficient improvement during further repeated re-assessments.

(ii) Where a Yellow Card has not been closed out after the indicated deadline. (iii) Where the AB has suspended the accreditation. (iv) After Step 3 - Yellow Card the number of incomplete or wrong database entries

and/or issued certificates again reaches 5 GGNs or 1% of the total number of GGN registered under a CB, whichever is higher.

f) The CB under Red Card shall inform (by means of a written letter) all its producers within 5 business days of the loss of GLOBALGAP approval about his/her right to require the CB to annul the Sub-licence and Certification Agreement. Following the producer request, the CB shall allow and facilitate producer transfer to another CB. Facilitation of the process might include extension of existing certificate validity to provide continuous certification of the producer. Where CB would fail to do so, GLOBALGAP will inform the producers using the contact details registered in the GLOBALGAP database and release the GGN in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database on the producer’s request to allow producer transfer to another CB.

9.3.5 Step 5 - Contract Cancelation

a) Judged and decided by the Integrity Surveillance Committee and implemented by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. Contract cancellation is published on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website and the GLOBALG.A.P. members are informed.

b) Cancellation of the License and Certification Agreement will be imposed for at least 2 years.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


c) The ECSO is responsible to enforce this sanction on their CBs operating a GLOBALG.A.P. equivalent scheme.

d) The CB that has lost its GLOBALG.A.P. approval shall inform (by means of a written letter) all its producers within 5 business days of the loss of GLOBALG.A.P. approval about his/her right to require the CB to annul the Sub-license and Certification Agreement. Following the producer request, the CB shall allow and facilitate producer transfer to another CB. Where CB would fail to do so, GLOBALG.A.P. will inform the producers using the contact details registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database and release the GGN in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database on the producer’s request to allow producer transfer to another CB.

e) The CB has the possibility to transfer all certificates to an approved CB. The new CB must assume all -including legal- responsibility for the transferred certificates. In case the CB does not use the transfer possibility within the set deadline, all existing certificates issued by the CB after contract cancellation lose their validity.

f) Contract Cancellation can be (non-exhaustive list): (i) In cases of verified fraud. (ii) Where a Red Card sanction could not be lifted after the agreed deadline. (iii) Bankruptcy (iv) Loss of accreditation

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


Flow chart illustrating the CIPRO Sanctioning Procedure

GlobalG.A.P. collects classified

CIPRO assessmet

reports

Classification #4 or #5 (low risk)

Publication on GLOBALG.A.P.

Website

1st Warning

2nd Warning

Yellow Card

Red Card

Contract Cancellation

Classification #1, #2 or #3

(risk to integrity)

ISC judges and decides on

sanction steps, including fines

GlobalG.A.P. proposes an overall classification of the

CB to the ISC

BIPRO issues detected by

GLOBALG.A.P.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


ANNEX III.1: GLOBALG.A.P. CB INSPECTOR QUALIFICATIONS (OPTIONS 1 AND 3) 1. GLOBALG.A.P. Sub-Scope Inspector a) Inspectors will be able to inspect a sub-scope on farm level once the CB has verified factual

evidence (as described below) of their qualifications and experience for each sub-scope. b) The requirements for Fruit and Vegetables, Plant Propagation Material, Combinable Crops

and Flowers and Ornamentals are equivalent, except for 3.2 a) and b), which are not applicable for Plant Propagation Material and for Flowers and Ornamentals.

2. Formal Qualifications a) At least a post high school diploma or equivalent (minimum course duration of 2 years) in a

discipline related to the scope of certification (Crops and/or Livestock and/or Aquaculture).

3. Technical Skills and Qualifications 3.1 Inspector Training

a) One-day practical inspection course setting out basic principles of inspection.

3.2 Food Safety, G.A.P. Training and Work Experience

a) Training in HACCP principles either as part of formal qualifications or by the successful completion of a formal course based on the principles of Codex Alimentarius.

b) Food hygiene training either as part of formal qualifications or by the successful completion of a formal course.

c) GLOBALG.A.P. Online Training, with the successful completion of all online tests and its updates within 3 months after its release on the inspector’s language.

d) For Crop Scope: Plant protection, fertilizer and IPM training either as part of formal qualifications, or by the successful completion of a formal course.

e) For Livestock and Aquaculture Scopes: Basic veterinary medicine and stockmanship training including animal health and welfare issues.

f) For Aquaculture Standards: basic experience in food processing (to inspect AB.12 and 13).

g) A minimum of 2 years experience gained after finishing post high school studies mentioned in point 2.a and 3 years overall experience in the agricultural industry. The 2 years experience shall involve work in the respective scope and may have been gained simultaneously for more than one scope and/or sub-scope/group according to the below table:

If an inspector has 3 years working experience in: It is possible to inspect the following sub-scopes/group:

FV FV, CC, FO, PPM FO FO, PPM CC CC, PPM, FO PPM PPM , FO Tea Tea, PPM, FO Coffee Coffee, PPM, FO Ruminants (CS, DY,CYB) CS, DY, CYB PG PG PY PY, TY TY PY, TY Finfish Finfish, Crustaceans, Molluscs Crustaceans Finfish, Crustaceans, Molluscs Molluscs Molluscs

To audit/inspect an additional specific sub-scope/group within a scope, proof of a formal course of production practices and sub-scope/group specific working experience (i.e.: 1 year working experience or 10 days witness assessments) are required.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


The formal courses (mentioned in points a, b, e and f above) can be part of the formal qualifications (degree/diploma) or can be separate courses that were taken by the inspector. The inspector must present proof of qualification. If it was part of the degree/ diploma, it must be in the syllabus of the course. Or, if it was acquired separately, then there must be a separate certificate, which shows that a course that covered these issues was completed (including an exam). 3.3 Communication Skills


b) Exceptions to this rule must be consulted and confirmed in writing beforehand with the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.

3.4 Initial Training before Sign-off by the CB

a) The applicant inspector shall observe minimum one Option 1 producer or 1 Option 2 producer group member inspection.

b) The CB shall witness (as the minimum) one inspection on an Option 1 producer or an Option 2 producer group member by an already qualified inspector or auditor respectively.

c) For the CB’s first inspector the CB’s internal procedures apply.

3.5 Maintenance of Competency

a) The CB must have in place a procedure to ensure that annually every inspector/auditor conducts at least 5 inspections/audits or 10 inspection/audit days, at a number of different producers, against the relevant GLOBALG.A.P. Standard, to maintain scheme knowledge and to stay registered on the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.

b) Witness inspections/audits shall also be acceptable to maintain competency. c) Exceptions to this rule, e.g., when the CB does not have a total of 5 clients, must be

consulted and confirmed in writing beforehand with the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. d) The CB shall carry out a GLOBALG.A.P. witness inspection and/or re-inspection for each

of its GLOBALG.A.P. inspectors at least once every 4 years to verify competence. e) These requirements are not valid for those Scheme Mangers who does not carry out

inspections. f) If it is not possible to maintain competency from one year to the other, 3.4 will apply.

3.6 Subsequent Chain of Custody (CoC)

a) All inspectors who are set to inspect subsequent post harvest handling against the GLOBALG.A.P. CoC Standard must be registered as GLOBALG.A.P. online trainees and pass the CoC online exam.

b) Inspectors without the scope-specific inspector qualification requirements can inspect Chain of Custody for subsequent post harvest handling units. These inspectors need to: (i) Have general knowledge of traceability (ii) Be able to do mass-balance evaluation. (iii) Be already qualified for another ISO 65 accredited food, feed, forestry,

aquaculture or agriculture related scheme. (iv) Have minimum of 2 years professional experience gained after finishing

academic studies related to the inspector/control activities. (v) In addition to the above, inspector also need to comply with Annex III.1. 3.2 a)

and 3.2 b) to be able to assess CoC control referring to a food safety system.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


4. Key Tasks 4.1 GLOBALG.A.P. Farm Inspections

a) Inspection of farms (either a producer or a producer member of a producer group) to assess compliance with the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard.

b) To produce timely and accurate reports on such inspections in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 65 and GLOBALG.A.P. timelines and system requirements.

4.2 General

a) To maintain up-to-date files of all quality policies, procedures, work instructions and documentation issued by the CB.

b) To keep abreast of developments, issues and legislative changes pertaining to the scope in which audits are carried out.

c) To carry out any other tasks the CB may assign, outside the scope of GLOBALG.A.P. as long as these activities do not contradict EN 45011 or ISO/IEC Guide 65 or ISO 17065 principles or any stipulation set down by GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations.

4.3 Independence and Confidentiality

a) Inspectors are not permitted to carry out any activities, which may affect their independence or impartiality, and specifically shall not carry out consultancy activities in the last 2 years for the producers on whom they perform inspections. Training is not considered consultancy, provided that, where the course relates to management systems or auditing, it is confined to the provision of generic information that is freely available in the public domain; i.e. the trainer cannot provide company-specific solutions.

b) Inspectors must strictly observe the producer’s and the CB’s procedures to maintain the confidentiality of information and records.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


ANNEX III.2: GLOBALG.A.P. CB AUDITOR QUALIFICATIONS (OPTION 1 MULTISITE WITH QMS, OPTIONS 2 AND 4) 1. GLOBALG.A.P. Sub-Scope Auditor a) Auditors will be able to audit a sub-scope once the CB has verified factual evidence (as

described below) of their qualifications and experience for each sub-scope. b) The requirements for Fruit and Vegetables, Plant Propagation Material, Combinable Crops and

Flowers and Ornamentals are equivalent, except for 3.2 a) and b), which are not applicable for Plant Propagation Material and for Flowers and Ornamentals.

2. Formal Qualifications

a) At least a post high school diploma or equivalent (minimum course duration of 2 years) in a discipline related to the scope of certification (Crops and/or Livestock and/or Aquaculture and/or Feed Manufacturing/Animal nutrition).

3. Technical Skills and Qualifications 3.1 Lead Assessor Training

a) Practical auditing experience of minimum 10 days in management systems (e.g.: ISO 9000, ISO 14000, ISO 22000, OSHAS 18000), BRC Food, IFS Food, previous GLOBALG.A.P. Option 2 or Option 4, producer group audits of organic growers or others). This does not include witnessing or observing of audits, but includes being witnessed or observed as auditor-in-training.

b) Successful completion of a Lead Assessor training course based on ISO 19011 principles that must have a minimum duration of 37 hours, and must be externally recognized by the industry. The certificate must specify the course content and duration. Successful completion must be indicated on the certificate.

c) The Lead Assessor training course must cover: applicable standards on quality auditing, auditing techniques, focus of the audits (psychological aspects and communication) and reporting, and it must also include a practical case study.

3.2 Food Safety, G.A.P. Training and Work Experience

a) Training in HACCP principles either as part of formal qualifications or by the successful completion of a formal course based on the principles of Codex Alimentarius.

b) Food hygiene training either as part of formal qualifications or by the successful completion of a formal course for the Integrated Farm Assurance Standard.

c) Food/Feed hygiene training either as part of formal qualifications or by the successful completion of a formal course for the Compound Feed Manufacturing Standard.

d) GLOBALG.A.P. Online Training, with the successful completion of all online tests and its updates within 3 months after its release on the inspector’s language.

e) For Crop Standards: Plant protection, fertilizer and IPM training either as part of formal qualifications, or by the successful completion of a formal course.

f) For Livestock and Aquaculture Standards: Basic veterinary medicine and stockmanship training including animal health and welfare issues.

g) For Aquaculture Standards: basic experience in food processing (to inspect AB.12 and 13)

h) For CFM Standard: knowledge of the relevant regional/national feed legislation applicable to the scope of activity.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


i) A minimum of 2 years experience gained after finishing post high school studies mentioned in point 2.a and 3 years overall experience in the agricultural industry. The 2 years experience shall involve work in the respective scope and may have been gained simultaneously for more than one scope and/or sub-scope/group according to the below table:

If an auditor has 3 years working experience in: It is possible to audit/inspect the following sub-scopes/group:

FV FV, CC, FO, PPM; FO FO, PPM CC CC, PPM, FO PPM PPM , FO Tea Tea, PPM, FO Coffee Coffee, PPM, FO Ruminants (CS, DY,CYB) CS, DY, CYB PG PG PY PY, TY TY PY, TY Finfish Finfish, Crustaceans, Molluscs Crustaceans Finfish, Crustaceans, Molluscs Molluscs Molluscs

To audit/inspect an additional specific sub-scope/group within a scope, proof of a formal course of production practices and sub-scope/group specific working experience (1 year working experience or 10 days witness assessments) are required. For CFM, the 3 years (overall) working experience is required in feed, nutrition or food industry. The formal courses (mentioned in points a, b, c, e, f, g and h above) can be part of the formal qualifications (degree/diploma) or can be separate courses that were taken by the auditor. The auditor must present proof of qualification. If it was part of the degree/ diploma, it must be in the syllabus of the course. Or, if it was acquired separately, then there must be a separate certificate, which shows that a course that covered these issues was completed (including an exam).

3.3 Communication Skills


b) Exceptions to this rule must be consulted beforehand with the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.

3.4 Initial Training before Sign-off by the CB

a) The applicant auditor shall observe minimum one Option 1 producer or 1 Option 2 producer group member inspection and 1 Option 2 QMS audit.

b) The CB shall witness (as the minimum) one inspection on an Option 1 producer or an Option 2 producer group member and 1 QMS audit by an already qualified inspector or auditor respectively.

c) For the CB’s first auditor the CB’s internal procedure apply. d) The Option 2 auditor shall attend a ‘CB Option 2 Auditor Training’ and pass the exam for

each new standard version.

3.5 Maintenance of Competency

a) The CB must have in place a procedure to ensure that annually every inspector/auditor conducts at least 5 inspections/audits or 10 inspection/audit days, at a number of different producers, against a GLOBALG.A.P. Standard, to maintain scheme knowledge and to stay registered on the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


b) Witness inspections/audits shall also be acceptable to maintain competency. c) Exceptions to this rule, e.g., when the CB does not have a total of 5 clients, must be

consulted and confirmed in writing beforehand with the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. d) These requirements are not valid for those auditors whose main task it is to be part of the

certification body decision-making committee. e) The CB shall carry out a GLOBALG.A.P. witness audit and/or re-audit for each of its

GLOBALG.A.P. auditors at least once every 4 years to verify competence f) If it is not possible to maintain competency from one year to the other, 3.4will apply.

4. Key Tasks

4.1 GLOBALG.A.P. Producer Group Audits

a) Auditing and assessment of the quality management system of producer groups and Option 1 Multi-sites where a QMS is implemented for compliance with the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard according to the QMS Checklist, available on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website.

b) To produce timely and accurate reports on such audits in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 65 requirements and GLOBALG.A.P. timelines and system requirements.

NOTE: An auditor qualified in the scope of Fruit and Vegetables can audit the QMS of a group seeking certification for Pigs, however this auditor cannot conduct any farm inspections of the pig producers. 4.2 GLOBALG.A.P. Farm Inspections

a) Inspection of farms (either producer or PMUs (Option 1) or producers in producer group (Option 2)) to assess compliance with the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard.

b) To produce timely and accurate reports on such inspections in accordance with ISO/IEC Guide 65 and GLOBALG.A.P. timelines and system requirements.

4.3 General

a) To maintain up-to-date files of all quality policies, procedures, work instructions and documentation issued by the CB.

b) To keep abreast of developments, issues and legislative changes pertaining to the scope in which audits are carried out.

c) To carry out any other tasks the CB may assign, outside the scope of GLOBALG.A.P. so long as these activities do not contradict EN 45011 or ISO/IEC Guide 17065 principles or any stipulation set down by GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations.

4.4 Independence and Confidentiality

a) Auditors are not permitted to take ultimate certification decisions regarding own audits or inspections they have carried out themselves.

b) Auditors are not permitted to carry out any activities, which may affect their independence or impartiality, and specifically shall not carry out consultancy activities for the producers in the last 2 years on whom they perform inspections. Training is not considered consultancy, provided that, where the course relates to management systems or auditing, it is confined to the provision of generic information that is freely available in the public domain, i.e. the trainer cannot provide company-specific solutions.

c) Auditors must strictly observe the producer’s and the CB’s procedures to maintain the confidentiality of information and records.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


ANNEX III.3 GLOBALG.A.P. PRODUCER AND PRODUCT STATUSES GLOBALG.A.P. defines 2 types of statuses:

1. Producer Statuses (linked to the legal entity of a producer Individually certified or producer group)

2. Product Statuses (linked to the products of a producer or producer group) 1. PRODUCER STATUSES All the following statuses refer to the producer individually certified or the producer group as certificate holder. Statuses of the producer group members are described in Annex II.2. 1.1 Producer Status: “Not confirmed” Producers or producer groups in the status “Not Confirmed“ are those whose registration data are recorded in the database and linked to a Farm Assurer. The registration information (company, location, product information) has not yet been confirmed or reconfirmed by a Farm Assurer. Registration fee is not yet payable by producer or producer groups in this status. 1.2 Producer Status: “Registered“ “Producers or producer groups in the status “Registered“ are linked to a Farm Assurer. The producer status "Registered" is a pre-condition for product acceptance and certification. The status “Registered” can only be set by a farm assurer. 1.3 Producer Status: “CB/PG Accepted“ Producers or producer groups will be automatically set from the producer status "Registered" to the producer status “CB/PG Accepted“, as soon as one or more products have been set to the product status "Accepted". “CB/PG Accepted” producers and producer groups must pay the registration fee to the Farm Assurer, according to the current fee table published on www.globalgap.org. 1.4 Producer Status: “Annulled” Producers or producer groups in the status “Annulled“ are still recorded in the database (they still have a valid GGN), but not linked to a certification body or a producer group anymore. All registration information will be stored in the database for at least 5 years and can be re-activated at anytime. Producer and producer groups in this status do not pay the registration fee. 1.5 Producer Status “Cancelled” Producers or producer groups in the status “Cancelled“ are blocked and will remain in this status for 12 months before they can link up and register with a certification body or producer group again. It is, however, possible that the individual member of a cancelled group can immediately re-register with another group or as Option 1 if there were no issues pending against them as producer member. After 1 year the producer or producer groups will be set to Annulled. A new registration process –while keeping the existing GGN- needs to be followed. 2. PRODUCT STATUSES Product statuses, within GLOBALG.A.P. Certification, refer to the status of the production process of the product under consideration. The producer can only be certified with reference to one or more production processes of the product(s). Although the term “product status” is used, it only refers to the status of the production process of the product out of which the product is delivered and not to that of the product itself. 2.1 Product Status: “Not confirmed" As soon as a producer or producer group registers products in the database, these products are set to the status “Not confirmed". Additional products can be entered at any time when the producer or producer group is in the status “Not Confirmed”, “Registered” or "CB/PG Accepted". If a product certificate is not renewed, the product status is automatically set to “Not confirmed". New products cannot be registered when the producer is in the status “Cancelled” or “Annulled”.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C


2.2 Product Status: "Accepted" For certificate holders all products shall be set to the product status "Accepted" before they can be certified. Products with status “Self-declared suspension” or “Suspension” cannot be re-accepted. The CB sets the status “Accepted” for the producer group and producer. This status is the trigger of the registration fee. Product quantities/growing areas need to be entered for producers and producer members of the producer group. The product quantities of the group will be aggregated based on the information of the group members. If products of a group member are in the status “Internally Inspected”, this group member with his/her products will be part of the group certificate and take on the overall product status within the group certificate. 2.3 Product Status “Certified” As soon as the certification body sets the product status to “Certified” for one or more product(s), the CB shall issue a certificate to the respective producer/producer group. The producer or producer group shall, at this time, pay the certification fee according to the GLOBALG.A.P. fee table available on www.globalgap.org. Additional products may be added later, i.e. by changing the product status of these products to “Certified” and by the CB issuing an updated certificate, without changing the certificate validity. Products of group members cannot receive the status “Certified”, but it belongs, in case the respective group product is certified, to a certified production process 2.4 Product Status “Self-declared suspension” A producer or producer group can ask the CB for a voluntary suspension of a product. 2.5 Product Status: “Product Suspended” A suspension of the product certificate is issued when a producer or producer group does not present evidence of corrective actions that close out a non-conformity after a Warning has been issued. The respective certification body/producer group must set the respective products to the status “Product Suspended”. The respective certification body/producer group must lift the suspension. 2.6 Product Status: “Open non-conformance” The status “Open non-conformance” is set when the CB issued a Letter of Non-compliance. The status “Open non-conformance” is set also when a producer or producer group does not comply with 100% Major Must or 95% Minor Must control points within 28 days after an initial inspection. In this case, the CB must perform a complete inspection in order for the producer to get certification. The status “open non-conformance” cannot be given to producer group members’ products.

1302

01_g

g_gr

_par

t_iii

_v4_

0-2_

en_T

C




New document Replaced document

Date of publication Description of Modifications

120206_gg_gr_part_III_eng_v4_0-1 110314_GG_GR_PART_III_IFA_ENG_Final_V4

6 February 2012 Modification GLOBALG.A.P to GLOBALG.A.P.; 2.1 g) – misspelling 3.2 d), 3.3 b) (iv) – deleted segments 2.3 d), 5.3.1 h)(vi)/i), 5.3.2.1 g) (vi), 5.4 i), 6.1 d) and f), 6.3, 6.3 a)/b)/c)/d)/f)/g), 6.3.1 c), 7.1 d), 8.2.2. a), 9.1 a), 9.2.11 (ii) a, 9.3 b), 9.3.1 b (i), Annex III.2: 4.3 c) – change of wording Annex III.1: 3.6 b) – new point (v) Annex III.2: 3.5 f) – reference corrected

120306_gg_gr_part_III_v4_0-1_en 120206_gg_gr_part_III_eng_v4_0-1

6 March 2012 6.3.1a) (ii) – change of wording

130315_gg_gr_part_III_v4_0-2_en 120306_gg_gr_part_III_v4_0-1_en

15 March 2013 3.2 e), 6.3 d) – change of wording; 4.1 a) – second sentence deleted 5.3.1 c), (ii), g), h), i) - amendments

CHANGES IN GENERAL REGULATIONS PART I | PART II … · CHANGES IN GENERAL REGULATIONS PART I | PART...

Documents

Transcript of CHANGES IN GENERAL REGULATIONS PART I | PART II … · CHANGES IN GENERAL REGULATIONS PART I | PART...