150630_gg_gr_part-iii_v5-0_en-changes_highlighted_20150830
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, APPROVED MODIFIED CHECKLISTS AND BENCHMARKED
2.3 ACCREDITATION BODY REQUIREMENTS . 6 2.4 TERMINATION OF APPROVAL . 7
3. OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS . 7
3.1 GENERAL REQUIREMENTS . 7 3.2 TRAINING AND QUALIFICATION OF STAFF . 8 3.3 CB CERTIFICATION DATA COMMUNICATION WITH GLOBALG.A.P. 9 3.4 INDEPENDENCE, IMPARTIALITY, CONFIDENTIALITY AND INTEGRITY OF CB . 10
4. PRODUCER REGISTRATION AND ACCEPTANCE . 10
4.1 GENERAL . 10 4.2 PRODUCER REGISTRATION . 10
5. ASSESSMENT PROCESS . 11
5.1 OPTION 1 PRODUCERS . 11 5.2 ANNOUNCED INSPECTIONS . 11 5.3 UNANNOUNCED REWARD PROGRAM . 12 5.4 OPTION 2 PRODUCER GROUPS AND OPTION 1 MULTISITES WITH QMS . 12 5.5 UNANNOUNCED INSPECTIONS (OPTION 1 ONLY) AND AUDITS (QMS ONLY) . 15 5.6 INSPECTION OF PRODUCT HANDLING UNITS (OPTION 2 AND OPTION 1 MULTISITES WITH QMS) 17 5.7 EXTERNAL INSPECTIONS AND AUDITS OF APPROVED MODIFIED CHECKLISTS (AMC) /
EQUIVALENT SCHEMES . 17
6. CERTIFICATION PROCESS . 17
6.1 GENERAL . 17
6.2 INSPECTION DURATION . 18
6.3 PRODUCER NON-CONFORMANCE AND SANCTIONS . 18
6.4 PAPER CERTIFICATE REQUIREMENTS . 19
7. TRANSFER BETWEEN CERTIFICATION BODIES . 19
8. CERTIFICATION BODY SANCTIONS . 20
8.1 GENERAL RULES . 20
8.2 TYPES OF NON-CONFORMANCES . 21
9. INTEGRITY PROGRAM . 22
9.1 BRAND INTEGRITY PROGRAM . 22
9.2 CERTIFICATION INTEGRITY PROGRAM . 22
9.3 SANCTION STEPS FOR CERTIFICATION BODIES . 24
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 2 of 33
ANNEX III.1: GLOBALG.A.P. CB INSPECTOR QUALIFICATIONS (OPTIONS 1 AND 3) . 28
1. GLOBALG.A.P. SUB-SCOPE INSPECTOR . 28
2. FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS AND WORK EXPERIENCE . 28
3. TECHNICAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS . 28
3.1 INSPECTOR TRAINING . 28 3.2 FOOD SAFETY, G.A.P. TRAINING AND WORK EXPERIENCE . 28 3.3 COMMUNICATION SKILLS . 29 3.4 INITIAL TRAINING BEFORE SIGN-OFF BY THE CB . 29 3.5 MAINTENANCE OF COMPETENCY . 30
4. KEY TASKS . 30
4.1 GLOBALG.A.P. FARM INSPECTIONS . 30 4.2 GENERAL . 30 4.3 INDEPENDENCE AND CONFIDENTIALITY . 30
ANNEX III.2: GLOBALG.A.P. CB AUDITOR QUALIFICATIONS (OPTION 1 MULTISITE WITH QMS,
OPTIONS 2 AND 4) . 31
1. GLOBALG.A.P. SUB-SCOPE AUDITOR . 31
2. FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS AND WORK EXPERIENCE . 31
3. TECHNICAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS . 31
3.1 LEAD ASSESSOR TRAINING . 31 3.2 FOOD SAFETY, G.A.P. TRAINING AND WORK EXPERIENCE . 31 3.3 COMMUNICATION SKILLS . 32 3.4 INITIAL TRAINING BEFORE SIGN-OFF BY THE CB . 33 3.5 MAINTENANCE OF COMPETENCY . 33
4. KEY TASKS . 33
4.1 GLOBALG.A.P. QMS AUDITS . 33 4.2 GLOBALG.A.P. FARM INSPECTIONS . 33 4.3 GENERAL . 34 4.4 INDEPENDENCE AND CONFIDENTIALITY . 34
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 3 of 33
1. LICENSE AND CERTIFICATION AGREEMENT
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.
The License and Certification Agreement, including its updates, shall 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.
The License and Certification Agreement, the Sublicense and Certification Agreement and the General Regulations complement each other and GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs shall continuously comply with all.
2. CERTIFICATION BODY APPROVAL PROCESS
2.1
CB Approval by GLOBALG.A.P.
Provisional Approval
The CB shall 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 shall 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.
After the positive evaluation of the application and before provisional approval, the applicant CB shall complete the following steps: 1. Sign the GLOBALG.A.P. License and Certification Agreement 2. Pay the annual CB License Fee (according to the latest version of the
GLOBALG.A.P. fee table)
After provisional approval, but before conducting any GLOBALG.A.P. inspection or audit, the applicant CB shall complete the following steps:
Request Database access from the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
Register all auditors and inspectors in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.
Have all the auditors and inspectors complete the necessary GLOBALG.A.P. online
exams for the General Regulations and for the Control Points and Compliance Criteria
in the relevant sub-scope.
Pay the relevant training fees per registered auditor/inspector according to the latest
version of the GLOBALG.A.P. fee table.
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 online 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 QMS audits)
and at least a second auditor (for
the certification committee) who have passed the necessary online exam for the applied sub-
scope and scope respectively and the QMS auditor (face-to-face) training.
The CB shall nominate a "GLOBALG.A.P. Scheme Manager" (according to point 3.2.a).
The CB shall nominate an in-house trainer (according to point 3.2.c) and complete or at least
register for the in-house trainer training of the relevant scope.
The CB intending to certify a benchmarked standard shall show proof of approval by the
scheme or standard owner.
CBs shall apply to an accreditation body (AB) for accreditation to 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 shall be forwarded to the GLOBALG.A.P.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 4 of 33
The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat will allow provisionally approved CBs
with previous ISO/IEC
17065
accreditation to issue a limited number of non-accredited certificates before final
approval. The maximum number of
producers that may receive non-accredited certificates
(Option 1, Option 2, and Benchmarked Options 3 & 4)
per scope (crops, livestock or
aquaculture) is
20.
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.
Example 2: 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).
Example 3: The CB applies for IFA F&V, IFA F&O and IFA Pigs. Twenty producers
(individual producers or Option 2 group members) may receive non-accredited certificates
for IFA F&V, IFA F&O in total and 20 pig producers may receive non-accredited IFA
certificates.
There is a provision by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat to allow provisionally approved CBs
with
no previous 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 shall 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
five
.
The non-accredited certificates shall comply with the applicable certificate template requirements but shall indicate neither the GLOBALG.A.P. nor the AB logos.
Final Approval
The CB shall complete the steps below before issuing any accredited GLOBALG.A.P. Certificates or operating any accredited GLOBALG.A.P. Add-On and before final approval can be granted.
CBs shall obtain ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation within six months after the date of provisional approval. This period can be extended for an additional time span of six months if the AB provides justified reasons explaining the delay. The CB shall submit the justified reasons to GLOBALG.A.P.
Once accreditation has been obtained, the CB shall send a copy of the accreditation
evidence to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
If accreditation has not been achieved within a maximum period of one year, the provisional
approval may 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, unless the CB
submits justification for the delay. The CB may re-apply for provisional approval after a new standard version is introduced.
As a condition for final approval, the provisionally approved CB shall have at least one in-house trainer (according to point 3.2c) who has completed the required training available for
the applied sub-scope.
CBs shall continually register all auditors and inspectors in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.
The registered auditors and inspectors shall complete the necessary GLOBALG.A.P. online
exams for the General Regulations and for the Control Points and Compliance Criteria in the
relevant sub-scope.
CBs planning to certify Option 2 or Option 1 multisite with QMS shall have at least two
auditors complying with the auditor qualification requirements as defined in Annex III.2 including the face-to-face QMS auditor training.
CBs shall pay the relevant training fees per registered auditor/inspector according to the
latest version of the GLOBALG.A.P. fee table.
Only after the CB has been accredited to 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
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 5 of 33
certificate according to the applicable GLOBALG.A.P. certificate template, which shall be followed at all times.
Extension of Scopes, Sub-scopes, Approved Modified Checklists and Benchmarked
Schemes
GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs that want to extend their
scope of GLOBALG.A.P. Certification shall follow all steps and requirements mentioned in 2.1 and shall apply for the accreditation of the new scope before signing the agreement of extension of scope with GLOBALG.A.P. Standards such as PSS, HPSS, CFM, AMCs, Benchmarked Schemes, etc., or localg.a.p. programs and GLOBALG.A.P. Add-Ons will be considered as new scopes.
GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs that want to extend their
sub-scope of certification within a scope, shall 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 shall be sent to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. The CB shall apply for the accreditation of the new sub-scope before signing the agreement of extension of scope with GLOBALG.A.P.
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). In the absence of training opportunity the CB at least has to register for the next upcoming training. The provisional approval shall be withdrawn where the CB does not attend or fail the applicable in-house training.
GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs willing to extend their approval to an AMC or benchmarked scheme -within the same scope and sub-scope- shall send an application request to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
CBs accredited by 1st July 2015 for Version 4 shall achieve ISO/IEC 17065 accreditation for
Version 5 (for the same scopes or sub-scopes as Version 4) by
1st July 2016.
Deleted: reference to Chain of Custody Standard.
Accreditation Body Requirements
The accreditation body to which the CB applies shall 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 shall have signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GLOBALG.A.P.
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
The GLOBALG.A.P. normative documents and its version
Limitations to Option 1 (if applicable)
Territorial limitations (if applicable)
An initial AB assessment of a GLOBALG.A.P. Scope (Crops or Livestock or Aquaculture)
shall require at least one witness assessment (of one sub-scope) within each applied scope.
Example: The CB applies for F&O and for F&V accreditation at the same time. The AB may
witness only a F&V inspection, but grant accreditation for both sub-scopes. A F&O
inspection shall be sampled for witness later in the 4-year period.
The AB shall only grant the accreditation for Option 2 (including Option 1 multisite operation
with QMS) if the AB has completed at least one QMS audit witness assessment regardless
of the scope or sub-scope.
Example: The CB applies for F&V and for Aquaculture accreditation including QMS at the same time. The AB may witness only a F&V QMS audit, but grant accreditation for both
scopes for Option 2 (including Option 1 multisite operation with QMS).
The extension of the accreditation to new sub-scope(s) within an already accredited scope
shall include at least the assessment of the personnel competency. Benchmarked schemes
and AMCs are considered as equivalent sub-scopes (for the respective sub-scope).
Example: The CB applies for F&V and for New Zealand GAP for F&V accreditation at the
same time. The AB may decide to witness an inspection of one standard or of both
standards, but shall grant accreditation to both of them. This applies to c) d) e) and f) as well.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 6 of 33
The AB shall, during its surveillance program, witness all sub-scopes in at least a 4-year period, but not every scope/sub-scope combination every year by default. 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. The AB shall justify the increase of witness assessment frequency.
Example: If the CB has only one single sub-scope accredited (e.g. F&V), the AB – after initial accreditation – may witness F&V only once in a 4-year period. If the CB is accredited for F&V and Pigs, the AB – after initial accreditation – may carry out only two witnesses (F&V and Pigs) once in a 4-year period.
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. Accreditation Bodies are invited to attend the integrity assessments performed by GLOBALG.A.P.
On request, the AB shall send to GLOBALG.A.P. the latest results and report of the accreditation assessment. In this case, the CB shall be informed.
The AB shall issue a confirmation of application including the applied standard scope and sub-scope to the applicant CB.
Deleted: The AB shall follow the GFSI Requirements on the application of ISO/IEC 17011:2004 during the accreditation process
Termination of Approval
In case a CB requests the termination of the License and Certification Agreement, the following actions shall be taken:
a) The CB shall send a formal termination request to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. b) The CB shall inform all clients that the re-certification has to be carried out by another CB. c) There is no need for the CB to modify or update anything in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database. If the
products are not re-accepted for the next cycle, once the current certificate expires, the new CB will be able to accept the GGN of the producers and re-certify.
d) From a specific date onwards, the CB shall be blocked in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database and
cannot register new clients or re-issue and extend their valid certificates.
e) The CB shall contact the Database Support Team for any changes such as modification of
existing certificates, shortening of the certificate validity, changing of the access rights of existing producers, amendments in the master data, complaints, etc.
f) The CB shall inform the Accreditation Body.
g) The CB shall be listed on the GLOBALG.A.P. website until the last certificate expires. A comment
shall be added that the CB cannot contract/certify producers and will terminate its GLOBALG.A.P.
approval on a specific date.
h) It shall be decided by GLOBALG.A.P. if the Certification Body License Fee applies for the current
and/or following year and whether any further training shall be attended.
3. OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS
General Requirements
All the points described in the General Regulations shall 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
with the relevant sub-scope requirements.
The CB shall pay the annual Certification License and Certificate Fee.
The CB is responsible for communicating to its GLOBALG.A.P. registered clients all relevant
updates, as well as the date of first application and grace period of any new GLOBALG.A.P.
versions of normative documents.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 7 of 33
GLOBALG.A.P. shall be entitled to participate, upon prior notice and at its own cost, in inspections or audits carried out by CBs.
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.
Certification Bodies 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 CB, in particular withdrawal of accreditation or corporate changes.
Certification Bodies shall actively cooperate with GLOBALG.A.P. during management of complaints related to the CB or to the producers contracted by the CB.
Training and Qualification of Staff
Every CB approved by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat shall nominate one 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)
Shall be fluent in English.
Shall at least qualify as a GLOBALG.A.P. inspector (see requirements for GLOBALG.A.P. inspector in Annex III.1) for one of the approved sub-scopes.
Shall be committed to assist in any harmonization activities performed by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
Shall be available in-house; i.e. not hired occasionally by the CB, and be part of the operational and/or management decision-making process of the CB.
Shall be responsible for returning to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat the requested signed reception of any communication requiring written receipt.
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.
Shall attend the annual Scheme Manager (Update) meeting. This is a yearly task of the CB. If the Scheme Manager changes in the middle of the year, attendance of the SMU meeting is not required again for that same year. If the Scheme Manager is on medical leave (e.g. maternity), the CB may send another competent GLOBALG.A.P.
The Scheme Manager may be the same person as the in-house trainer.
In order to carry out GLOBALG.A.P. inspections and audits, the CB shall employ/contract
only inspectors and auditors that fulfill the GLOBALG.A.P. requirements (see Annex III.1 and
III.2 respectively). Every inspector/auditor has to fulfill all sub-scope specific requirements
(i.e. it is not permitted to send two people to an audit/inspection to complete among them the competence of one auditor or one inspector).
Deleted: 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.
All finally approved CBs shall have a sub-scope and version (i.e. IFA Version 5) specifically
trained CB in-house trainer, who shall be responsible for ensuring that all their registered
GLOBALG.A.P. auditors and inspectors comply with the requirements set in Annex III.1 and
Annex III.2. This person:
Needs to have passed the CB in-house trainer training exam for the relevant sub-scope and version. Failing any part of the exam twice will require re-attending a
GLOBALG.A.P. CB in-house training course and successfully passing the exam.
Shall be available in-house; i.e. not hired occasionally by the CB. The person may be
the same person as the Scheme Manager and the CB may have more than one in-
house trainer covering different standards or sub-scopes.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 8 of 33
Shall comply with at least inspector qualification requirements for the respective sub-scope.
Shall be responsible for training all the respective GLOBALG.A.P. auditors and inspectors (based on GLOBALG.A.P.).
Shall complete the required training within 3 months in case of a change in personnel. If this is not feasible, the new person shall register within 3 months for an upcoming course.
Only auditors complying with the auditor qualification requirements as defined in Annex III.2, including the face-to-face QMS auditor training may carry out QMS audits (Option 2 or Option 1 multisite with QMS). All IFA Version 4 approved auditors are automatically re-approved for carrying out QMS audits in Version 5, after passing a QMS online exam, when available. In case the Certification Integrity Program (CIPRO) results show a low auditing level, the respective auditor shall repeat the QMS training.
Every inspector and auditor shall complete the GLOBALG.A.P. online tests
(including exams of the updates) within 3 months after their release provided they are 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. If inspectors/auditors are working for more than one CB, the online training and exam for the respective sub-scope needs to be completed only once, but the inspectors/auditor need to be registered with each CB they are working with. In-house trainers do not need to pass the online exam for the sub-scopes for which they have already passed the IHT exam.
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.
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.
The CB shall verify, record and monitor the requirements set for inspector/auditor qualification including requirements for initial training and for maintenance of competency.
The CB shall have in place a system for the on-going calibration and training of its inspectors and auditors. The CB shall carry out annual internal refreshing/update training to inspectors/auditors.
After successful examination, the in-house trainers of the GLOBALG.A.P. associate member
CBs have the possibility to become GLOBALG.A.P. approved Public Trainers. This requires
a separate application. These in-house trainers do not need to pass an extra
training/examination for this purpose. A list of train the public trainers is listed on the
GLOBALG.A.P. website.
CB Certification Data Communication with GLOBALG.A.P.
The objective is to "know at any point in time, instantly and worldwide":
The present status and status history
The certified products, per
Area / volume, for
Each unique producer (legal entity), in
All schemes and Options (per product), with
Central validation of certificates by market participants (online validation tool), and
(vii) Audit/inspection and compliance details
Therefore the CB data communication with GLOBALG.A.P. shall:
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.
Ensure that as soon as a sanction has been issued, the producer's status shall be
changed in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database to the relevant status (time between issuing
the sanction and updating the database shall not exceed more than one working day).
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 9 of 33
Ensure that the status of all other producers shall be sufficiently updated so as to ensure that the status of a producer on the GLOBALG.A.P. Database is up-to-date.
Ensure availability of immediately accessible information on all audit and inspection details (including those of the unannounced inspections and audits) as well as details for each certificate.
Independence, Impartiality, Confidentiality and Integrity of CB
In accordance with ISO/IEC 17065, the GLOBALG.A.P. approved CB shall be structured to ensure separation of activities that may cause a conflict of interest. All CB personnel shall 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.
Confidentiality: Information relating to the applicant producer, including details of products
and processes, evaluation reports and associated documentation shall be treated as
confidential (unless otherwise required by law). No information shall be 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.
4. PRODUCER REGISTRATION AND ACCEPTANCE
The GLOBALG.A.P. Certification granting procedure shall be clearly identified in the CB operational
documentation, and shall follow the GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations.
4.1
All production sites to be certified shall be registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database (when available).
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.
Only producers or producer groups may apply to register their production process for GLOBALG.A.P. Certification.
A certificate and Sublicense are issued to the registered producer, for production sites where the products are produced (and packed or handled if applicable) and for the products declared.
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 the group mass balance system.
Producer Registration
The CB and producer shall agree to Service of Notice terms, which shall include a
commitment by the CB to confirm the receipt of formal application for (first) registration within
28 calendar days after the CB has received the unique GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) from
the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.
Each CB sets up and explains to its prospective clients its own detailed fee structure, which
should specify the relevant GLOBALG.A.P. fees. Each CB invoice to producers/producer groups, or an accompanying document to each invoice, shall clearly identify the
GLOBALG.A.P. registration fee.
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
If a producer or producer group that has previously had a GGN applies for registration, the
CB shall act according to the GLOBALG.A.P. procedure for transfer between Certification
Bodies as set out in section 7 below.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 10 of 33
If a producer or producer group wishes to change to a new CB, the accepting CB shall 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.
If 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)
If 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.
The communication of a sanction to all CBs operating with that legal entity is an obligation which the producer or producer group shall undertake, but can also be made by GLOBALG.A.P. directly to the CBs involved.
The communication between CBs shall include all relevant details, but the sanction issued shall be valid and all relevant CBs shall observe this.
The CB shall establish and implement procedures for collecting data updates of the accepted producers, such as production site or product area changes and inclusion/de-listing of members within a producer group.
Registration Data Requirements
Record during registration all the information requested in the General Regulations Part I, Annex I.2 Registration Information.
Ensure that all producer members approved by a producer group QMS and included in the producer group internal register shall be registered individually on the GLOBALG.A.P. Database according to the requirements of the General Regulations PART I: Annex I.2. This information shall be kept up-to-date at all times.
Keep the GLOBALG.A.P. Database updated accordingly, as described in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database wiki (wiki.globalgap.org). This information shall be updated regularly whenever there is a change. It shall be updated at the latest with the re-acceptance of products for the next certificate cycle and/or the re-certification.
Data Access Rules
The CB shall inform the producer or producer group about and explain the
Data Access Rules document available on the website.
Data access rights shall be defined and signed by the producer/producer group during registration with the CB. The data owner is responsible for granting and determining the level
of rights for data access. The data owner, however, can transfer the responsibility to other
users (e.g. certification body).
Data Protection: Within the framework of the GLOBALG.A.P. System, only parties to the
system, as previously defined, shall be authorized to view the data (e.g. the producer, CB,
GLOBALG.A.P., market participants, the public, etc.). 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 so. 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 German Federal Data Protection Act. See Data Access Rules document published on the website (www.globalgap.org).
GLOBALG.A.P. will keep the applicant's/producer's certification history in its database for a
minimum of 5 years.
5. ASSESSMENT PROCESS
Option 1 Producers
See Section 5.1 in General Regulations Part I.
Announced Inspections
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 11 of 33
The CB may divide the announced inspections into 2 modules: An off-site module and an on-site module. Both modules have to be performed by the same auditor/inspector.
The off-site evaluation methodology shall be validated by the CB before putting it into practice and shall be part of the yearly management review.
The inspection of the off-site module shall be conducted no more than two weeks before the on-site module. It consists of a desk review of documentation sent by the producer to the CB before the on-site inspection. The CB shall schedule a date as deadline for the producer to submit the documents to be evaluated off-site. That date will also trigger the period of 14 days to conduct the on-site assessment.
Documentation that can be assessed off-site by the CB includes the following: Self-assessment, Food Safety Policy Declaration, risk assessments, procedures required in several CPCCs, Veterinary Health Plan, analysis programs (frequency, parameters, locations), analysis reports, licenses, list of medicines used, list of plant protection products used, proof of lab accreditation, certificates or inspection reports of subcontracted activities and plant protection product/fertilizer/medicine application records.
Evaluation of control points off-site shall be recorded in the inspection checklist through sufficient comments for the specific control points. Comments shall be supplied for all Major Musts and all non-compliant and not applicable Minor Must control points unless otherwise indicated in the Guideline for Inspection Methodology, if available.
Date, time and duration of the off-site and on-site modules of each inspection shall be recorded by the inspector and signed by the auditee.
(vii) The on-site module is conducted after this technical review of the producer's
documentation, to verify the information and the way the production process works on-site and to inspect the remaining content of the checklist that was not evaluated off-site.
(viii) In case non-conformances are found during the whole assessment process (off-site and
on-site modules together), the countdown to the deadline for closing them begins with the on-site closing meeting.
This system does not reduce the overall inspection duration (see requirements regarding inspection duration in scope-specific rules), but it will allow more efficient use of time on-site. The duration of the on-site module shall never be shorter than two hours.
Unannounced Reward Program
The Unannounced Reward Program can only be used once a producer has been certified for at least two years.
The following is true for unannounced inspections: The CB may inform the producer in advance of the intended visit. This notification will normally not exceed 48 hours (two
working days). In the exceptional case in which it is impossible for the producer to accept the
proposed date (due to medical or other justifiable reasons), the producer shall receive one
more chance to be informed of an unannounced 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 and the producers' status will be reset to year zero.
(See also Unannounced Reward Program description in General Regulations Part I).
Option 2 Producer Groups and Option 1 Multisites with QMS
External QMS Audits of Option 2 Producer Groups and Option 1 Multisites (with
Implemented QMS)
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 or multisite organization to be relevant and
pertinent to the setting up and administration of the QMS as described in Part II shall be
The evaluation process is designed to establish that the QMS and administrative structure
meet the criteria and that the internal audits and inspections of producers/production sites
meet the requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P. Scheme.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 12 of 33
The evaluation process is divided into two elements: (i)
Audit of the QMS
Inspection of a sample of registered producers/production sites (see GR Part I, 5.2)
The CB shall send the audit plan to the management of the applicant prior to the audit.
The QMS audit shall be undertaken at the central office/administrative center of the producer group or multisite company and at the central product handling facility/facilities.
The evaluation process of the requirements included in General Regulations Part II shall take at least 6 to 8 hours, depending on the size of the producer group/multisite company and shall include: (i) Opening meeting with management (ii)
Review of all relevant documentation
Evaluation of records
Review of internal audits and inspections conducted
Review of mass balance exercise
Discussion/interviews with key staff
(vii) Closing meeting including review of non-conformances and non-compliances
Evaluation
of all internal inspector and auditor qualifications shall be carried out before first
certification. In subsequent audits the CB shall re-evaluate annual requirements and
qualification of new inspectors and auditors, and may also re-evaluate files checked in
previous seasons.
As part of the QMS audit, the results of the external and internal audits and inspections shall be compared to assess whether the applicant's internal controls are appropriate.
The final report and result can only be concluded after both the QMS and the minimum sample of producer members/production sites are evaluated.
5.4.1.1 Off-Site Module
The CB may divide the announced audits into two modules: The off-site module and the on-site module. Both modules have to be performed by the same auditor.
The off-site evaluation methodology shall be validated by the CB before putting it into practice and shall be part of the yearly management review.
The inspection of the off-site module shall be conducted not more than two weeks before the on-site module. It consists of a desk review of documentation sent by the QMS to the CB before the audit. The CB shall schedule a date as deadline for the QMS to submit the documents to be evaluated off-site. That date shall trigger the period of 14 days to conduct
the on-site assessment.
Documentation that can be assessed off-site by the CB includes the following: Internal
audit, internal register of approved producer members/production sites, Food Safety Policy
Declaration, risk assessments, procedures required in General Regulations Part II,
Residue Monitoring System (frequency, parameters, sampling program), residue analysis
reports, licenses, list of medicines used, list of plant protection products used, proof of lab
accreditation and certificates or inspection reports of subcontracted activities.
Evaluation of QMS requirements off-site shall be recorded in the QMS checklist through
sufficient comments regarding the evidences reviewed.
Date, time and inspection duration of the off-site and on-site modules of each audit shall be
recorded by the auditor and signed by the auditee.
(vii) Inspection of the on-site module is conducted after the technical review of the QMS
documentation, to verify the information and the way the management system works on-
site (e.g. internal inspections, traceability, segregation and mass balance, central product
handling units, etc.) and to audit the remaining content of the QMS checklist that was not
evaluated off-site.
(viii) In case non-conformances are found during the whole assessment process (off-site and
on-site modules together) the countdown to the deadline for closing them begins with the
on-site closing meeting.
This system does not reduce the overall audit duration (see requirements regarding audit
duration in 5.4.1 f), but it does allow more efficient use of time on-site. The duration of the
on-site module shall never be shorter than 3 hours.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 13 of 33
External Inspection of Producer Group Members and/or Production Sites
5.4.2.1 Annual Inspection:
The final selection and communication to the QMS of which producers/sites to inspect shall normally be carried out by the CB after the QMS audit (both off-site and on-site modules), using criteria based on the group/company structure and defined in a sampling procedure, which is risk-based. The notification shall normally not exceed 48 hours (two working days) per producer.
Certification bodies may, based on justifiable criteria, increase the verification rate of the total numbers of registered producers/production sites. The producer group/company has the right to appeal such a decision. Reasons for an increase could arise from any of the following: (i)
Failure to comply with significant QMS and/or product handling requirements affecting the producer members' compliance
Customer complaints; e.g.: illegal pesticide residue detection
Significant inconsistencies between the internal audit/inspection reports and the CB inspection/audit findings
The possible need to determine if the NC is structural or not
Number of products
Producers shall be classified by production type, within the respective sub-scope. These may include, but are not limited to the following examples: (i)
Housed livestock
Open-field livestock or crops
Covered/protected crops
Fresh water activities (aquaculture)
Sea sites (aquaculture)
Example 1a: If a group of producers (64 in total) is being inspected for GLOBALG.A.P. for dairy and all production takes place in the open field, the square root of all producers (8) would be the sample size. Example 1b: If, however, within that group of 64 producers, 16 produce dairy indoors, the square root of that small group of producers (4) would also be inspected, as they have a different production type. 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 2: A group has a total of 96 producers registered for GLOBALG.A.P. Certification under the sub-scope Fruits and Vegetables. From the 96 producers: - 43 produce apples
- 10 produce apples and tomatoes in greenhouses
- 5 produce apples and tomatoes in greenhouses and tomatoes in the open field
- The rest of the producers produce carrots in the open field (38 producers).
- 58 producers produce perennial crops (apples)
- 15 producers produce covered crops (tomatoes in greenhouses)
- 48 producers produce crops in the open field (tomatoes and carrots)
Sample is:
√58 = 8 producers producing apples. √15 = 4 producers producing tomatoes in greenhouse.
√48 = 7 producers producing crops in open field.
During inspections, if the CB selects a producer growing apples and tomatoes in
greenhouses and carrots and/or tomatoes in the open field, the inspector is covering the 3 different production types at the same time.
The minimum sample size is the square root of registered producers per sub-scope and
production type. The square root shall be rounded upwards to the next whole number if there
are any decimals. During the inspection of each of these selected producers/sites, all the
products shall be inspected.
The producer selection shall aim to cover all producer members/sites of the producer
group/company throughout the years, taking into consideration risk factors, new producers
and random selection. Unless there is a particular reason (higher risk, special status of the
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 14 of 33
member, number of products, previous inspection results, multisite member, etc.) the subsequent assessment shall normally not include producers/sites already sampled during previous assessments. 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.
Example 1: An applicant has 4 registered production sites, and the CB, after the QMS audit, sets the square root as the sample. Therefore, 2 sites (√4) shall be inspected at this initial inspection. Example 2: A group has a total of 64 producers of which 48 seek certification for the sub-scope cattle and sheep, 25 seek certification for the sub-scope poultry and 9 seek certification for the sub-scope fruit and vegetables. The minimum sample size including each sub-scope will be √48 + √ 25 + √9 = 7 + 5 + 3 = 15 producers to be inspected externally by the CB.
The scope of the inspection of the producers selected in the sample shall be complete. This shall cover: -
All products registered for certification that they grow
All types of production (see "d")
All sub-scopes for which they are registered
Inspections carried out on members/sites in which more than one production type or sub-scope is evaluated count as one inspection for each sub-scope or production type.
Example 1: Multiple production type: A producer group has 53 tomato producers. 28 grow in greenhouses only, 17 grow in the open air only, 8 grow both in greenhouses and the open air. The minimum size of sample would be:
Open air: 17+8= 25=>√ =5
Covered: 28+8=36 =>√ =6
In this scenario, the minimum number of producers to inspect would be 6 in case they all belonged to the group of producers who grow both in greenhouses and the open air because every inspection carried out on a member would count for each group of production type. IMPORTANT: Criteria for the selection of growers for the inspection explained in f) shall always be considered.
In case a member operates 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).
5.4.2.2 Surveillance Inspections for Producers in Option 2 and/or Production Sites in Option 1
Multisites:
Annual inspections and surveillance inspections shall be carried out during 2 separate visits
that shall be a minimum of 30 days apart from each other.
The final selection and communication to the QMS of which producers/sites to inspect shall
normally not exceed 48 hours (two working days) per producer.
Unannounced Inspections (Option 1 only) and Audits (QMS only)
The selection of the 10% shall not only take into account total numbers, but shall also be
calculated and carried out based on risk assessment and considering factors such as
geography, legislation (where several jurisdictions are covered by the CB), crop type,
compliance history, etc.
The 10% shall be calculated for the calendar year. The number of unannounced inspections
and audits per year shall reflect 10% of the certificates issued without QMS included and
with QMS included, respectively, in the previous year.
The 10% shall be distributed among the countries where the CB has certificate holders and it
shall be representative of the countries.
The calculation of the 10% shall be carried out per scope.
There shall be a minimum of one inspection or audit per year and scope; i.e. if the CB has
≤10 Option 1 certified producers, at least one producer shall be inspected, and/or if the CB
has ≤10 Option 2 certificate holders, at least one shall be audited annually.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 15 of 33
CBs with only one Option 2 certified producer group shall perform an unannounced QMS audit at least every two years.
>Integrity< Program assessments may count towards the number of unannounced inspections or audits per year. The CB shall carry out the follow-up of the non-conformances found during that Certification Integrity Program assessment.
Annual regular inspections/audits and unannounced inspections/audits shall be carried out during two separate visits that shall be a minimum of 30 days apart from each other.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 16 of 33
Inspection of Product Handling Units (Option 2 and Option 1 Multisites with QMS)
The CB shall inspect central product handling units (i.e. less than one product handling unit
per producer group member/production site), using the combined QMS and product handling
checklist made available by GLOBALG.A.P. However, in Aquaculture, sampling of product
handling units is
not possible
Where the product handling does not take place centrally, but on the production sites of each producer member, this factor shall be taken into account when determining the sample of producers to be inspected. In this case, the CB shall use the normal IFA checklist per inspected producer.
For the internal inspections, every product handling unit shall be inspected.
External Inspections and Audits of Approved Modified Checklists (AMC) / Equivalent
Schemes
Benchmarking: The scheme applying for benchmarking is assessed for equivalence by
comparing content and performance criteria with GLOBALG.A.P. Refer to the Benchmarking
Regulations for more information.
Scheme rules: For AMC (Approved Modified Checklists) the GLOBALG.A.P. General
Regulations apply. For equivalent schemes, see the corresponding Scheme General
Regulations.
Benchmark validation: The individual producer/producer group will be the certificate holder
once certified. For validating certification, all legal entities shall be registered in the
GLOBALG.A.P. Database.
GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs: All certification carried out within a full benchmarked
standard shall be carried out by CBs approved by GLOBALG.A.P. or by the corresponding
scheme owner.
Frequency: The applicant scheme shall ensure verification of producers according to the
rules for Option 1 and of producer groups/multisites with a QMS according to the rules for
Option 2.
6. CERTIFICATION PROCESS
6.1
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 for. In case the certification decision is related to
Option 1 and does not include a QMS, the CB still needs to have one person of the
certification decision committee complying with auditor qualification. This person does not
need to attend and pass the face-to-face QMS auditor training or to have 10 days experience
in Management Systems audits.
Each CB shall be responsible for the information filed: Documentation related to
GLOBALG.A.P. procedures or GLOBALG.A.P. clients shall be made available to the AB and
to GLOBALG.A.P. on request.
In case of an Option 1 multisite with no QMS, all production sites where a registered product
is produced shall be inspected before the certificate can be issued (if not, it is parallel
production). In case of an Option 1 multisite with QMS implemented, rules for adding new
sites are explained in Part II, 1.11 Registration of Additional Producers or Production Sites to
the Certificate.
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.
Both for inspections and audits, the report (including at least the result in % of compliance for
the different levels of control points, list of findings and duration) has to be signed by the
producer/producer group representative during the final meeting.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 17 of 33
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" cannot be answered as "not applicable". In exceptions in which the control point is not applicable, the answer shall be given as "yes" with a clear justification.
Unless indicated otherwise in the checklist (Guideline for Inspection Methodology, if available), comments shall be recorded to enable the audit trail to be reviewed after the event and shall include details of evidences checked during the inspection. It is
obligatory to provide comments for
all the complied, non-compliant and not applicable Major Musts and QMS control points as well as to all non-compliant and not applicable Minor Must control points inspected/audited in all external inspections/audits (by CB) and internal inspections/audits. For the self-assessments (Option 1), it is
obligatory to provide comments for
all the non-compliant and not applicable Control Points and Compliance Criteria.
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 ensure that all the control points have been properly assessed for all applicable sites and products.
For producer groups and multisite producers with QMS the evaluation report format shall be based on the QMS Checklist (available on www.globalgap.org). The evaluation report shall form the basis by which a decision can be made on the award of a certificate to the group.
Copies of the report shall only be provided to other parties if the applicant provides access by written authorization except to the regulatory authorities when requested according to the applicable national legislation, and the AB and CB.
Inspection Duration
The inspection report shall include a recording of the inspection duration.
A 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 results to the producer right after the inspection has finished.
Additional requirements and guidance on the minimum inspection duration are described in the respective scope-specific rules.
Unannounced Inspections (Option 1 without QMS):
The duration of unannounced inspections (Option 1) shall not be shorter than 2 hours.
Producer Non-Conformance and Sanctions
See also GR Part I. 6.4 Sanctions
All corrections and corrective actions shall be assessed; with clarification provided to show
whether the action(s) taken and evidence provided are sufficient to close the non-
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 shall be made available to GLOBALG.A.P. on request.
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.
All non-conformances with the QMS shall be resolved
before a certificate can be issued.
Satisfactory corrective actions shall be completed to achieve the approval level on a
producers and/or production site level
before a certificate can be issued to the group or
Lifting of a sanction: A sanction will not run out with the cycle, but stays with the GGN until such time that the non-conformance is closed.
Open Non-Conformance
The status "open non-conformance" cannot be given to producer group members' products.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 18 of 33
Paper Certificate Requirements
After a positive certification decision, the CB shall issue a certificate according to the latest
version of the GLOBALG.A.P. certificate template.
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.
A list of all the producers, production sites and 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.
GLOBALG.A.P CBs or their subcontracted parties may issue communications other than the
certificate related to the producer status (registered, audited, etc.) as long as it is clear that it is not a certificate and it contains the sentence: The actual GLOBALG.A.P. status of this producer is always displayed at: www.globalgap.org/search.
7. TRANSFER BETWEEN CERTIFICATION BODIES
This explains how to proceed when producers that are found in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database change 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"]. The objective is to assure the maintenance of the integrity of GLOBALG.A.P. Certificates issued by one 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.
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's or producer group's freedom to choose a CB is not unduly or unfairly constrained.
Only producers and producer groups registered in the database may change CBs. All producers shall first resolve any outstanding sanction(s) before being able to transfer to a new CB. In case a sanctioned producer wants to change CB and the certification cycle has already expired, as an exception, the outgoing CB can lift the non-conformance of an expired certificate without having received evidences of corrective actions. But, in this case, the outgoing CB shall ensure that the accepting CB is fully aware of the cause of the non-conformance.
The accepting CB shall keep the existing GGN of the transferred producer or producer group. 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).
The accepting CB shall close the registration process, including entering into a Sublicense
and Certification Agreement with the producer/producer group before accepting the transfer.
The transfer of producers between CBs can take place when a producer's or producer
group's certificate has expired and also if there is no binding service contract between the
producer and the outgoing CB.
The producer or producer group shall apply for certification for the next cycle to another CB
("accepting CB").
The outgoing CB may shorten the validity of the issued certificate.
If the Date of Acceptance (signing of Sublicense and Certification Agreement) and Date of
Audit are
after the outgoing CB's certificate expiry date, there will be a period when the
producer does not have a valid certificate.
Accepting CB Certificate valid for 12 months
Outgoing CB Certificate valid to
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 19 of 33
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. In this case, the certification cycle of the producer will remain the same as before.
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 for the accepting CB only once the outgoing CB has released the producer's GGN in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.
If, during the validity of the certificate issued by the outgoing CB, the accepting CB detects non-conformities that are not closed after 28 days, the accepting CB shall inform the outgoing CB about the non-conformities detected so that it can take appropriate follow-up actions.
Acceptance Audit
Accepting CB Certificate valid for 12 months
Outgoing CB Certificate valid to
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 of products in the database might not be finalized before the inspection and the certification decision might not be taken within 28 days. Deleted: 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).
Deleted: 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.
Deleted: 7.3.2 Certificate Transfer
8. CERTIFICATION BODY SANCTIONS
General Rules
The GLOBALG.A.P. Board defines the types and levels of sanctions described here.
Appeals against a sanction proposed by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat or by the Integrity
Surveillance Committee (ISC; see below) shall 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).
GLOBALG.A.P. has established an Integrity Surveillance Committee (ISC), which decides on
the sanctions as outlined in this document, based on a case-by-case approach.
The ISC consists of:
3 permanent and 2 substitute members.
A representative of the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat who may participate in the ISC
A representative of the accreditation bodies who may participate as an independent
A public sector observer who may participate, but without voting rights.
A representative of the concerned equivalent scheme owner invited by the ISC.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 20 of 33
The ISC may take any of the following actions:
Issue sanctions as defined in part 9.3 of this document.
Request additional/extra integrity assessments of CBs.
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 three days, the ISC shall approve.
Pronounce fines.
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.
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 shall cover the additional exam fee and other expenses.
(viii) Request that particular inspectors/auditors attend a GLOBALG.A.P. approved training
course. The CB shall cover participation, exam fees and other expenses.
The ISC may directly suspend a CB inspector/auditor based on the outcome of one or more integrity assessments and forbid the person to carry out any inspection/audit in the GLOBALG.A.P System.
By default, sanctions are applicable to the CB as a whole. The ISC may limit the sanctions to scope, sub-scope level or to a geographical area only.
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 first warning due to incomplete database entries, to receive a Red Card and jump to step 4 immediately due to the Certification Integrity Program result).
Sanctions will be communicated to the concerned accreditation body and where applicable to the Equivalent Certification System Owner (ECSO) or to the owner of the Approved Modified Checklist (AMC).
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 shall take into consideration the reason of the suspension to determine whether existing certificates issued by the CB are still valid and shall consider issuing a Red Card.
The ECSO can ask GLOBALG.A.P. to carry out additional integrity assessments beyond the ones already initiated by GLOBALG.A.P. GLOBALG.A.P. may charge a separate fee for
those additional assessments.
Types of Non-Conformances
Two types of non-conformances can lead to sanctioning of CBs.
Contractual Non-Conformances
Contractual non-conformances are at hand in the case that CBs are not in compliance with contracts
signed with GLOBALG.A.P. These may include, but are not limited to:
Misleading or false communication on GLOBALG.A.P. Certification and logo use.
Refusal to sign the License and Certification Agreement and any amendments after a period
set by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
Neglecting to pay any of the GLOBALG.A.P. fees (e.g. CB license fee, training fee,
certification license fee, producer registration fee).
Failure to provide proof of accreditation within the established periods during CB approval
Confirmed fraud.
Loss of accreditation (based on AB decision).
Standard or General Regulations Non-Conformances
General Regulation or Standard non-conformances are at hand in the case that 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:
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 21 of 33
Not participating in annual compulsory CB trainings.
Not following the online training requirements.
Incomplete or late upload of certification data.
Unreliable registration and audit data.
No response to GLOBALG.A.P. official communication and/or complaints.
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.
Inadequate internal training.
Not complying with the scope of the external inspections.
(xii) Not obeying CB operational requirements and deadlines, such as not responding to
corrective actions or delaying of issuance of certificates.
The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat, the relevant AB and the GLOBALG.A.P. ISC shall be responsible for addressing these types of non-conformances.
9. INTEGRITY PROGRAM (IPRO)
The Integrity Program consists of 2 pillars:
Brand Integrity Program - BIPRO (e.g. contractual issues, database, logo use, administrative requirements, complaint management, etc.).
Certification Integrity Program - CIPRO (e.g. inspection, audit or certification performance of the CB, etc.).
The sanctioning procedures are illustrated in a flow chart at the end of the document.
Brand Integrity Program
The following non-conformances fall under the Brand Integrity Program:
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.
Repeated incomplete or missing registration in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database as defined in section 9.3 Sanctioning Steps.
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 in contract cancellation.
Incomplete or wrong database entries and/or issued certificates.
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.
Certification Integrity Program
The Certification Integrity Program is risk based and consists of 2 kinds of assessments:
Office assessments to check CB certification performance.
Producer assessments or witness CB assessments to check CB inspection and audit
Evaluation and Classification of Assessment Results
Each assessment is documented in a Certification Integrity Program assessment report. A
representative of each assessed site (producer, producer group or CB office) shall sign the
assessment report.
Each Certification Integrity Program 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 shall use these reports
as a management feedback for their continuous improvement processes.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 22 of 33
Evidence from one or more classified Certification Integrity Program assessment report and the failure of the CB to demonstrate improvement from previous assessments are 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 shall be notified by GLOBALG.A.P.
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.
The proposed performance classification by GLOBALG.A.P.
The CB's written statement (feedback).
The assessment reports submitted to the ISC are anonymous and shall not disclose the
name of the CB(s) involved.
The GLOGALG.A.P. Secretariat may request a summary of follow-up measures, but not
necessarily require a corrective action plan on each case.
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/audit under the 10% rule.
The CB is expected to follow-up the findings of the integrity assessment and ensure that the
producer complies with the certification requirements.
9.2.1.1 Classification
Classification #1
(i) Definition:
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.
A large number of minor technical failures in the inspection/audit process.
(ii) Procedure
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.
The CB is put forward to the ISC immediately and implements corrections/corrective
actions on the farm and CB levels immediately.
The CB reports its immediate remedial action to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat and
where applicable to the ECSO/AMCO.
Classification #2
(i) Definition
Very poor performance, which implies serious and immediate improvement measures
by the CB: A number of assessments raise serious doubts and concerns.
Deliberate mismanagement is suspected, but objective evidence of fraud was not
found. Actual (i.e. not only potential, but actually present) food safety danger has not
been identified during the inspection/audit.
(ii) Procedure
The CB shall immediately verify corrections/corrective actions on a farm level.
New assessments (re-assessments) shall be scheduled to verify the effectiveness of
the corrective measures within a maximum of 10 months.
The CB is put forward to the ISC.
The CB shall be put forward to the ISC immediately in any cases where a potential
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 23 of 33
food safety risk has not been identified by the CB.
Classification #3
(i) Definition
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) shall be scheduled to verify the effectiveness of
the corrective measures within a maximum of 15 months.
If no improvement is observed, the CB shall be put forward to the ISC.
Classification #4
The CB's performance is good and acceptable. No systematic and serious non-
conformances have been found. The CB displays a good performance. No specific re-
assessments are scheduled, but the CB remains a part of the random surveillance program
and may receive further integrity assessments.
Classification #5
The CB has shown a high level of implementation of the GLOBALG.A.P. requirements. Low
priority is given to schedule subsequent assessments, but the CB remains a part of the
random surveillance program and may receive further integrity assessments.
Sanction Steps for Certification Bodies
The sanctions, as set out in Table 9.3, are applicable to all CBs in violation of the rules and where a non-conformance (similar to those in 8.2.2) has been observed.
The penalty shall depend on the severity of the non-conformance or the recurrence of non-conformance.
GLOBALG.A.P. and the respective accreditation body and the equivalent standard owner shall work closely together with the ISC.
Table 9.3 Sanction Steps for Certification Body Non-conformances
Sanctioning Steps
Decision Maker
Step1
1st Warning
GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat and/or the Integrity
Surveillance Committee
(Information to AB)
Step2
2nd Warning
GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat and/or the Integrity
Surveillance Committee
(Information to AB)
Step3
Yellow Card
Integrity Surveillance Committee
(Information to AB and published on the GLOBALG.A.P.
Step4
Red Card
Integrity Surveillance Committee
(Information to AB and published on the GLOBALG.A.P.
website. CB is not allowed to (re) issue new certificates for 1-6
Step5
Contract Cancellation
Proposed by the Integrity Surveillance Committee
(Information to AB and published on the GLOBALG.A.P.
website. Cancellation of the License and Certification
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 24 of 33
* Note: Sanctioning steps 1 to 5 are not necessarily consecutive.
Step 1 – 1st Warning
Decided by the ISC or by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. A 1st warning that is due to Brand
Integrity Program non-conformances can be followed by a 2nd warning without the approval of the ISC.
The 1st warning can be issued:
Where non-conformances with the standard rules as defined in the General Regulations are detected.
Where the CB does not react to or does not report on written requests by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
Where the number of incomplete or wrong database entries and/or issued certificates reached 5 GLOBALG.A.P. Numbers (GGN) or 1% of the total number of GGNs registered under a CB, whichever is higher.
The CB shall pay partially or fully for the number of re-assessment days proposed by the
Step 2 – 2nd Warning
Decided by the ISC or by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
The 2nd warning can be issued:
Where the 1st warning has not been closed after the indicated deadline.
Where the CB does not react to or does not report on repeated written requests by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
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.
The CB shall pay partially or fully for the number of re-assessment days proposed by the
Step 3 – Yellow Card
Judged and decided by the ISC and implemented by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. The
Yellow Card is published on the GLOBALG.A.P. website and the GLOBALG.A.P. members are informed.
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 to be satisfactory.
The CB shall pay partially or fully for the number of re-assessment days proposed by the
A Yellow Card can be issued:
For the period when the CB implements improvement measures due to the Certification Integrity Program assessment results. The timeframe for improvement is
stipulated by the ISC, but shall not exceed 12 months. GLOBALG.A.P. schedules a follow-up assessment to evaluate improvement.
Where improvements observed in a re-assessment are not sufficient.
Where no reaction follows written requests by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat after
Step 2 – 2nd Warning.
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.
Step 4 – Red Card
Judged and decided by the ISC 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
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 until further notice.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 25 of 33
The ISC may lift this sanction only if confidence in the reliability of the CB's operation can be
The CB will pay for the verification (re)assessments.
A Red Card can be issued (non-exhaustive list):
Where CB performance does not show sufficient improvement during further repeated re-assessments.
Where a Yellow Card has not been closed after the indicated deadline.
Where the AB has suspended the accreditation.
Where 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.
The CB being issued the Red Card shall inform (by means of a written letter) all its producers
about the right to require the CB to annul the Sublicense and Certification Agreement within 5 business days of the loss of GLOBALG.A.P. approval.Following a producer request, the CB shall allow and facilitate the producer transfer to another CB. In case the CB fails to do so, GLOBALG.A.P. shall 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 a producer transfer to another CB.
Step 5 – Contract Cancellation
Judged and proposed by the ISC, decided 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.
Cancellation of the License and Certification Agreement shall be imposed for at least
The ECSO is responsible for enforcing this sanction on the CBs operating a GLOBALG.A.P.
equivalent scheme.
The CB that has lost its GLOBALG.A.P. approval shall inform (by means of a written letter)
all its producers about the right to require the CB to annul the Sublicense and Certification Agreement within 5 business days of the loss of GLOBALG.A.P. approval. Following a producer request, the CB shall allow and facilitate the producer transfer to another CB. In case the CB fails to do so, GLOBALG.A.P. shall 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 a producer transfer to another CB.
Deleted: Facilitation of the process might include extension of existing certificate validity to provide
continuous certification of the producer.
Contract Cancellation can follow in the following cases (non-exhaustive list):
In cases of verified fraud
Where a Red Card sanction could not be lifted after the agreed deadline.
Loss of accreditation
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 26 of 33
Flow chart illustrating the Certification Integrity Program Sanctioning Procedure (BIPRO = Brand Integrity Program, CIPRO = Certification Integrity Program)
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 27 of 33
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 the 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.
2. FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS AND WORK EXPERIENCE
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
A minimum of 2 years experience gained after finishing post high school studies and 3 years
overall experience in the agricultural industry
OR
b) A post high school diploma with a minimum duration of 2 years in a food related discipline
AND A minimum of 4 years industry experience either in a practical capacity on farm/site or in a technical production management role in the relevant scope of certification (Crops and/or Livestock and/or Aquaculture).
3. TECHNICAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
3.1
Inspector Training
One-day practical inspection course setting out basic principles of inspection.
Food Safety, G.A.P. Training and Work Experience
Training in HACCP principles either as part of formal qualifications or through the successful completion of a formal course based on the principles of Codex Alimentarius (the formal course may be an internal training by the CB). The minimum training duration shall be 8 hours. Duration and content shall be indicated on the evidence available for this requirement (course certificate, evidence of training included in formal qualifications, etc.). The course duration for inspectors only approved for Flower and Ornamentals and/or Plant Propagation
material may be shorter.
Food hygiene training either as part of formal qualifications or through the successful
completion of a formal course (the formal course may be an internal training by the CB). The
formal course duration shall be a minimum of 8 hours. Duration and content shall be
indicated on the evidence available for this requirement (course certificate, evidence of
training included in formal qualifications, etc.). The Food Hygiene training course shall cover: site management, water, organic fertilizer, equipment, facilities and personal hygiene, and it
shall also include practical case studies. Already approved inspectors have a one-year transition period after the publication of GLOBALG.A.P. IFA Version 5 to complete this
Both trainings in points a) and b) can be taken together in the same formal course (minimum
duration 16 hours).
A Food hygiene course is not required for Flowers and Ornamentals and/or Plant
Propagation Material inspectors
GLOBALG.A.P. Online Training, with the successful completion of all online tests and the
respective updates within 3 months after release in the inspector's language.
For Crop Scope: Plant protection, fertilizer and IPM training either as part of formal
qualifications, or through the successful completion of a formal course.
For Livestock and Aquaculture Scopes: Basic veterinary medicine and stockmanship
training including animal health and welfare issues.
For Aquaculture Standards: Basic experience in food processing (to inspect AB.12 and 13)
and GRASP training (according to the GRASP General Rules).
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 28 of 33
The experience required 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 table below:
If an inspector has 3 or more years It is possible to inspect the following sub-working experience in:
Ruminants (CS, DY,CYB)
Finfish, Crustaceans, Molluscs
Finfish, Crustaceans, 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.: one year working experience or 10 days witness assessments) are required. The formal courses (mentioned in points a), b), d), 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 shall present proof of qualification. If it was part of the degree/ diploma, it shall be in the syllabus of the course. If it was acquired separately, there shall be a separate certificate, which shows that a course that covered these issues was completed (including an exam).
Communication Skills
"Working language" skills in the corresponding native/working language. This shall include the locally used specialist terminology in the respective working language.
Exceptions to this rule shall be discussed with and confirmed in writing beforehand by the
GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
Initial Training Before Sign-Off by the CB
The CB shall put a training program in place customized to the candidate/trainee.
The applicant inspector shall take part as an observer in a minimum of one Option 1
producer or one Option 2 producer group member inspection of the relevant sub-scope.
The CB shall witness a minimum of one inspection of an Option 1 producer or an Option 2
producer group member by an already qualified inspector or auditor respectively.
For the CB's first inspector the CB's internal procedures apply.
As a minimum requirement, the CB shall verify competence in the following topics:
Technical knowledge in a given sub-scope
Ability to identify food safety risks/food hazards
Ability to evaluate the HACCP system and identify/challenge critical control points
Up-to-date knowledge of plant protection products, fertilizer applications and IPM
principles (for Crops)
Up-to-date knowledge of basic veterinary medicine and stockmanship, including health and welfare requirements ( for Livestock/Aquaculture)
Ability to carry out traceability checks and mass balance analyses
Wherever the control point refers to local legislation, knowledge of the relevant
Having the sufficient communication and behavioral skills as to be able to conduct an
inspection/audit
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 29 of 33
"Working language" skills in the corresponding native/working language
Maintenance of Competency
The CB shall have in place a procedure to ensure that annually every inspector/auditor conducts at least five inspections/audits or 10 inspection/audit days, at a number of different producers, against the relevant GLOBALG.A.P. Standard, or AMC or a fully Benchmarked Scheme of the same sub-scope, to maintain scheme knowledge and to stay registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.
Witness inspections/audits shall also be acceptable to maintain competency.
Exceptions to this rule, e.g., if the CB does not have a total of five clients, shall be discussed with and confirmed in writing beforehand by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
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 four years to verify competence.
These requirements do not apply for those Scheme Mangers who do not carry out inspections.
If it is not possible to maintain competency from one year to the other, 3.4 shall apply.
Deleted: 3.6 Subsequent Chain of Custody (CoC). It is included in a separate General Regulations for CoC version5.
4. KEY TASKS
4.1
GLOBALG.A.P. Farm Inspections
a) Inspection of farms (either a producer, a production site of a multisite company or a producer
member of a producer group) to assess compliance with the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard. This may include shadow inspection of the internal inspectors of producer groups or Option 1 multisites with QMS.
b) To produce timely and accurate reports on such inspections in accordance with ISO 17065
and GLOBALG.A.P. timelines and system requirements.
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 inspections 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 ISO 17065 principles or any stipulation set down by
GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations.
Independence and Confidentiality
a) Inspectors are not permitted to carry out any activities that may affect their independence or
impartiality, and specifically are not permitted to have carried out consultancy activities in the
last two years for the producers they are performing inspections on. Training is not considered
to be 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 shall strictly observe the producer's and the CB's procedures to maintain the
confidentiality of information and records.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 30 of 33
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
Auditors will be able to audit Quality Management Systems of all sub-scopes once the CB has verified factual evidence (as described below) of their qualifications and experience for at least one sub-scope. Producer and production site inspections however need sub-scope-specific qualifications.
The requirements for Fruit and Vegetables, Plant Propagation Material, Combinable Crops and Flowers and Ornamentals are equivalent.
2. FORMAL QUALIFICATIONS AND WORK EXPERIENCE
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) AND A minimum of 2 years experience gained after finishing the respective post high school studies and 3 years overall experience in the agricultural industry OR
A post high school diploma with a minimum duration of 2 years in a food-related discipline AND A minimum of 4 years industry experience either in a practical capacity on farm/site or in a technical production management role in the relevant scope of certification (Crops and/or Livestock and/or Aquaculture).
3. TECHNICAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS
3.1
Lead Assessor Training
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.
Successful completion of a Lead Assessor training course based on ISO 19011 principles that shall have a minimum duration of 37 hours, and shall be externally recognized by the industry. The certificate shall specify the course content and duration. Successful
completion shall be indicated on the certificate.
The Lead Assessor training course shall cover applicable standards on quality auditing,
auditing techniques, focus of the audits (psychological aspects and communication) and
reporting, and it shall also include a practical case study.
Food Safety, G.A.P. Training and Work Experience
Training in HACCP principles, either as part of formal qualifications or through the
successful completion of a formal course based on the principles of Codex Alimentarius
(the formal course may be an internal training by the CB). The training duration shall be a
minimum of 8 hours. Duration and content shall be indicated on the evidence provided for
this requirement (course certificate, evidence of training included in formal qualifications,
etc.). The course duration for auditors only approved for Flower and Ornamentals and/or
Plant Propagation material may be shorter.
Food hygiene training, either as part of formal qualifications or through the successful
completion of a formal course (the formal course may be an internal training by the CB).
Successful completion of a Food Hygiene training course with a minimum duration of
8 hours. Duration and content shall be indicated on the evidence provided for this
requirement (course certificate, evidence of training included in formal qualifications,
etc.). The Food Hygiene training course shall cover site management, water, organic
fertilizer, equipment, facilities and personal hygiene, and it shall also include practical
case studies. Already approved auditors have one-year transition period after the
publication of GLOBALG.A.P. IFA Version 5 to complete this training.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 31 of 33
Both trainings in points a) and b) can have been completed together in the same formal course (minimum duration 16 hours). A Food hygiene course is not required for Flowers and Ornamentals and/or Plant Propagation Material auditors.
Food/Feed hygiene training, either as part of formal qualifications or through the successful completion of a formal course for the
Compound Feed Manufacturing Standard.
GLOBALG.A.P. Online Training, with the successful completion of all online tests and the respective updates within 3 months after release of the training in the inspector's language.
For Crop Standards: Plant protection, fertilizer and IPM training, either as part of formal
qualifications or through the successful completion of a formal course.
For Livestock and Aquaculture Standards: Basic veterinary medicine and
stockmanship training including animal health and welfare issues.
For Aquaculture Standards: Basic experience in food processing (to inspect AB.12 and
13) and GRASP training (according to the GRASP General Rules).
For CFM Standard: Knowledge of the relevant regional/national feed legislation
applicable to the scope of activity.
The experience required 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 table below:
If an auditor has 3 or more years working It is possible to audit/inspect the following sub-experience in:
FV, CC, FO, PPM;
Ruminants (CS, DY,CYB)
Finfish, Crustaceans, Molluscs
Finfish, Crustaceans, 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 (one year working
experience or 10 days witness assessments) are required.
For CFM, three years (overall) working experience is required in the feed, nutrition or food
The formal courses (mentioned in points a), b), c), e), f), and g) above) can be part of the formal
qualifications (degree/diploma) or can be separate courses that were taken by the auditor. The
auditor shall present proof of qualification. If it was part of the degree/diploma, it shall be in the
syllabus of the course. Or, if it was acquired separately, then there shall be a separate
certificate, which shows that a course that covered these issues was completed (including an
Communication Skills
"Working language" skills in the corresponding native/working language. This shall
include the locally used specialist terminology in this working language.
Exceptions to this rule shall be discussed beforehand with the GLOBALG.A.P.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 32 of 33
Initial Training Before Sign-Off by the CB
The CB shall put a training program in place that is customized to the candidate/trainee.
The applicant auditor shall take part as an observer in a minimum of one Option 1 producer or one Option 2 producer group member inspection of the relevant sub-scope and 1 audit by an already qualified inspector or auditor respectively. In case of CFM auditors, the observation of a QMS audit is not applicable.
The CB shall witness a minimum of one inspection of an Option 1 producer or an Option 2 producer group member and 1 QMS audit by the applicant auditor. An inspector or auditor can witness the inspection, but only an auditor can witness the audit. In case of CFM auditors, being witnessed during a QMS audit is not applicable.
For the CB's first auditor the CB's internal procedure shall apply.
The QMS auditor shall attend a "GLOBALG.A.P. QMS Auditor Training" and pass the exam for each new standard version. In case of CFM auditors, this requirement is not applicable.
As a minimum requirement, the CB shall verify competence in the following topics:
Technical knowledge in a given sub-scope
Ability to identify food safety risks/food hazards
Ability to evaluate the HACCP system and identify/challenge critical control points
Up-to-date knowledge of plant protection products, fertilizer applications and IPM principles (for Crops)
Up-to-date knowledge of basic veterinary medicine and stockmanship, including health and welfare requirements (for Livestock/Aquaculture)
Ability to carry out traceability checks and mass balance analyses
Wherever the control point refers to local legislation, knowledge of the relevant requirements
Having the sufficient communication and behavioral skills as to be able to conduct an inspection/audit
"Working language" skills in the corresponding native/working language
Maintenance of Competency
The CB shall have in place a procedure to ensure that annually every inspector/auditor conducts at least five inspections/audits or 10 inspection/audit days, at a number of different producers, against a GLOBALG.A.P. Standard, an AMC or a fully Benchmarked Scheme, to maintain scheme knowledge and to stay registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database.
Witness inspections/audits shall also be acceptable to maintain competency.
Exceptions to this rule, e.g., if the CB does not have a total of five clients, shall be discussed with and confirmed in writing beforehand by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat.
These requirements are not valid for those auditors whose main task it is to be part of the
certification body decision-making committee.
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 four years to verify competence
If it is not possible to maintain competency from one year to the other, 3.4 shall apply.
4. KEY TASKS
GLOBALG.A.P. QMS Audits
Auditing and assessment of the quality management system of producer groups and
Option 1 multisites 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.
To produce timely and accurate reports on such audits in accordance with ISO 17065
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
GLOBALG.A.P. Farm Inspections
Inspection of farms (either producer or production sites (Option 1) or producers in
producer groups (Option 2)) to assess compliance with the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 33 of 33
This may include shadow inspection of the internal inspectors of producer groups or Option 1 multisites with QMS.
To produce timely and accurate reports on such inspections in accordance with ISO and GLOBALG.A.P. timelines and system requirements.
To maintain up-to-date files of all quality policies, procedures, work instructions and documentation issued by the CB.
To keep abreast of developments, issues and legislative changes pertaining to the scope in which audits are carried out.
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.
Independence and Confidentiality
Auditors are not permitted to take ultimate certification decisions regarding own audits or inspections they have carried out themselves.
Auditors are not permitted to carry out any activities that may affect their independence or impartiality, and specifically are not permitted to have carried out consultancy activities in the last two years for the producers they are performing inspections on. Training is not considered to be 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.
Auditors shall strictly observe the producer's and the CB's procedures to maintain the confidentiality of information and records.
Deleted:
ANNEX III.3 GLOBALG.A.P. PRODUCER AND PRODUCT STATUSES
COPYRIGHT
Copyright: GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH: Spichernstr. 55, 50672 Cologne; Germany. Copying and
distribution permitted only in unaltered form.
Code Ref: GR V5.0_July15 -w/highlighted changes; English Version
GR Part III – Certification Body and Accreditation Rules Page: 34 of 33
Source: http://www.etko.com.tr/Dosyalar/Belgeler/Belge_Ru_113.pdf
Recommended Prostate-Specific Antigen Testing Intervals for the Detection of Curable Prostate Cancer H. Ballentine Carter, MD; Jonathan I. Epstein, MD; Daniel W. Chan, PhD; James L. Fozard, PhD; Jay D. Pearson, PhD Objective. p=m- Toevaluate prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing intervals that curable cancer with less frequent test¬ maintain the detection of curable cancer and reduce unnecessary testing.
DOSSIER DE PRESSE FRACAS ISSU cabaret spectral création collective concept Pierre Guillois assistanat artistique Stéphanie Chêne avec Claire Bardainne interprétation numérique, Lucas Antonellis gymnastique, Sevan Manoukian chant, Adrien Mondot jonglage et informatique, Dominique Parent jeu, Benjamin Sanz percussions
