The third-party responsible for conducting audits to GLOBALG.A.P. standards and add-ons.

A verification activity, carried out by certification bodies, to determine whether standard criteria are adequately met. This usually includes document reviews, interviews, and on-site observation.

A flexible way to extend an audit to include additional topics. Usually audited together with a GLOBALG.A.P. core solution, each add-on has its own principles and criteria and results in a letter of conformance following a successful audit.

While some GLOBALG.A.P. standards are accredited and a successful audit results in a certificate, other standards – and the majority of GLOBALG.A.P. add-ons – result in a letter of conformance. It is similar to a certificate in that it acts as proof of a successful audit, displays similar information fields to a certificate, and can also be validated in the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems.

Unique numbers given to producers (and any other legal entities registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. system) made up of a prefix (often referring to the standard) and a 13-digit number, separated by a space.

These numbers allow real-time verification of certification status in the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems. You can find it on your certificate/letter of conformance and it should always accompany your use of the GLOBALG.A.P. trademarks.

Rules that define how the certification process works, from application to certification, including requirements for certification bodies and auditors. The rules are defined for each standard (e.g., Integrated Farm Assurance) and scope (e.g., plants).

Each standard/add-on has a list of fundamentals that set the foundation of a GLOBALG.A.P. requirement – known as the principles – and a list of corresponding methods that producers can use to demonstrate a principle to be true – known as criteria.

Principles and criteria (P&Cs) replace “control points and compliance criteria (CPCCs)" in standard/add-ons published after 2021.

Standard criteria are usually graded in three levels of importance: Major Must, Minor Must, and Recommendation. To pass a CB audit, producers must comply with the specified percentage of Major/Minor Musts. For example, in IFA for fruit and vegetables, producers must comply with 100% of the Major Musts and at least 95% of the Minor Musts.

A list of principles and criteria which the auditor will check during an audit – they may differ from farm to farm depending on the relevant criteria.

There are different ways to apply for GLOBALG.A.P. certification, depending on whether you are an individual producer or a producer group.
Option 1 is for individual producers, whether you operate a single site or multiple sites, and Option 2 is for group certification, where the group (as a legal entity) is the certificate holder.

For the initial (very first) audit, all production processes must be audited, including harvest and product handling. The harvest season is therefore the best time for an initial audit. If not all the products are harvested during the same period, a scope extension audit is needed.  For recertification, the certification body has more flexibility to plan the next audit (depending on the expiry date of the certificate).

Yes, an annual audit is required (for the majority of GLOBALG.A.P. standards).

For re-certification audits, the certification body usually has more flexibility to plan the audit. In the case of Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA), the recertification audit should be conducted within four months of the expiry date of your IFA certificate.

Each farm is unique, and the total costs of certification depend on a combination of factors such as farm size, number of sites, location, necessary preparation measures (such as establishing new procedures), and more. In general, certification costs are made up of three elements:  

1. Implementation costs 
   To ensure compliance with a GLOBALG.A.P. standard, you may need to make changes to your operations. The cost of changing your procedures are the so-called “implementation costs”.  

2. Certification body (CB) service fees 
   These are the fees charged by your certification body to cover their time, travel, or administrative costs for your audit. 

3. GLOBALG.A.P. registration and certificate/assessment license fees
   This is the “price” of the certification which goes to GLOBALG.A.P. The fee is calculated based on farm size and invoiced by the CB after the audit.

Both verification bodies and certification bodies are third parties responsible for carrying out assessments/audits, but GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification bodies must be accredited to accredited to ISO/IEC 17065, whereas verification bodies need not be.

Certification bodies are therefore authorized to carry out audits that result in accredited certification, whereas verification bodies may only carry out nonaccredited assessments, which – in the case of the primary solutions from GLOBALG.A.P. – result in a letter of conformance rather than a certificate.

Option 1 is for individual producers, with a single site or multiple sites that do not function as separate legal entities.

• If you are an individual producer with a single site, you will apply for individual certification and will become the certificate holder once certified. You need to follow the “Rules for individual producers”. The same is true for individual producers operating multiple sites (as one legal entity) without a quality management system.

• If you are an individual producer or one organization operating multiple sites (as one legal entity) with a quality management system, then you will still become the certificate holder as an individual, but you need to follow the “Rules for producer groups and multisite producers with QMS."

Option 2 is for producer groups (cooperatives etc.) where the legal entity of the group is the certificate holder once certified. The group must implement a quality management system and follow the “Rules for producer groups and multisite producers with QMS.”

Before applying for an audit, be sure to conduct a self-assessment to estimate your compliance level. You can then make improvements based on that, before undergoing a CB audit.

If you are not yet ready to implement the full standard requirements, explore our primary solutions, offering a basic level of assurance for smallholders and producers in emerging markets.

• Via the GLOBALG.A.P. Academy for training courses 

• Via Registered Trainers for localized training 

• Via the five steps to certification guide  

• Via your certification body (if already registered with one)  

• Via customer support

Unique numbers given to producers (and any other legal entities) registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. system made up of a prefix (often referring to the standard) and a 13-digit number, separated by a space (e.g., GGN 123456789101).

These numbers allow real-time verification of certification status in the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems. You can find it on your certificate/letter of conformance, and it should always accompany your use of the GLOBALG.A.P. trademarks.

National technical working groups (NTWGs) help bridge the gap from global to local by assisting with the implementation of GLOBALG.A.P. standards and add-ons in specific countries. The NTWGs identify adaptation and application challenges at a national level and develop national interpretation guidelines (NIGs) which must be followed, once published.

There are approximately 50 NTWGs worldwide. You can find all our NTWGs here, or search the GLOBALG.A.P. document center for a national interpretation guideline for your country.

Certification to a GLOBALG.A.P. standard/holding a GLOBALG.A.P. certificate is not the same as being a GLOBALG.A.P. Community Member.

GLOBALG.A.P. Community Membership is a paid partnership opportunity, offering a variety of benefits including the ability to support the development of GLOBALG.A.P. standards and add-ons, contribute to the GLOBALG.A.P. governance structure, and access discounted services.  Learn more about how to become a GLOBALG.A.P. Community Member today.

Producers under GLOBALG.A.P. certification may use the GLOBALG.A.P. logo on marketing materials, accompanied by their ID number. However the GLOBALG.A.P. logo may never appear on consumer product packaging.  The GLOBALG.A.P. ID number, e.g., a GGN, may appear on product packaging.

Please see the GLOBALG.A.P. trademarks policy for the rules in full, or our FAQ document for other questions on this topic.

Generally, a producer’s certification/conformance status for GLOBALG.A.P. standards and add-ons (excluding other party private add-ons) is publicly visible in the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems. Audit reports are not publicly visible.

For complete and up-to-date information, please see the data access rules.

Data access rights are the rights of a user of the GLOBALG.A.P. IT system to access certain data. The rules outlining the groups and the relevant rights are outlined in the data access rules.

The data owner is responsible for granting and determining the level of data access. However this responsibility may be transferred to others (e.g. from producer to certification body) if desired. For further questions on data access rights, please contact your certification body.

Created by stakeholders, for stakeholders, GLOBALG.A.P. standards are developed in a collaborative approach with a broad network of contributors.  

The GLOBALG.A.P. Advisory Board – elected by GLOBALG.A.P. Community Members – adopt the final standards.

You can use our Smart Checklist Builder to get an initial understanding of which GLOBALG.A.P. solutions are recommended for your production practices. 

Alternatively, we invite you to choose a GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification body and discuss your potential certification journey with them.

Our mission is to foster the global adoption of safer and more sustainable farming practices.  

This means implementing practices that address the range of challenges that face the global farming industry and threaten its future viability, from water scarcity and deforestation to food waste and animal welfare. 

GLOBALG.A.P. smart farm assurance solutions offer a variety of ways to address the different aspects of responsible farming, and our science-based criteria provide practical steps to improve farm management. 

Our flagship Integrated Farm Assurance standards adopt a holistic approach to:  

• Food safety 

• Environmental sustainability 

• Workers’ well-being 

• Animal welfare 

• Legal, management and traceability 

• Production processes 

Find out more about our impact and how we measure it:  

• Our impact areas

• Monitoring and evaluation

The GLOBALG.A.P. Chain of Custody standard specifies strict requirements for the segregation, traceability, and therefore integrity of a product’s GLOBALG.A.P. certification status throughout its lifecycle.

Applicable to products originating from Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) or Compound Feed Manufacturing (CFM) certified production processes, it ensures that any product sold with a GLOBALG.A.P. claim or bearing the GGN label visual elements is truly sourced from a GLOBALG.A.P. certified production process.

It is relevant for any company handling or trading in products originating from GLOBALG.A.P. certified production, e.g., producers, packers, brokers, processors, logistics companies, retailers, and – in some instances – restaurants.

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) is a private, business-driven organization that has developed an agreed set of rules and criteria for food safety schemes. Certification schemes can undergo benchmarking to determine whether they meet the criteria and achieve GFSI recognition.

Since many markets require GFSI recognized certification, the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat is committed to continuously providing a selection of GFSI recognized standards.

Each company is different and it is important that you, as a producer, consider your customers and determine whether you will need a GFSI-recognized certificate in order to supply them.

Add-ons represent a flexible way to extend the audit scope to include additional topics. Usually audited together with Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) or another GLOBALG.A.P. core solution, each add-on has its own list of principles and criteria. Example topics of add-ons include workers’ well-being (GRASP) and the responsible water use (SPRING).

A letter of conformance represents proof of a successful audit to a GLOBALG.A.P. add-on and some GLOBALG.A.P. standards. While some GLOBALG.A.P. standards are accredited and a successful audit results in a certificate, other standards – and the majority of GLOBALG.A.P. add-ons – result in a letter of conformance.

It is similar to a certificate in that it acts as proof of successful audit, displays similar information fields to a certificate, and can also be validated in the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems.

The GGN label is a cross-category consumer label that can be found on a variety of products, including fruit and vegetables, farmed seafood, flowers, and plants. It stands for certified, responsible farming and transparency and exists to offer shoppers consistent, consumer-relevant assurance and orientation throughout the store.

Along with the GGN label, unique 13-digit GGNs that are linked to producers with GLOBALG.A.P. certification are printed on product packaging. When shoppers find a GGN on their product, they can enter it into the online GGN label portal to find a farm profile for the producer.

Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) certification at farm level is one part of the requirements for featuring the GGN label on product packaging. Learn more about the process for joining the GGN label initiative today.