IAF scheme endorsement for IFA v6

IAF scheme endorsement for IFA v6

On 15 July 2024, the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) signed a Scheme Endorsement Agreement with GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH in recognition of Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) version 6.

The IAF is a leading association of accreditation bodies, conformity assessment bodies, and other organizations working to develop a single international program for conformity assessment. In 2013, IFA was the first scheme to receive IAF endorsement under the Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) scope of Product Certification.

The latest version 6 of the flagship GLOBALG.A.P. standard – launched in late 2022 – replaced IFA v5.2 on 1 January 2024 for the product categories of fruit and vegetables, flowers and ornamentals, hops, and aquaculture.

Mutual recognition of accredited certification

The Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA) marks an agreement for the mutual recognition of accredited certification and validation/verification between IAF Accreditation Body Member signatories.

These signatories are then required to recognize certificates and validation/verification statements issued by certification bodies (CBs) and validation/verification bodies (VVBs) accredited by all other signatories of the MLA with the appropriate scope.

Following the formal signing of the IAF scheme endorsement agreement, FoodPLUS GmbH Managing Director Elme Coetzer-Boersma commented: “We are proud to sign the agreement for our flagship IFA v6 standard following extensive collaboration over the past year. This will provide further confidence to stakeholders and their customers in ensuring that our accredited certification is accepted and trusted across the globe”.

“IAF is pleased to announce the endorsement of IFA v6, following more than ten years of IAF recognition of the IFA standard,” said Emanuele Riva, IAF Chair. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with GLOBALG.A.P. and supporting responsible farming practices for many years to come.”

About MLA levels

The IAF MLA consists of five levels. Level 4 sub-scopes are IAF endorsed normative documents used by accreditation bodies in conjunction with main scope documents to assess a CB’s or VVB’s competence in a specific sector. Level 5 sub-scopes are IAF endorsed normative documents used by CBs and VVBs.

The new scheme endorsement agreement includes the GLOBALG.A.P. general regulations v6 under level 4 and the IFA v6 Smart/GFS principles and criteria under level 5.