GGFSA: new version reflects updates in IFA v6 and FSA 3.0

Version 3.0 of our GGFSA add-on has undergone some important changes in this latest update that is scheduled for release on 1 May. Offered since 2017 in partnership with Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) Platform, the GGFSA add-on has made it straight forward for farms certified to GLOBALG.A.P.’s flagship Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard to satisfy SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) standard while avoiding duplicate audits.

“This combined solution helps farmers obtain verifications in a cost-efficient manner and offers the industry the food safety and sustainability guarantees expected ,” said Ignacio Antequera, Sales and Stakeholder Relations Director at GLOBALG.A.P. “GLOBALG.A.P. is grateful to the SAI Platform team for their very open and constructive cooperation all this time and we look forward to continuing our work together to bring farmers and the industry the benefits of both our systems.” 

Two global standards merged into one: GGFSA

Managed by SAI Platform, FSA is a well-known sustainability standard used by food and beverage companies to assess the sustainability of their production practices. By adopting the GGFSA add-on and satisfying its additional audit requirements, IFA-certified farms can claim FSA gold performance level compliance without going through the added work and expense of getting additional FSA certification through SAI Platform.

GGFSA v3.0: New version reflects updates in FSA 3.0 and IFA v6

FSA was updated to version 3.0 in 2021. Following recent updates in version 6 of our IFA standard (IFA v6), SAI Platform and GLOBALG.A.P. have rebenchmarked FSA 3.0 to IFA v6 to develop the updated assessment principles in GGFSA v3.0. Due to the equivalence between the two standards, producers holding IFA v6 for plants (with the exception of the product category flowers and ornamentals) plus GRASP v2.0 will be able to claim FSA silver performance level without needing to undergo the GGFSA audit. Producers who do adopt the add-on and pass audit can claim FSA gold performance level.

Ongoing collaboration delivers value to producers

“The launch of the revised GGFSA add-on is the result of an ongoing collaboration between SAI Platform and GLOBALG.A.P., ” explains Joe Iveson, FSA Manager at SAI Platform. “ The new GGFSA add-on builds upon the success of the previous version and will allow GLOBALG.A.P. certified farms to continue to make FSA claims regarding their approaches to sustainable production. We would like to express our thanks to GLOBALG.A.P. for their continued commitment to work together in this space.”

To date, over 12,000 farmers and farm management groups have taken advantage of the GGFSA add-on. Stay tuned for our joint webinar with SAI at the end of April, where we will present the unique features and changes in this new version.

Meanwhile, you can read more about GGFSA here. Check out this success story about how Italian apple grower VOG Products simplified their certification processes by adopting the GGFSA add-on.