Technical news – Add-ons to core solutions

In section 4.1 of the 2023: Issue 03 Technical Newsletter you can find a summary of the available add-on versions, the dates the new versions become mandatory and their combinability with IFA versions.

In GRASP v2 it is allowed for a legal entity to register with product 1 for IFA and GRASP with CB X and with product 2 for IFA and GRASP with CB Z.

GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems will have a function (in AOH) to notify the CBs that this legal entity has registered with another CB for GRASP (different products).

It won't be possible to have a GRASP Letter of Conformance if the legal entity has been sanctioned (e.g., suspension) or not compliant to GRASP with another CB.

As described in GRASP v2 general rules point 3, for any GRASP application, evidence shall be submitted of the verification of criteria on workers’ health, safety, and welfare. A full compliance result in this category is required to obtain the GRASP letter of conformance.

CBs choosing to upload the GRASP checklists in database and issue GRASP v2 letter of conformance in the current GLOBALG.A.P. database, shall verify before making the certification decision that the minor P&Cs/CPCCs on workers’ health, safety, and welfare are fully compliant.

These P&Cs/CPCCs are listed in GRASP v2 checklists (as annex) available for CBs in CB extranet.

As it reads in GRASP rules, GRASP add-on is already applicable in countries without NIGs, and this is so in GRASP v2. However, as previously communicated in TN 02/2022, existing GRASP v1.3-1-i NIGs shall be updated for GRASP v2. NIGs for GRASP v2 shall be developed until the end of 2023 and sent to the Secretariat for approval.

In countries where NIGs for GRASP v1.3-1-i exist and a GRASP v2 NIG has been presented to the Secretariat, we will allow CBs to conduct assessments against GRASP v2, without further requirements, until end of June 2024, to give the local stakeholders a longer period to finalize the NIG for GRASP v2.

After 1 January 2024 drafts for GRASP v2 NIGs (updates or new NIGs) will be received anytime and will be subject to revision by the Secretariat and public consultations, outside of the periods indicated above. NIGs submitted to the Secretariat cannot be guaranteed to become approved and available for the date of a specific assessment.

After this period (1 January 2024), in countries where NIGs for GRASP v1.3.-1-i exist but draft NIGs for GRASP v2 have not been presented or approved by the Secretariat, the CBs shall follow the special registration of assessors in countries without a NIG, as described in GRASP v2 general rules, when assessing GRASP v2 in countries without NIG.

In countries where no NIG for GRASP v1.3-1-i exists, the special registration of assessors in countries without a NIG shall apply for every GRASP v2 assessment.

As of 22 November 2023, in these countries CBs can conduct assessments against GRASP v2, without further requirements, until end of June 2024:

• New Zealand

• Thailand

• China

• Austria

• Denmark

• Belgium

• Romania

• South Africa

• Japan

• Serbia

• Netherlands

• Chile

• Czech Republic

• Ireland

Please consider that this list is constantly updated, as more NIGs are sent to the Secretariat.

For more information about the countries and the development stage of NIGs for GRASP v2 in the countries you are interested in, please contact: graspnig@globalgap.org.

Previously communicated on 31 January 2024

We would like to inform you that the new country risk classification to be applied in 2024 was released on the GLOBALG.A.P. website on 1 January 2024.

According to the GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP) version 2 general rules, section 6.2 f), it is the responsibility of the GRASP auditor to check the correct country level before conducting a GRASP assessment and determine the required methods of evidence (e.g., interviews with the workers). This may result in the introduction of interviews in countries where it was not mandatory in previous years.

Please consider the change in the new classification for Portugal, where GRASP assessments for 2024 shall follow the rules for medium-risk countries.

As communicated in TN 03/2023, in countries where NIGs for GRASP v1.3-1-i existed and a GRASP v2 NIG was presented to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat before the end of 2023, we allow CBs to conduct assessments against GRASP v2 even without a published NIG for GRASP v2 until the end of June 2024 to give the local stakeholders a longer period to finalize the NIG for GRASP v2.

In the countries listed below, CBs can conduct assessments against GRASP v2 without further requirements until the end of June 2024:

Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Guinea-Bissau, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Republic of Moldova, São Tomé and Principe, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Tanzania, Thailand, Türkiye/Turkey, Ukraine, USA, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

This list is also available on the GLOBALG.A.P. website.

Auditors conducting GRASP v2 assessments in countries not listed above shall proceed using the process described in the GRASP v2 general rules, section 5.3, “Special registration of assessors in countries without a NIG.”

As already communicated, CBs may use the GLOBALG.A.P. database to upload GRASP v2 audit reports and issue letters of conformance (LoCs). Here, we ask CBs to use the GRASP v2 LoC template available in CB Extranet to create a PDF version of any GRASP v2 LoCs they issue, and upload these PDFs to the GLOBALG.A.P. database. This is because, unlike GRASP v1.3‑1‑i LoCs, the GLOBALG.A.P. database does not produce a PDF version of GRASP v2 LoCs.

Previously communicated on 5 September 2023

SPRING add-on v2 (Scheme ID 191) is valid from 5 September 2023 and will become obligatory from 1 January 2024 for IFA v6 Smart audits and for IFA v6 GFS as soon as it is GFSI recognized and becomes mandatory.

SPRING add-on v2.0 is combinable with IFA v6 for all product categories under Plants Scope and with CfP Standard as the base standard and the normative documents are available in the GLOBALG.A.P. Document Center.

What action must be taken?

[….] To continue reading, please see section 4.3.1 of 2023: Issue 03 Technical Newsletter

Herewith we would like to share with you clarification for SPRING add-on v2 general rules specifications point 5.2.1, about parallel ownership (PO) in Option1. We will allow a transition period until 1 January 2025, with a validity of one year in their cycle, where we will allow PO as described below, also for option 1 producers.

[….] To continue reading, please see section 4.3.2 of 2023: Issue 03 Technical Newsletter

BioDiversity add-on v1.1 is published on 1 December 2023 and will become obligatory from 1 January 2024 for IFA v6 Smart combined audits and for IFA v6 GFS as soon as IFA v6 GFS is GFSI recognized and becomes mandatory.

BioDiversity add-on v1.1 is combinable with IFA v6 for Fruits and Vegetables under Plants scope as the base standard and may be combined with IFA v5.4-1-GFS and the normative documents are available in the GLOBALG.A.P. document center.

What action must be taken?

[….] To continue reading, please see section 4.7 of 2023: Issue 03 Technical Newsletter

The CB QMS and farm auditor requirements to attend Produce Safety Alliance (PSA) training were unintentionally omitted in the FSMA PSR add-on version 2. CB auditor training for all FSMA PSR add-on QMS and farm auditors and decision-making committee shall remain the same as in v1.3:

CB auditors shall demonstrate sufficient competence with the FDA’s FSMA PSR through evidence of attendance at a Produce Safety Alliance training with an approved instructor. The minimum expectation for CB auditors is the “Grower Training course” – minimum of eight-hour duration, as offered by any approved trainer.

This can be a private training by an approved trainer. The list of “Grower Training courses” that are registered with PSA can be found here.

A list of approved trainers who can conduct a private class is here. Any one of these trainers can offer the course to CBs and CB affiliates.

As already communicated in TN 02/2023, GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat and the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform) reviewed the GLOBALG.A.P. Farm Sustainability Assessment (GGFSA) and launched GGFSA v3.0 which is obligatory for all GGFSA audits conducted after 1 May 2023. GGFSA v3.0 normative documents meant no change in the fee calculation in comparison to the earlier GGFSA v2.1.

While the section on the fee in the General regulations specifications of GGFSA v3.0 reads differently from that of GGFSA V2.1., it means no change in the fee calculation. This fee-related section of the GGFSA v3.0 General regulations specifications will be amended as to read more similar to the earlier version GGFSA V2.1, eliminating from the text the mention to “distributed in three years.”

News items from technical news editions published in Q4 2023 and beyond are published here. Please check the document center for technical news editions published prior to this.

News items from technical news editions published in Q4 2023 and beyond are published here. Please check the document center for technical news editions published prior to this.

Previously communicated on 14 November 2023

IDA add-on v1.1 (Scheme ID 288) is valid from 13 November 2023 and will become obligatory from 1 January 2024 for IFA v6 Smart audits and for IFA v6 GFS as soon as it is GFSI recognized and becomes mandatory.

IDA add-on v1.1 is combinable with IFA v6 for all product categories under Plants scope and under Aquaculture scope as the base standard and the normative documents are available in the GLOBALG.A.P. document center. IDA add-on v1.1 will be combinable as an addition to valid IFA v5 certificates during an active certification cycle until December 2024.

What action must be taken?

[….] To continue reading, please see section 4.8 of 2023: Issue 03 Technical Newsletter

Previously communicated on 1 November 2023

Nurture Module v12 (Scheme ID 603) is published since 2 November 2023 and will become obligatory from 1 January 2024 for IFA v6 Smart combined audits and for IFA v6 GFS as soon as IFA v6 GFS is GFSI recognized and becomes mandatory.

Nurture Module v12 is combinable with IFA v6 for Fruits and Vegetables under Plants scope as the base standard and the normative documents are available in the GLOBALG.A.P. document center.

IFA v5.4-1-GFS will continue to be combined with Nurture Module v11.4 even after 1 January 2024, until IFA v6 GFS becomes mandatory.

What action must be taken?

[….] To continue reading, please see section 4.6 of 2023: Issue 03 Technical Newsletter

We would like to inform you that after further consideration by the Nurture Governance Committee (NGC), it was decided to revert the yearly minimum benchmark KPI score that has to be achieved by all approved Nurture Module CBs back to the previous score of 3.90.

As communicated in TN 03/2023, CBs that use the GLOBALG.A.P. database to issue Nurture Module v12 certificates shall send part of the uploaded audit report (in PDF form) by email to the respective primary supplier of each Nurture Module producer. This audit report shall consist of the following Excel sheets: “Cover,” “Audit Notes,” and “Summary” (P&Cs are not required).

Previously communicated on 8 November 2023

COOP Italia Pesticide Transparency add-on v2 (Scheme ID 606) is valid from 8 November 2023 and will become obligatory from 1 January 2024 for IFA v6 Smart audits and for IFA v6 GFS as soon as it is GFSI recognized and becomes mandatory.

COOP Italia Pesticide Transparency add-on v2.0 is combinable with IFA v6 for all product categories under Plants scope as the base standard and the normative documents are available in the GLOBALG.A.P. document center.

What action must be taken?

[….] To continue reading, please see section 4.5 of 2023: Issue 03 Technical Newsletter

News items from technical news editions published in Q4 2023 and beyond are published here. Please check the document center for technical news editions published prior to this.

We would like to clarify here the requirements for AH-DLL GROW v3.1 auditors. The auditors shall comply with requirements as described in the AH-DLL GROW v3.1 general regulations specifications and be approved IFA farm auditors, not auditors approved for benchmarked schemes.

News items from technical news editions published in Q4 2023 and beyond are published here. Please check the document center for technical news editions published prior to this.

GLOBALG.A.P. PLUS v2 (Scheme ID 604) is published on 1 December 2023 and become obligatory from 1 January 2024 for IFA v6 Smart combined audits and for IFA v6 GFS as soon as IFA v6 GFS is GFSI recognized and becomes mandatory.

GLOBALG.A.P. PLUS v2 is combinable with IFA v6 for Fruits and Vegetables under Plants scope as the base standard.

GLOBALG.A.P. PLUS v2 is combinable with IFA v5.4-1 GFS, until IFA v6 GFS is GFSI recognized and becomes mandatory.

What action must be taken?

[….] To continue reading, please see section 4.10 of 2023: Issue 03 Technical Newsletter