Technical news library
Technical news – Systems and services
On this page you can find key entries and excerpts from the GLOBALG.A.P. technical newsletter that relate to our systems and services, including Audit Online Hub, the GLOBALG.A.P. database, Validation Service, and CB-AT. The complete and original technical newsletters are available in the GLOBALG.A.P. document center and the CB Extranet.
Sections in this page
Looking for technical news on GLOBALG.A.P. standards and add-ons?
Technical news related to our Integrated Farm Assurance standard can be found on the IFA technical news page.
All the technical news related to our add-ons such as GRASP and SPRING can be found under technical news for add-ons.
General technical news for certification bodies
We would like to raise awareness to all CBs that the Secretariat created a wiki about all GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems. This wiki is regularly updated with useful information for the users. You can find it here. Any comments/suggestions for improvement about wiki are welcome in: customer_support@globalgap.org.
GLOBALG.A.P. database: Technical news
Since 25 February, we have been experiencing technical difficulties with our database related to the expiration of certification cycles that have resulted in “damaged cycles.” Damaged cycles occur when the system does not recognize that the certification cycle or certificate has expired (e.g., the product status is displayed as “certified” even though the certificate or extension has expired).
Our team is actively working to resolve this issue and return the system to normal functionality as quickly as possible. Because we have to manually adjust each product cycle, additional time to respond and implement the necessary corrections is required.
To avoid further damaged cycles, we have decided to disable the possibility of reacceptance.
What this means for CBs: For all currently active cycles that you wish to recertify/reaccept we kindly ask you to wait until the cycle has expired. You can then reaccept the respective products the next day. Reminder: Reacceptance means that the date of acceptance shall be in the previous cycle.
To help prevent damaged cycles for producers, we kindly request your support with the following:
GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) transfers: If you need to transfer a GGN to another CB, please ensure that the certification cycle remains valid and does not expire. To facilitate this, kindly contact us in advance so we can proceed with deacceptance and trustee changes.
Recertification requests: If a producer’s certificate has expired and you are unable to recertify them, please submit the certificate draft along with the audit date GGN. These requests should be submitted on a case-by-case basis for better traceability.
No KPI will be recorded at this time for late database uploads of documents or certificates.
Finally, we would like to remind you to keep all documentation proving that the certification decision was taken in accordance with the deadlines set out in the GLOBALG.A.P. general regulations. This is necessary for you to be able to demonstrate compliance in the event of an audit by the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrity Program or your accreditation body.
Important: We kindly ask you to refrain from sending the same e-mail twice to avoid double work which inevitably results in a slower response.
We understand the critical importance of certifications for producers and are fully committed to finding a solution. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and appreciate your patience and cooperation.
Previously communicated on 5 July 2024
Thank you for your patience as we continue to restore the performance of the GLOBALG.A.P. database. We recognize that there have been instances of downtime and are working with high priority on minimizing these interruptions. In parallel, the implementation of a variety of measures aimed at easing the data load and improving the critical issue of system speed is ongoing.
Temporary suspension of some CB sanction steps
In light of the problems with the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems, we will not take into account the following two items from the GLOBALG.A.P. certification body sanction catalog version 6 for the CB KPI rating until further notice. Nevertheless, we will continue to monitor these aspects and send reminders about missing items.
Planned measures to improve database performance
We are also introducing several new measures to ease the data load on the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems and increase speed for users.
CBs will not be required to upload CB audit reports to the database and/or to AOH for the following standards/add-ons. In addition, the monthly 20% upload requirements will be temporarily suspended until further notice. CB audit reports must, however, remain available on request, so uploading them to AOH is still recommended.
IFA v5.2, v5.4-1-GFS, v6
GLOBALG.A.P. Chain of Custody (CoC)
Harmonized Produce Safety Standard (HPSS)
Produce Handling Assurance (PHA)
GLOBALG.A.P. Compound Feed Manufacturing (CFM)
SPRING add-on
BioDiversity add-on
GLOBALG.A.P. Farm Sustainability Assessment (GGFSA) add-on
Impact-Driven Approach to Sustainability (IDA) add-on
TR4 Biosecurity for Bananas add-on
Other-party private solutions:
AH-DLL GROW add-on
CBs must continue to upload CB audit report files to the database and/or to AOH for the following standards/add-ons where the 100% upload requirement is obligatory. This is due to external reporting requirements. (The FSMA PSR add-on was removed from the list after the CB communication on 5 July 2024.)
GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP) add-on
RMS checklist for IFA v6
Full Remote audits for IFA
Other-party private solutions:
Nurture Module
Coop Italia Pesticide Transparency add-on
GLOBALG.A.P. PLUS add-on
We are analyzing the use of Validation Service and its influence on the speed of the database, including improving the code related to Validation Service integration with the database. Based on potential findings, we may eventually choose to separate the GLOBALG.A.P. database from Validation Service in terms of searching for a certificate and receiving bookmark responses. However, due to dependencies such as the availability of the GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN) per site being limited to Validation Service, we cannot suspend its use entirely.
We will clean up unused and/or inactive bookmarking lists by deleting any list older than two years.
We will set up a new and more advanced monitoring system to identify any other reasons and pinpoint actions that may cause database speed reduction.
Despite the current challenges, it is important to note that the use of the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems is still obligatory, and any certificate not registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. database is considered invalid. Any decision by a CB not to use the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems to register certificates is considered a fundamental breach of the contract between the CB and FoodPLUS GmbH according to the license and certification agreement.
Our Customer Support team remains available for workflow-related assistance. We kindly ask you to provide the precise date, time, GGN, and action taken in the database in the case of any specific malfunction, as additional details are invaluable in identifying the root cause of technical issues.
In addition to the above, the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat will allow a longer period for CBs to record the certification decision in the GLOBALG.A.P. database. Until further notice, the period allowed to record the certification decision in the database will be prolonged from 28 days to 40 days. This is to give more time for administration.
Please note that a gap in certificate validity shall still be avoided. Please also note that the actual certification decision has to be made within 28 days of the successful completion of the CB audit to be compliant with the GLOBALG.A.P. general regulations.
Furthermore, the FSMA PSR add-on has been included in the list of standards and add-ons that do not require a CB audit report to be uploaded. It is crucial to remember the regulatory and market requirements of the supply chains for those producers with products that have the United States as a country of destination. Importers are required to carry out verification activities through their Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) including reviews of full audit reports, non-compliances, and corrective actions.
Importers expect producers’ audit reports to be uniform to facilitate these reviews, and they must receive these audit reports as protected or otherwise controlled documents which prevent alterations. A translated version of the documents needs to be provided by the CB upon request.
While we currently will not be assessing KPIs for CB audit report uploads, in light of these needs, CBs are still strongly encouraged to use AOH for IFA v5.4-1-GFS with FSMA PSR add-on audit reports. Furthermore, while market needs related to FSMA and FSVP generally apply to the FSMA PSR add-on, this applies for any IFA v5.4-1-GFS audit where the United States is the country of destination.
We would like to ask CBs to avoid using non-printable characters (including but not limited to the following examples: –, ½, ¦, ⋄, and °) when entering producer data (name, address) in the GLOBALG.A.P. database, because this causes massive performance issues in the database API.
Database performance
Please try to refrain from uploading large files (e.g., product upload sheets) whenever feasible. This precaution is advised as the presence of large files in the upload queue can cause considerable delays for all CBs. It is therefore recommended that larger files be uploaded during the evening when possible, as the database remains active overnight.
Additionally, we kindly request that you meticulously review files prior to uploading. Instances of unsuccessful uploads and subsequent reuploads due to avoidable errors (such as an incorrect O-key) contribute to delays.
Lastly, we urge you to refrain from uploading the same file multiple times. If you miss an email reply regarding an upload, please contact the Customer Support team. Instances have arisen where the same file has been uploaded multiple times, resulting in significant delays.
Guidance on the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems
We have received numerous inquiries regarding the utilization of our IT systems. At this juncture, we wish to direct your attention to the technical news releases, records for IFA v6, and pertinent Wiki articles. These resources comprehensively address many commonly asked questions. Should further assistance be required, the Customer Support team stands ready to help you.
We kindly ask CBs to avoid uploading large files where possible. The reason is that large files in the upload queue cause significant delays for all CBs in the database. It is therefore recommended that larger files are preferably uploaded in the evenings, as the database remains active during the night.
We also kindly request that CBs check files carefully prior to uploading. Unsuccessful uploads and subsequent re-uploads due to avoidable mistakes (e.g., incorrect O-key) is another reason for delays.
Lastly, we kindly ask CBs to refrain from uploading the same file more than once. If you do miss a reply email with regards to an upload, kindly contact the Customer Support Team instead. There are instances where the same file has been uploaded five times, causing significant delay as a result.
Audit Online Hub: Technical news
We would like to remind you that the AOH upload rules have been updated, as communicated in TN 03/2023. The new rules include a reduced mandatory upload percentage for many GLOBALG.A.P. standards and add-ons. In addition to the rules communicated in TN 03/2023, we want to further clarify a change to the mandatory upload percentage for certain standards:
As of 1 December 2023, 20% of all checklists for CoC v6, IFA v5.2 for combinable crops (CC)/plant propagation material (PPM), IFA v5.4-1-GFS, Harmonized Produce Safety Standard (HPSS) v1.2, or Produce Handling Assurance (PHA) v1.2 shall be uploaded per month.
For a full overview of the AOH upload rules, please consider the information presented above together with the information in TN 03/2023.
Previously communicated on 12 October 2023
Here we would like to communicate temporary changes in Audit Online Hub (AOH) (Legacy) upload rules v1.1 July 2023 regarding only the percentage of uploading checklists (changes in blue). Following changes apply from 1 September 2023 until further notice:
20% of all checklists for IFA v5.2, IFA v5.3, IFA v5.4-1-GFS, HPSS v1.2, or PHA v1.2 shall be uploaded per month.
Those IFA checklists uploaded for the FSMA PSR add-on, the Nurture Module or because of the use of GLOBALG.A.P. Remote may be counted towards the 20% referenced before.
This is a temporary change and all other rules included in AOH (Legacy) upload rules v1.1 July 2023 remain unchanged.
CB-AT: Technical news
The preferred language in CB-AT is the one CB auditors use to conduct audits and to pass the farm auditor online test. CBs may also choose additional languages in CB-AT per farm assurance product if their farm auditors feel competent enough in these languages to take the farm auditor online test. Please ensure that the preferred language is also selected for the farm assurance product. CBs may add more language preferences for farm auditors for each farm assurance product in addition to the languages previously chosen, but they cannot switch the preferred language more than once. If they do so more than once, a financial sanction will apply.
Where CBs follow the smart IT process, meaning that they use AOH for the audit report and VS to issue the certificate/letter of conformance, CB auditors shall be approved in CB-AT (statuses “approved” and “temporarily approved” work for AOH and VS). We would like to remind CBs when uploading the necessary documents in CB-AT to also click the “submit to GLOBALG.A.P.” button for each farm assurance product.
Where CBs use the database only for their audit report and certification decisions, auditors shall only be registered in CB-AT and have completed the mandatory online training.
Also, we want to remind CBs to assign the “CB certificate signatory” role to users that they wish to be used as “authorized person” in VS. This role is found on the user profile below “preferred language” and is a “Yes/No” role.
CBs shall make sure that auditors are registered in AOH using the same email address they use in CB-AT, otherwise synchronization cannot be established.
About auditors’ status
Currently there are still a number of auditors assigned IFA v6 Farm Assurance Products in CB-AT with the approval status 'Open'. We kindly ask CBs that when all required documents are uploaded in CB-AT to change the status to “Submitted to GLOBALG.A.P.” so that the Secretariat can proceed with the reviews. We would like to clarify that the “temporarily approved” status of the FAP´s in CB-AT allows the auditor to do audits in AOH under that FAP. We will allow CBs to continue uploading the required documents and assigning the respective statuses in CB-AT for all FAPs until further notification.
In the meantime, CBs shall register all their auditors in CB-AT to assign them a GAIN number, before assigning an audit to the auditors. GLOBALG.A.P. database will validate during the transition period described in point 2.1 that all registered auditors have passed the necessary online tests.
CB application in CB-AT
Please note that the application for IFA v6 and several add-ons scope extensions are now done directly in CB-AT. The process starts with the assigning of the Farm Assurance Product (FAP) under the Certification Body Module. For IFA v6 application you will need to upload the confirmation letter from the Accreditation Body. When done, please inform GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat by email so that application can be reviewed.
Please note that for all the CBs who received automatic approvals for IFA v6 and add-ons, the FAPs also need to be assigned in CB-AT. We advise CBs to check in the website or CB Extranet their approval status before adding the FAP in CB-AT.
New role in CB-AT
The CB certificate signatory role has been included in CB-AT. This role is intended for the person who signs the certificate in Validation Service, as communicated in TN 02/2023. No qualification requirement or training applies for this role.
We would like to remind you that the reviewer and the Certification committee are also roles available in CB-AT that CBs shall assign to their staff per FAP in order to use AOH and VS.
Validation Service: Technical news
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.
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The GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems are a framework of interconnecting tools that facilitate the worldwide implementation and verification of GLOBALG.A.P. certification.
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Contact us
For technical support on GLOBALG.A.P. solutions, please contact us at standard_support@globalgap.org.
For general questions, please contact us at customer_support@globalgap.org.