GERMANY & FRANCE - With food safety top of mind, GLOBALG.A.P. is continuing to work toward a better future. Recently, the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat announced that its Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standards—version 6 GFS, published in 2022—have received official recognition from the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).

“We are excited about maintaining the recognition by GFSI and look forward to continuing to uphold the highest standards of food safety in collaboration with our stakeholders,” explained Dr. Elmé Coetzer-Boersma, Managing Director at GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS.

The GFSI has formally recognized version 6.0 GFS of the Integrated Farm Assurance standards for plants and aquaculture. According to a press release, this recognition ensures that responsible production processes certified according to the GLOBALG.A.P. standards adhere to globally acknowledged food safety and environmental sustainability standards.

Effective from August 6, 2024, these standards meet the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements v2020:

• Integrated Farm Assurance Smart/GFS version 6.0 – Principles and criteria for aquaculture (finfish, crustaceans, molluscs and seaweed)
  • AII: Farming of fish and seafood
• Integrated Farm Assurance GFS Plants version 6.0 – Principles and criteria for fruits and vegetables
  • BI: Farming of plants (other than grains and pulses)
  • BIII: Pre-process handling of plant products

For stakeholders currently certified under IFA v5.4-1-GFS, their certifications remain valid and GFSI-benchmarked for the duration of the certificate. Audits for IFA v5.4-1 may continue until December 31, 2024, with issued certificates remaining valid for their full lifecycle. Starting January 1, 2025, all IFA audits for aquaculture and fruit and vegetables will be conducted against IFA v6 Smart or IFA v6 GFS, the latter being necessary for GFSI recognition. Audits to IFA v5.4-1 will no longer be possible after this date.

Keep reading ANUK as we learn more about these industry standards.