IFA’s fulfillment of GFSI’s Benchmarking Requirements for version 2020.1 in this category follows previous recognitions IFA achieved this year, including the Produce Handling Assurance standard (PHA) v1.2 and the Harmonized Produce Safety Standard (HPSS) v1.2 in May 2021. GLOBALG.A.P. standards were first recognized by the GFSI in 2012, representing almost ten years of commitment to the recognition program.

The IFA standard for Fruit and Vegetables is active across the globe and covers all stages of production, from preharvest practices such as plant protection product application and soil management to postharvest handling and packing.

Commitment to food safety worldwide

GLOBALG.A.P. standards are developed in consultation with the industry to ensure optimal compliance flexibility for agricultural operations of all sizes and commodities while securing the highest level of assurance.

Elmé Coetzer-Boersma, Managing Director of GLOBALG.A.P. c/o FoodPLUS GmbH, noted: “Offering a GFSI compliant solution is important to our stakeholders, and we are delighted to continue the recognition of our standards against the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements. We are determined to develop our solutions further in enhancing food safety, implementing rigorous standard management, and increasing transparency through our integrity program.”

About the GFSI benchmarking process

Benchmarking is a procedure where a food safety Certification Program Owner (CPO) is compared to the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements. The process is designed in an independent and transparent manner. A program is ‘recognized’ by GFSI when it has been verified as meeting all GFSI benchmarking requirements, both in procedures and in operations.

Assessment of applications is conducted by an independent benchmark leader and technical experts, with a public consultation period that encompasses all GFSI stakeholders. The GFSI Steering Committee make a final recognition decision based on the recommendation of the assessment. The full process is defined in the GFSI Benchmarking Requirements document.

About GFSI

The Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI; the Coalition) is a CEO-led Coalition of Action from The Consumer Goods Forum, bringing together 34 retailers and manufacturers and an extended food safety community to help oversee food safety standards for businesses and help provide access to safe food for people everywhere.

As one of the world’s largest networks to help achieve safe food, GFSI is committed to making food safety everyone’s business. The Coalition members are addressing challenges facing food safety systems in their supply chains and the markets they operate in, and are helping to raise the food safety bar globally.

Its ambition is to strengthen and harmonize food safety systems so they are able to feed the growing, global population and develop markets that can deliver food safely, no matter where in the world the consumer is. To learn more, visit www.mygfsi.com.