GLOBALGAP REVISION – V4.0- Effective 2011

Cologne, 30th May 2008 - The GLOBALGAP Board has recently approved a proposal that the standard shall be revised every 4 years, instead of every 3 years – a decision welcomed by all stakeholders to allow sufficient time for adjustment and implementation between new versions.

Even though the GLOBALGAP Integrated Farm Assurance V3.0 has only become obligatory on 1st January 2008, the various sector committees have already started with the enormous task of revising the standard. It was agreed in all Sector Committees that there should not be fundamental changes in approach but to continue to improve the standard from practical experience gained in implementation and reflect improvements in best practice.

Some of the topics that are under discussion in various subgroups and Sector Committees, include:

• Standard Efficiency (streamlining the standard, avoid duplication and ambiguity)
• Standard Integrity (General Regulations)
• Resource Management (soil, water, energy and nitrogen levels)
• Improvement of the Integrated Pest Management guideline and compliance with microbiological issues are seen as crucial points for the Crops sector.
• Requirements for Animal welfare, Feed and Transport are important topics discussed at the Livestock and Aquaculture Sector Committees.

The revision will follow the recently revised standard setting procedure to take into account best practice in standard setting particularly allowing for various opportunities for stakeholder involvement and consultation. The schedule for revision and progress can be seen in the diagram.

Claudia Meifert

public relations & website administration
GLOBALGAP c/o FoodPLUS GmbH,
Spichernstr. 55, 50672 Koeln, Germany
Koeln HRB 35211, Managing Director Dr. Kristian Moeller
Tel: +49 (0) 2 21-5 79 93-82; Fax: -89
www.globalgap.org - mailto:meifert(at)globalgap.org

The challenge of globalising markets is nowhere greater than in the primary food sector. GLOBALGAP (formerly known as EUREPGAP) has established itself as a key reference for Good Agricultural Practices (G.A.P.) in the global market-place, by translating consumer requirements into agricultural production in a rapidly growing list of countries – currently more than 80 on every continent.

GLOBALGAP is a private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural products around the globe. The aim is to establish ONE standard for Good Agricultural Practice (G.A.P.) with different product applications capable of fitting to the whole of global agriculture.

GLOBALGAP is a pre-farm-gate standard, which means that the certificate covers the process of the certified product from farm inputs like feed or seedlings and all the farming activities until the product leaves the farm. GLOBALGAP is a business-to-business label and is therefore not directly visible to consumers.

GLOBALGAP certification is carried out by more than 100 independent and accredited certification bodies in more than 80 countries. It is open to all producers worldwide.

This release was published on openPR.