SAI Platform and GLOBALG.A.P. strengthen their partnership
21st March 2023
Overview
SAI Platform’s Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) and GLOBALG.A.P. update their joint solution: GGFSA
Following the release of FSA 3.0 and the launch of the Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA version 6), SAI Platform and GLOBALG.A.P. are reviewing the GGFSA add-on to ensure it accurately incorporates the latest developments in each system.
The GGFSA add-on was first launched in 2017 and has been an important step forward for food supply chains around the world. The add-on has made complying with food safety standards and sustainability expectations simpler for farmers to demonstrate, and easier for auditors to verify.
This combined one-stop audit drives a more efficient supply chain, avoiding duplication of effort and allowing resources to be freed up for driving continuous improvement. Its success is proven by the uptake globally by individual farmers and Farm Management Groups. To date, there have been over 12,000 individual farmers and Farm Management Groups verified, across 30 different countries, farming 90 different crops.
By integrating food safety and sustainability in one on-farm approach, the GGFSA add-on enables GLOBALG.A.P. certified farmers to make FSA claims in a simple manner and without having to undergo two different audits. By providing one approach that is recognised throughout the industry, the GGFSA add-on replaces the need to be a part of multiple company-specific sustainability schemes.
Producers can demonstrate GLOBALG.A.P. compliance and up to the highest level of FSA equivalence by answering just a few additional FSA-inspired questions during a GLOBALG.A.P. audit.
“Our partnership with GLOBALG.A.P. continues to deliver value for SAI Platform members and our producer community, who dedicate effort and attention to ensuring that the food that we eat is healthy for us and our planet” commented Joe Iveson, FSA Manager at SAI Platform.
“The launch of the revised GGFSA add-on is the result of an ongoing collaboration between SAI Platform and GLOBALG.A.P. The new GGFSA add-on builds upon the success of the previous version and will allow GLOBALG.A.P. certified farms to continue to make FSA claims regarding their approaches to sustainable production. We would like to express our thanks to GLOBALG.A.P. for their continued commitment towards working together in this space.”
“In our continuous search for increasing the value of GLOBALG.A.P. certifications and reducing duplications, we found a perfect match with SAI Platform. Sharing stakeholders, but more importantly vision, made it easy for both to come together to develop the GGFSA add-on and to launch this updated version. The combined solution helps farmers obtain verifications in a cost-efficient manner and offers the industry the food safety and sustainability guarantees expected.”
Ignacio Antequera, Director Sales and Stakeholder Relations, GLOBALG.A.P.
The updated version of the GGFSA add-on will be launched during an online webinar conducted in partnership with GLOBALG.A.P. at the end of April. Registration details for the webinar will be released shortly.
The reviewed normative documents for GGFSA 3.0 are available through the Document Center of GLOBALG.A.P. https://www.globalgap.org/documents and shall be used in all GGFSA audits from May 1st 2023.
If you would like to find out more about this approach and SAI Platform’s partnership with GLOBALG.A.P., please contact us at fsa@saiplatform.org.
GLOBALG.A.P. is a brand of smart farm assurance solutions developed by FoodPLUS GmbH in Cologne, Germany, with cooperation from producers, retailers, and other stakeholders across the food industry. These solutions include a range of standards for safe, socially and environmentally responsible farming practices. The most widely used GLOBALG.A.P. standard is IFA, applicable to fruit and vegetables, aquaculture, floriculture, and more. This standard also forms the basis for the GGN label – the consumer label for certified, responsible farming and transparency.
The GLOBALG.A.P. brand began its journey as EUREPGAP in 1997. 25 years later, over 200,000 producers are under GLOBALG.A.P. certification in 132 countries. Nearly 150 team members around the world are dedicated to the mission of spreading responsible farming practices to ensure safe food for future generations.
