The new GLOBALG.A.P. Produce Handling Assurance Standard (PHA) covers pre-process production steps after the point of harvest for crops including cooling, packing, re-packing, handling, and storage of produce for human consumption. The PHA may not be used to certify products significantly transformed from the original whole state or foods that are processed.
- Will be available to all qualified produce packing operations meeting the scope definition in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean.
- Will be available to produce handling operations worldwide meeting the scope definition that pack and handle produce in an open-shed environment.
- May be used in conjunction with the IFA Fruit and Vegetable Standard audit to reduce audit redundancy and cost, particularly in cases where a grower is packing their own produce and has previously required two separate audits.
- Incorporates USA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requirements from both the Produce Safety Rule and the Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule, as appropriate.
- Will aid operations in identifying FSMA requirements that must be addressed at the farm level
- Enables generation of audit reports non-conformity summaries, corrective action reports and certificates that can be provided to retailers and other value-chain participants as evidence of an operation’s efforts toward FSMA implementation.
The standards development process follows:
- Focus Group : November 2017 – January 2018
- Field trials: beginning February 2018
- Public consultation: June 2018
- Standard publication and implementation: summer 2018
- Application for GFSI recognition: 2018
For more information:
Contact standard@globalgap.org