GLOBALG.A.P. North America announced that the United States national interpretation guideline for Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) v6 GFS for fruit and vegetables has been published and is ready for use.
As GLOBALG.A.P.'s flagship standard, IFA aims to promote responsible farming practices. It takes a holistic approach, addressing the key topics of good agricultural practices including food safety, environment, workers' health, safety, and welfare, production processes, and traceability in one audit. The IFA v6 GFS edition has achieved GFSI recognition and is now being implemented in the U.S. and throughout the world. The newly published national interpretation guideline supports this adoption of v6.
GLOBALG.A.P. national interpretation guidelines translate global standards to the specific legal and structural conditions of each country. In the U.S., regulations can vary based on state or regional context. The guideline details the specific requirements, clarifications, and best practices for IFA v6 implementation, and provides examples, direction, and resources to support verification and compliance.
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Some examples of the support include:
- For the principles and criteria on continuous improvement – relating to self-defined targets and progress – the guideline points to free tools such as the Cool Farm Tool or Stewardship Index for Specialty Crops (SISC) calculator, etc. to establish baseline metrics and track improvement indicators of sustainability over time. These tools can help the producer "measure to manage" topics such as water, energy, habitat and biodiversity, nitrogen and phosphorus use, soil organic matter, and food loss.
- For biodiversity, the guideline points to existing Natural Resource Conservation Service or Farm Service Agency programs as evidence of compliance.
- It references national or local licensing as evidence of competencies, such as pesticide applicators' licensing.
- Considering common industry practice in the US, it clarifies the use of GLOBALG.A.P. identification numbers, logos, and mass balance to maintain producer confidentiality.
- It provides direct references to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) throughout. Most farms are already conforming with IFA workers' health and safety criteria due to the policies they have in place for OSHA and other federal agencies.
- It elaborates on water testing laboratories and acceptable accreditations.
- It contains an explanation of spill containment which applies to most farms that store fuel on site.
GLOBALG.A.P.'s U.S. National Technical Working Group (NTWG) – consisting of GLOBALG.A.P. community members, certified producers and producer groups, experts, buyers, certification body representatives, and other supply chain actors – was responsible for developing this guideline.
"The guideline provides U.S. producers support and clarification, especially on topics that might be new to some producers like biodiversity and environmental metrics," said Giumarra's Walter Ram, the U.S. NTWG chair. "This can help them make the connection between what regulations already require them to do, and what needs extra attention for GLOBALG.A.P. certification."
For more information:
GLOBALG.A.P.
Tel: +1 (503) 875-0391
https://www.globalgap.org/
