Providing third-party environmental and sustainability certification, auditing, testing, and standards development.

SCS Global Services offers IHA Accredited HACCP Training, including on-site courses, webinars and customized trainings throughout the year in North America. Our expert trainers can tailor their curricula to meet your needs.

• Sign up for one of our upcoming GlobalG.A.P. or GFSI training courses.
• Ask about our comprehensive HACCP, sustainability, and pesticide residue management training for in-house practitioners, managers and consultants.
• Find out about our food safety webinars.

Eligible Producers

SCS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) to conduct GlobalG.A.P. audits for any producer of primary agricultural products including fruits and vegetables.

Certification Options

There are two certification options:  single site and multi-site, or group.

• Certification for Single Site and Multi-site - For individual producers of single-site or multi-site operations with or without an implemented Quality Management System.
• Group Certification - For producer groups that have implemented Quality Management Systems.

Certification Criteria

GlobalG.A.P. is a globally harmonized standard for Good Agricultural Practices with food safety and environmental components. While members can differentiate through add-ons, the base of the Standard consists of the following control points with specific compliance criteria:

• site history and management
• record keeping and self-assessment
• worker health
• safety and welfare
• subcontractors
• waste and pollution management
• recycling and re-use
• environment and conservation
• complaints
• recall and withdrawal procedures
• food defense
• GlobalG.A.P. status
• logo use
• traceability and segregation.

Annual audits are required to maintain certification.

Pre-Assessment

SCS can walk you through a pre-assessment process. Pre-assessment is a non-scored mock audit designed to assess the level of your preparedness for a certification audit. Ask about combining a pre-assessment with your initial audit for greater efficiency.

Complementary Services

In addition to GlobalG.A.P. certification, SCS offers a full suite of food safety and food quality testing and certification services to help you satisfy customer requests. Combine GlobalG.A.P. Certification with Organic Certification, Certified Sustainably Grown or Fair Trade Certification, for added operational and cost efficiency.

1. Apply for Auditing

   Fill out an SCS Application form. Contact SCS at [email protected] to request guidance. SCS will return a proposal for your approval with suggested scope of work, timeline and quote. To initiate the certification process, return a signed proposal and Work Order.

2. Complete Questionnaire

   SCS sends you a form requesting any documentation that the auditors will need to prepare for the on-site audit.

3. Schedule the Audit

   SCS assigns an auditor and audit dates are proposed. Once an audit date is confirmed, an audit plan is provided to ensure that your team is prepared.

4. On-Site Audit

   A team meeting is required at the beginning and the end of the audit. At the conclusion of the audit, the auditor discusses the audit results, including any non-conformities.

5. Complete Corrective Actions and Technical Review

   Identified non-conformities must be addressed and evidence of corrective actions provided to SCS within 28 days. The auditor reviews and closes out non-conformities as warranted. Once this process is complete, the auditor submits an audit report.

6. Make Certification Decision

   SCS conducts a final technical review of the audit report and Corrective Action documentation and makes the final certification decision.

7. Receive Certificate

   If certification is achieved, SCS issues the certificate and final report to the facility/operation and posts reports to the SCS Certified Supplier Directory and to retailer databases when requested.

GlobalG.A.P. certification by SCS can help you in several ways:

• Limit Risk - Minimize the potential for food safety incidents and recalls
• Become a Preferred Supplier - Many retailers require GlobalG.A.P. certification for their manufacturers and suppliers
• Competitive Edge - Assure your customers that food has been produced, processed, prepared and handled to rigorous standards
• Improvement over Time - Demonstrate continual improvements to quality and safety processes
• Professional Service - SCS is known for our thorough, timely audits
• Combined Services - Take advantage of our broad food and agriculture certification expertise, from safety to sustainability, to earn recognition for multiple achievements most cost-effectively

Some of the questions and answers below are excerpted from GlobalG.A.P.

 

What is GlobalG.A.P.?

GLOBALG.A.P. is a private sector body that sets voluntary standards for the certification of agricultural products around the globe. Formerly known as EUREPGAP, GLOBALG.A.P. has established itself as a key reference for Good Agricultural Practice (G.A.P.) in the global marketplace, by translating consumer requirements into agricultural production in a rapidly growing list of countries (currently more than 100) on every continent.

What types of businesses will benefit from GlobalG.A.P. Certification?

GLOBALG.A.P. 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. GLOBALG.A.P. is a business-to-business label and is therefore not directly visible to consumers. Existing national or regional farm assurance schemes that have successfully completed their benchmarking process are recognized as an equivalent to GLOBALG.A.P.

Which GlobalG.A.P standards does SCS certify to?

Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA), 4.0 & 3.0, Crops Base, Option 1 - Primary Farm Assurance (PFA) Assessment

What is GlobalG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) Certification?

Producers who receive Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) certification have met the most comprehensive criteria demanded by retailers globally. The IFA Crops Base Standard emphasizes a holistic approach to farm certification and covers food safety, environment (including biodiversity), worker's operational health and safety, traceability, animal welfare (when applicable).

IFA certification allows producers greater access to both international and domestics markets. The IFA Standard is globally recognized by retailers and food service in more than 100 countries, and is currently undergoing GFSI re-benchmarking.

What is GlobalG.A.P. Primary Farm Assurance (PFA) Assessment?

Primary Farm Assurance (PFA) is a stepping stone towards GLOBALG.A.P.'s full Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard. However, it is an assessment, not a certification.

There are two main PFA levels available: 1) Foundation Level - for producers with few food safety risks who primarily sell on a local level, good for starting their food safety certification; and 2) Intermediary Level - includes more food safety elements than the Foundation Level, specified by some retailers.