Over the years, the GLOBALG.A.P Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) certification standard has been revised numerous times. The revision has been necessitated by stakeholders, producers, and market demands. Part of the market demand is influenced by the need to comply with the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), a benchmark for food safety standards.
IFA V6 Release Dates
On the 2nd of August 2021, GLOBALG.A.P announced the release of IFA V6 is underway. The highly anticipated V6 will first be released as a voluntary interim standard in April 2022, while its final version will be published in August 2022. This means that the standard will grant producers an opportunity to make a transition and conversion up until April 2023 where V6 will be obligatory. As soon as IFA V6 becomes obligatory in April 2023, all three versions, i.e. V5.2, V5.3 and V5.4 GFS, will cease their operation and validity.
What’s New?
The ongoing pandemic outbreak has caused several businesses to incorporate technology into their daily operating duties. Consequently, GLOBALG.A.P has also adopted the same route to make auditing convenient and save time by introducing “Smart Farm Assurance Solutions”. Smart Farm Assurance Solution will introduce a whole new change in the GLOBALG.A.P portfolio towards the digitalised or online approach. The most notable change of version 6 is that it will now only consist of three scopes (Aquaculture, plants and livestock) with no further subdivided subscopes or modules contrary to the previous version, which had several sub-scopes. This entails that Certification Bodies (CB) will no longer have to apply for sub-scopes for auditing purposes; instead, they will be liable to apply for the whole scope.
This digital approach will feature an improved IFA standard with personalised checklists, and new sustainability criteria on plastic, waste, carbon neutrality, deforestation and animal welfare. Furthermore, V6 will come with smarter add-on standards such as biodiversity and most importantly, the Control Points Compliance Criteria (CPCC) will be replaced by Principles and Criteria, which will examine the outcome of the measures implemented on production sites. In addition to this feature, the producer will now submit data online to prove their compliance with specific requirements. Lastly, all producers will be compelled to implement a continuous improvement plan to assess the farms’ progression in moving towards a sustainable environment. Continuous improvement plan compliance will be demonstrated by the farm’s targets and goals in reducing the use of chemicals to protect animal welfare and workers’ health, for example.
Conclusion
The new changes that will come with the release of IFA V6 will be based on the assurance of food safety, environmental sustainability, prioritising workers’ health and safety, and considering animal welfare. These new changes will be implemented through six topics, i.e. legality, management and traceability, production process, food safety, environmental sustainability, workers’ well being and animal health and welfare.
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Key facts
- GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6 was announced on 2 August 2021, released as a final version in August 2022, and became mandatory from April 2023, at which point v5.2, v5.3 and v5.4 GFS lost validity.
- The standard is simplified into three scopes only: aquaculture, plants and livestock, removing the previous subdivided subscopes and modules.
- Certification Bodies now apply for a whole scope rather than for individual sub-scopes.
- New Smart Farm Assurance Solutions bring a digitalised, online approach with personalised checklists and mandatory online data submission as proof of compliance.
- New sustainability criteria address plastic, waste, carbon neutrality, deforestation and animal welfare, alongside mandatory continuous improvement plans.
- Control Points and Compliance Criteria (CPCC) are replaced by Principles and Criteria that examine outcome measures across six topics: legality, management and traceability, production process, food safety, environmental sustainability, workers' well-being and animal health and welfare.
Frequently asked questions
When did GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6 become mandatory?
GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6 became mandatory for compliance from April 2023. It was first announced on 2 August 2021, offered as a voluntary interim standard in April 2022, and finalised in August 2022. Once v6 became obligatory, the previous versions v5.2, v5.3 and v5.4 GFS ceased to be valid.
What are the main changes from GLOBALG.A.P. v5 to v6?
The biggest change is that v6 reduces the standard to just three scopes: aquaculture, plants and livestock, eliminating the subdivided subscopes and modules used in earlier versions. Certification Bodies now apply for a whole scope instead of individual sub-scopes. It also introduces Smart Farm Assurance Solutions, new sustainability criteria, and replaces the old Control Points and Compliance Criteria with Principles and Criteria focused on outcome measures.
What are Smart Farm Assurance Solutions in IFA v6?
Smart Farm Assurance Solutions are a new digitalised, online approach introduced in IFA v6. They provide personalised checklists and require online data submission as proof of compliance. This reflects the move toward a more digital certification process under the new version.
What new sustainability requirements does IFA v6 add?
IFA v6 introduces new sustainability criteria addressing plastic, waste, carbon neutrality, deforestation and animal welfare. It also requires mandatory continuous improvement plans that assess a farm's progression toward sustainability. These sit within the six implementation topics, including environmental sustainability, workers' well-being and animal health and welfare.
What are the six topics covered by GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6?
IFA v6 organises its requirements around six topics: legality, management and traceability, production process, food safety, environmental sustainability, workers' well-being, and animal health and welfare. These replace the previous Control Points and Compliance Criteria structure with Principles and Criteria that examine outcome measures.