Last year, GlobalGAP introduced the revised Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard version 6. The number of changes and new criteria in this version is higher than in the past version updates, and the GlobalGAP team, therefore, developed a transition tool that will help the grower understand this new standard, which will be obligatory from the beginning of this month.
Juan Carlos Isaza at the IPM Essen 2023.
IFA standard for the floriculture industry
The reason for the higher amount of changes and new criteria is that they want a standard that is fully dedicated to the floriculture industry and, therefore, covers all the topics that are hot and essential in this sector. Juan Carlos Isaza, GlobalGAP's Team Leader Standards & Technical - Senior Technical Expert Floriculture: GlobalGAP is very strong in the fruit and vegetable sector, and the first version of the IFA was made for this sector. Later, we introduced The flowers and ornamentals standard sector, was introduced later and was based on gradually changing and adjusting the IFA standard to tailor this sector's needs. In this new version, there are more changes than in the previous updates. We, for example, took away 40 principles less that did not really fit the flowers and ornamentals standard. Also, we changed the wording and added new principles and criteria. It now takes a new approach, in which more rigorous sustainability requirements on greenhouse gases, ecosystem restoration, food waste, and more, are introduced as well as moving towards streamlined, customized checklists that reduce duplication and simplify the audit process at farm level."
Translation tool
To support the growers in a smooth transition, a translation tool has been developed and was introduced last month. "The main objective of this tool is to support producers in effectively transitioning their existing Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) version 5.2 programs to the latest IFA v6. It achieves this by mapping the requirements of both versions, thereby facilitating the identification of areas of improvement throughout the transition process. So, with this tool, growers who are already certified can easily see what has changed, which documents they can keep, and which new documents are needed. It is not a mandatory document, but a guiding document."
Click here for the translation tool.
Positive reactions so far
According to Isaza, the reactions so far are positive. "We already launched the translation tool for the fruit and vegetable growers earlier last year and they were very positive with the way it supports them, getting ready for the revised version.
A certification body can help
A grower does not have to compare the versions alone; a certification body can help, too. "They can offer a service to the grower where they inform the grower about the changes and which documents are still needed to comply with the v6 standard."
IPM Essen
Still have any questions regarding the IFA Standard or on any of the other certifications of GlobalGAP? The company will be exhibiting at the IPM Essen in Germany from January 23-26.
For more information: 
GlobalGAP
info@globalgap.org
www.globalgap.org