GLOBALG.A.P. North America Publishes New Environmental Monitoring Program Topic Guideline; Kellie Worrell and Humberto Maldanado Detail

PORTLAND, OR - Food safety remains a topic of industry conversation, and GLOBALG.A.P. North America (GGNA) is helping growers get a leg up in this arena GGNA recently published the Environmental Monitoring Program (EMP) Topic Guideline authored by the GLOBALG.A.P. U.S. National Technical Working Group (NTWG) as part of their U.S. NTWG Topic Guidelines series. This voluntary guidance resource for U.S. producers not only helps growers determine whether an EMP is appropriate for their postharvest operations, but how to build one around their individual level of risk.

Rather than prescribing the same EMP for every operation, the guideline walks operations through a structured risk assessment. This includes a decision tree, guidance on what and where to test, and practical frameworks for interpreting results, taking corrective action, and documenting the process.

“The risk assessment asks about the commodity, the handling environment, such as wet or refrigerated, if water contacts the product, and whether regulatory or buyer requirements apply. The intention is that operations will have a documented rationale for their sampling, target, and frequency decisions,” explains Kellie Worrell, Certification Manager, Eagle Certification Group and NTWG member.

“The guideline describes hygienic zones, hazard identification, and risk levels, so that the EMP is proportional to the actual contamination risk in that specific handling operation rather than generic. For example, a simple dry-pack operation ends up with a leaner, targeted program and a complex wet-pack operation with cold storage gets a more intensive one.”

As Kellie goes on to explain, a defensible EMP demonstrates proactive food safety management. A documented EMP with a corrective action protocol supports operations not only in audits, but also during investigations or a recall.

“GLOBALG.A.P. standards are developed with extensive input from producers, supply chain operations and retailers through technical working groups, reflecting real operational conditions rather than theoretical requirements,” adds Humberto Maldanado, Director of Safety and Compliance, Organically Grown Company and NTWG member. “The standards are practical for operations and meant to support operational efficiencies, not only check the box compliance. The guidelines provide practical explanations and examples to help U.S. producers understand the why and how behind relevant GLOBALG.A.P. principles and criteria, and help close the gap between the requirement and implementation, to support an operations’ learning and continuous improvement.”

“One underappreciated point is that the EMP guideline's value extends beyond annual certification,” Kellie notes. “It gives operations a continuous improvement framework. Results trend over time, and a well-maintained EMP becomes institutional knowledge about a facility's contamination profile. That knowledge is valuable.”

GGNA has been expanding its technical support by offering resources like these guidelines authored by the US NTWG, a cross-sector collaboration of leading food safety and sustainability professionals. With the IFPA Global Produce and Floral Show approaching, the guideline gives growers and packers a practical way to evaluate their current approach before meeting with customers, certification bodies, and food safety partners.

The U.S. NTWG Topic Guidelines are non-normative guidance documents developed to help U.S. producers understand and implement relevant GLOBALG.A.P. requirements and do not introduce additional certification requirements.

As the industry continues to elevate its food safety standards and enhance its operations around that goal, AndNowUKnow will continue to report on the trailblazers pushing the needle forward.