COLOGNE, GERMANY – In further efforts to promote food safety in the industry, GLOBALG.A.P. and United Fresh Produce Association have announced that its Harmonized Produce Safety Standard (HPSS) V1.0 has been recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI).
“GLOBALG.A.P. has a long-standing commitment to eliminating duplication of effort and achieving greater harmonization within the industry worldwide,” stated Kristian Moeller, CEO of GLOBALG.A.P. “We are proud to be the first scheme owner to make the industry’s vision of harmonization a reality in the North American marketplace for those seeking a GFSI recognized option.”
The standards were worked on extensively between United Fresh and GLOBALG.A.P., according to a press release, to drive focus on the following harmonization of GAP standards and reduce audit fatigue in order to allow operations to focus on food safety resources to actually achieve food safety, rather than simply passing audits.
“As Secretariat for the Produce GAP HarmonizedStandards, United Fresh Produce Association is thrilled that the Standards have successfully been benchmarked through the GFSI process,” said Tom Stenzel, President & CEO, United Fresh Produce Association. “We commend GLOBALG.A.P. for shepherding the Standard through this important process. ‘One audit by any credible third party, acceptable to all buyers’ was the goal of fresh produce growers and buyers alike in 2009, when the Produce GAPs Harmonization Initiative began. This goal is consistent with GFSI’s objective to ‘reduce food safety risks by delivering equivalence and convergence between effective food safety management systems’. Benchmarking against the GFSI Guidance Document 6 will increase acceptance beyond the extensive list of customers already accepting the audit.”
The HPSS has been benchmarked by the GFSI and achieved recognition against the following:
- GFSI Guidance Document Sixth Edition
- Scope BI – Farming of Plants
- D1 – Pre Processing Handling of Plant Products
The HPSS, according to a press release, is the first GFSI recognized application of the Produce GAP Harmonized Standards. The Harmonized standards cover field operations, harvesting, and post harvest operations, which were developed by a Steering Committee of over 30 major fresh produce buying companies, growers, and trade association staff. These standards are available in English and Spanish, and continuously updated. Most recently, the standards were updated to align with the forthcoming FDA requirements, and will continue to accept public comments until November 21.
The HPSS was developed by the Produce Gap Harmonization Initiative technical working group, which was facilitated by United Fresh. The operations and management was handled by GLOBALG.A.P.
“We look forward to working with GLOBALG.A.P. and others to offer training to support the implementation of this audit scheme,” finished Stenzel.
GLOBALG.A.P. stated that it puts forth its thanks to Quality Certification Services and SCS Global Services for their support in the GFSI application process. CCOF Certification Services, LLC, NSF Food Safety Certification, LLC, Quality Certification Services, and SCS Global Services are all accredited to offer HPSS.
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