| Term | Definition |
| IFA v6 | The latest version of GLOBALG.A.P.’s flagship standard, Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA). It takes a holistic approach towards the assurance of food safety, environmental sustainability, worker well-being, and animal health and welfare through the following topics: 1. Legal, management, and traceability 2. Production processes 3. Food safety 4. Environmental sustainability 5. Workers’ well-being 6. Animal health and welfare IFA v6 is available in two editions; IFA v6 Smart and IFA v6 GFS. When “IFA v6” is mentioned without specifying an edition, it refers to both editions. |
| approved modified checklist (AMC) | A certification standard using the GLOBALG.A.P. general regulations as the scheme management rules and its own G.A.P. requirements that are recognized by GLOBALG.A.P., after the benchmarking process, as fully conforming with the GLOBALG.A.P. principles and criteria. |
| audit | A process carried out by an auditor to obtain evidence (e.g., records, documents, visual observations, interviews) of whether criteria determined in a checklist have been met, for example, an IFA v6 checklist. |
| Audit Online Hub (AOH) | An IT tool that GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification bodies use to gather and submit audit information. For IFA v6, the use of AOH is mandatory. Certification bodies must submit audit data via AOH before a GLOBALG.A.P. certificate can be generated. |
| auditor | A person who conducts an audit against a checklist. It can be an internal auditor or a CB auditor from a GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification body. |
| benchmarked scheme | A certification scheme using its own scheme management rules and G.A.P. requirements that are benchmarked against the GLOBALG.A.P. ones and are recognized by GLOBALG.A.P., after the benchmarking process, as equivalent to the GLOBALG.A.P. general regulations and the product-specific principles and criteria respectively. |
| Certification Body Administration Tool (CB-AT) | An IT tool for managing auditor qualifications. GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification bodies must register their auditors and their respective qualifications into the system so that the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat can (re-)approve them for auditing duties as appropriate. CB-AT further strengthens the integrity of the GLOBALG.A.P. system. |
| checklist | A list of principles and criteria which are checked during an audit. Each principle and its criteria is assigned a level to determine how important the requirement is (Major Must, Minor Must, or Recommendation). For IFA v6, checklists will be risk-based. |
| continuous improvement plan (CIP) | A plan where producers analyze their current practices and identify areas that can be improved upon by attributing clear goals. Progress should be reviewed annually during the CB audit (as well as the self-assessment or internal audit), and the plan should be revised as needed. A CIP is a Major Must in IFA v6. |
| criteria | Possible ways in which producers can demonstrate a principle on the checklist to be true. Criteria replace compliance criteria from IFA v5 checklists to allow for a more outcome-oriented approach. They are written in “shall” form. |
| edition | Edition refers to the two releases of IFA v6 available: IFA v6 Smart and IFA v6 GFS. |
| external PHU | A place where outsourced product handling activities take place. This place is not managed by the certificate holder, but the relevant processes can be included in the scope of certification. The certificate holder is still the owner of product while it is handled in external PHU and therefore still responsible. 2 scenarios apply. 1. The certificate holder outsources activities to a another certified company, with the same scope of activities. In this scenario the external PHU can be listed on the certificate with reference to the GGN number and the products concerned. Note: the CB shall check if the certificate of the external PHU is valid (and covers the same scope) on the day of certification. 2. the certificate holder outsources activities to another company that is not certified and probably has no GGN. In this scenario, the relevant processes of the external PHU shall be audited and included in the audit report. The external PHU can be included in the certificate and the CB shall state all data (name, address etc. But GGN is not mandatory). |
| farm audit | An audit of whether a farm’s production process fulfills the criteria determined in the IFA v6 checklist. Farm audit was previously called inspection within the context of IFA v5. Farm audits can be carried out internally or by a GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification body. |
| farm auditor | A person who conducts a farm audit (previously called inspector in v5). |
| farm management system (FMS) | A system used to collect on-farm data, used by the producer directly. |
| GLOBALG.A.P. certificate | A formal document stating the result of a successful GLOBALG.A.P. certification. For IFA v6, certificates are issued at scope level only (e.g., plants, aquaculture, and livestock). |
| group certification | The option to apply for GLOBALG.A.P. certification as a group of producers, where a QMS is implemented. The group, as a legal entity, is the certificate holder once certified. |
| guidelines | Documents that provide guidance to producers on how to fulfill the principles and criteria within the IFA v6 checklists. |
| IFA v6 GFS | IFA v6 edition that has been amended to comply with GFSI requirements, for producers who need GFSI recognition. Available for fruit and vegetables, and aquaculture only. |
| IFA v6 Smart | IFA v6 edition that is appropriate for the majority of producers who do not need GFSI recognition. Available for fruit and vegetables, flowers and ornamentals, hops, and aquaculture. |
| individual certification | The option to apply for GLOBALG.A.P. certification as an individual producer/business entity with one or several sites (multisite) with or without a QMS in place functioning as one legal entity. This individual producer/business entity is the certificate holder once certified. |
| level | Classification of principles and criteria as either Major Must, Minor Must, or Recommendation. |
| Main site | The site + address etc that will be presented on the front page of the certificate. This shall be the site where the activities within the scope of certification actually take place. And this is also the visiting address for e.g. an audit. The certificate holder is also stated on the front page of the certificate, but might have another address. E.g. the address according the Chamber of Commerce registration. |
| Option 1 | The certification option for an individual producer with one production site or for an individual producer with several production sites (multisite producer) without or with a quality management system (QMS). The result of a successful audit is one certificate that applies to the production process of the individual producer. |
| Option 2 | The certification option for producer groups. The result of a successful audit is one certificate that applies to the production process of the producer group, not to the individual production processes of the producer group members. |
| Option 3 | Option 1 but for benchmarked schemes. |
| Option 4 | Option 2 but for benchmarked schemes. |
| outcome-oriented approach | IFA v6 approach that focuses on the outcomes achieved rather than the specific measures. The outcome-oriented approach provides greater flexibility as it allows producers to demonstrate compliance in a way that best suits their production practices. |
| principle | A rule that sets the foundation of a GLOBALG.A.P. requirement. Principles are written in statement form and describe the outcome to be achieved. They replace the control points from IFA v5 checklists. |
| produce | An item that is produced on the farm before harvest. Produce falls under the relevant product category. For example, apples are produced under the fruit and vegetables product category. |
| product | An item that is produced on the farm after harvest. Products fall under the relevant product category. For example, apples are a product under the fruit and vegetables product category. |
| product category | Product category is the new term for sub-scope. For example, both fruit and vegetables, and flowers and ornamentals, are product categories of the plants scope. Each product category has a separate checklist of principles and criteria. |
| QMS audit | An audit of the quality management system (QMS) of a producer group or a producer with several production sites (multisite producer) with a QMS, using a QMS checklist. QMS audit was previously called audit within the context of IFA v5. QMS audits can be carried out internally or by a GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification body. |
| QMS auditor | A person who conducts a QMS audit (previously called auditor in v5). |
| risk-based | Within the context of IFA v6, risk-based refers to streamlined audit checklists where non-applicable principles and criteria have been removed as there is no “risk” of non-compliance. |
| scope | Scope refers to the two different primary production sectors that IFA v6 covers: Plants (previously called crops), aquaculture. |
| self-assessment | A pre-CB-audit assessment which a producer must carry out to check whether they comply with enough principles and criteria from a GLOBALG.A.P. checklist to pass a CB audit. Only applicable to Options 1 and 3. |
| smart farm assurance solutions/smart solutions | Refers to GLOBALG.A.P.’s new and updated portfolio of streamlined, connected, and digitalized products and services that will improve the overall GLOBALG.A.P. certification experience: - Smarter standards and add-ons - Smarter systems and services - Smarter approach to sustainability - Smarter integration of data |
| topic | A topic refers to the six subjects/themes that IFA v6 covers (previously called modules): - Legal, management, and traceability - Production processes - Food safety - Environmental sustainability - Workers’ well-being - Animal health and welfare |
| Validation Service | An IT tool to issue and validate GLOBALG.A.P. certificates. For IFA v6, certificates will be issued via Validation Service instead of the GLOBALG.A.P. database. GLOBALG.A.P. certificates for IFA v6 can only be generated in Validation Service if there are corresponding audit data in Audit Online Hub – i.e., the data has been validated. |
| Legacy Process | The process that uses AOH for recording audits and the classic GLOBALG.A.P. Database for certification decisions and issuing certificates. For example, for IFA version 5.2 and 5.4-1-GFS and their Add-ons. |
| Smart Process | The process that AOH for the whole audit process including taking certification decisions, and VS for issuing certificates. For example, for IFA version 6 SMART, version 6-GFS and their Add-ons. |
| Farm Assurance Products (FAP) | All standards/add-ons. |
