As an Associate Community Member and Registered Trainer Organization of GLOBALG.A.P., CCOF is teamworking with GLOBALG.A.P. on offering various courses GLOBALG.A.P. courses this spring and summer. These include, among others: a full review of the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA GFS v6 standard, as well as a full review of the GFSI Recognized GLOBALG.A.P. Post-Harvest Facility Food Safety Certification: Produce Handling Assurance (PHA v1.2). A few courses will be offered that specifically look at the differences between commonly utilized GAP standards explicitly focused on food safety and the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6 standard, which also embraces environmental sustainability requirements as well as worker safety and welfare aspects.
Fresh produce retailers and brokers are increasingly expecting verified focus on environmental sustainability and responsible labor practices from their suppliers. An NOP Certification along with a GAP food safety certification can get producers a large part of the way to fulfilling current requirements. However, when the markets require additional Ag sustainability and responsible labor practice verification, the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA certification is a common way to satisfy these types of requirements.
A new version of GLOBALG.A.P. IFA is in the process of being implemented this year: IFA v6. This new IFA version will become mandatory in 2024. As such, there is presently additional demand for training courses that support currently GLOBALG.A.P. IFA certified producers as well as those new to the standard in the implementation of GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6.
To learn more about the GLOBALG.A.P. Registered Trainer Program see: https://www.globalgap.org/uk_en/what-we-do/the-gg-system/registered-trainer-program/training/
CCOF Academy is offering the following courses this spring and summer:
Trainer: Astrid Goplen – GLOBALG.A.P. Registered Trainer
May 8-11, 2023. Duration 16 hours.
GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA Plants) v6 GFS FV –Full Review
Virtual Course. Fee: $450
June 6-7, 2023, Duration 12 hours.
GLOBALG.A.P. Produce Handling Assurance (PHA) v1.2
GFSI Benchmarked Standard for Produce Packing Operations. -Full Review
Virtual Course. Fee: $350
August 2-4, 2023: Duration 16 hours.
GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA Plants) v6 GFS FV –Full Review
Virtual Course. Fee: $450
More detailed information on these courses can be found on the GLOBALG.A.P. Academy website:
https://registeredtrainer.onlineacademy.globalgap.org/catalog
To register for these courses and for fee payment (via CC) please submit your contact information and choice of course(s) to the following email: Current.GAP.Training@gmail.com
Additional CCOF Academy Courses via Evansfield Group:
Lead Trainer: Astrid Goplen – GLOBALG.A.P. Registered Trainer
Fresh produce retailers and brokers are increasingly expecting verified focus on environmental sustainability and responsible labor practices from their suppliers. Fresh produce producers are in turn assessing their current GAP practices and 3rd party certifications and evaluating how to best pull ahead to accommodate the new requirements.
GLOBALG.A.P. IFA FV is best known as a GFSI recognized food safety standard. However, given its comprehensive coverage, it is also widely recognized by retailers nationally and internationally as satisfying environmental sustainability requirements as well as worker safety and welfare requirements. As an example, by 2025 Walmart U.S. has publicly committed to sourcing 100% of fresh produce sold in their stores from suppliers that adopt integrated pest management practices (IPM) verified by third party. GLOBALG.A.P. IFA FV is one of just a handful of third-party certification standards accepted by Walmart for verifying IPM and pollinator health protection.
The following courses are currently scheduled by CCOF via Evansfield Group:
July 12-13, 2023: 8 am– 4 pm PDT (16 hours):
PGFS & GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6:
A Deep Dive into Differences and Similarities PGFS vs GG IFA v6 GFS:
Virtual course. Fee: $450
In order to aid the producers in their quest to take their certification programs to the next level the Evansfield Group has developed a course -based on demand- specifically focused on the changes fresh produce producers need to facilitate in order to gain GLOBALG.A.P. IFA certifications if they have so far utilized other common certification programs strictly focused on food safety. In this course we specifically address differences and similarities between PGFS and GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6 GFS.
July 14, 2023: 8 am – 4 pm (8 hours):
UDSA Harmonized Plus, GLOBALG.A.P. HPSS & GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6:
A Review of Differences and Similarities USDA Harmonized Plus, GG HPSS and GG IFA v6:
Virtual course. Fee: $275
USDA Harmonized GAP Plus is categorized as technical equivalent to GFSI requirements. However, USDA Harmonized GAP Plus is not actually GFSI recognized. Some producers are looking at utilizing GLOBALG.A.P. Harmonized Produce Safety Standard (HPSS) as an alternative in order to attain certification against a fully GFSI recognized standard which is preferred by some major. HPSS is fully GFSI recognized with requirements very similar to those of USDA Harmonized GAP Plus.
In this course we will review the differences both between USDA Harmonized Plus and GLOBALG.A.P. HPSS. We will also review what a producer will need to focus on if they want to make the leap from a food-safety only harmonized standard (USDA or HPSS) to a more comprehensive GLOBALG.A.P. IFA v6 certification.
3-day course attendance discount:
Sign up for both courses (July 12-14) – 24 hour duration: Fee $625
To register for these courses and for fee payment process information please submit your contact information and choice of course(s) to the following email: Traceyvanfield@evansfieldgroup.com
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This blog was written by Astrid Goplen