[ TRADE AND MARKETS ] GlobalG.A.P. is expanded to B-2-C standard
Web portal offers information on aquaculture producers GlobalG.A.P. is one of the world’s most important certiďŹ cation standards for food safety. Initially, it acted as a business-to-business standard, attesting that the products of certiďŹ ed suppliers were safe and their production sustainable. In the meantime, however, GlobalG.A.P. is increasingly becoming a business-to-consumer standard. At the end of the 1990s a group of European trading companies took a far-reaching decision. In those days there was a lot of confusion with regard to the different operational standards and audits used by suppliers. Increasing globalisation of trade relations brought more and more goods onto the market for which the basic conditions of their production were unknown and sometimes difficult to understand. The effort required for testing was too much even for large companies. The idea and subsequent joint efforts to create uniform testing procedures and requirement catalogues led to the development of an independent certification system for good agricultural practice (GAP) which, under the name EurepG.A.P., became the recognised standard in the food industry. Soon after, every farm and food producer that wanted to sell their products to well-known retailers anywhere in the world had to comply with the EurepG.A.P. standards for “Good Agricultural Practiceâ€?. The importance of the label increased with the growth of consumer concerns about food safety and health, production-related environmental damage, animal welfare standards, and social concerns within the workplace. More and more food producers and retailers around the 60
Kristian MĂśller, Managing Director GlobalG.A.P. Most consumers today expect certiďŹ ed products to meet high social, ecological and ethical standards.
world joined the organisation, thereby increasing its importance and reach. To better communicate its position as the world’s leading standard the name EurepG.A.P. was changed to GlobalG.A.P.. That was in 2007. Today, GlobalG.A.P. offers more than 40 industry standards and certification programmes for agricultural plant production, animal husbandry and
aquaculture. Certification standards such as LocalG.A.P. and GlobalG.A.P. can be “tailored� via add-ons for specific applications. In the meantime, more than 188,000 manufacturers in over 125 countries are certified to such standards. More and more retailers today demand valid GlobalG.A.P. certification before they add new products to their range.
Online database enables direct veriďŹ cation of certiďŹ cates GlobalG.A.P. works with more than 2,000 inspectors and auditors from 155 accredited certification bodies who carry out independent audits of producers. At the heart of the GlobalG.A.P. concept is an internet-based database that allows customers to check each
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