Public consultation is now open for new GLOBALG.A.P. Produce Handling Assurance Standard (PHA) 4 June - 2 July 2018

The new GLOBALG.A.P. Produce Handling Assurance Standard (PHA) covers pre-process production steps after the point of harvest for crops including cooling, packing, re-packing, handling, and storage of produce for human consumption. The PHA may not be used to certify products significantly transformed from the original whole state or foods that are processed.

“Public consultation is now open till July 2, 2018”, - explains Claudia Meifert, Team Leader PR & Social Media Department of GLOBALG.A.P.

The GLOBALG.A.P. Produce Handling Assurance Standard:
- Will be available to all qualified produce packing operations meeting the scope definition in the United States, Mexico, Canada, and the Caribbean.
- Will be available to produce handling operations worldwide meeting the scope definition that pack and handle produce in an open-shed environment.
- May be used in conjunction with the IFA Fruit and Vegetable Standard audit to reduce audit redundancy and cost, particularly in cases where a grower is packing their own produce and has previously required two separate audits.
- Incorporates USA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) requirements from both the Produce Safety Rule and the Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule, as appropriate.
- Will aid operations in identifying FSMA requirements that must be addressed at the farm level.
- Enables generation of audit reports non-conformity summaries, corrective action reports and certificates that can be provided to retailers and other value-chain participants as evidence of an operation’s efforts toward FSMA implementation. 

Standard publication and implementation is planned for summer 2018, GLOBALG.A.P. will apply for GFSI recognition for the PHA.

Please contact standard@globalgap.org for more information about this new standard.

One exciting event to visit is GLOBALG.A.P. Summit 2018, which will take place in Lima, Peru from 5-7 November. Program is already available on the website:

- English program
- Spanish program
Early bird for tickets is valid until 31 July 2018.
 

Contact: GLOBALG.A.P., Germany
Claudia Meifert
+49 221 57776 -0
meifert@globalgap.org
www.globalgap.org  
www.summit2018.org