GLOBALG.A.P. Chain of Custody Standard new version 6.1 effective from 1 January 2023

From the new year, CoC certification can only be achieved if all suppliers within a supply chain have certified production processes. More specifically, all parties who handle loose, unpacked products originating from GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes, as well as all parties who pack and label products with a GLOBALG.A.P. identification number or make written claims that a product originates from a GLOBALG.A.P. certified production process, are required to have valid CoC certification.

The new version of Chain of Custody (CoC), version 6.1 will officially come into force as of July 1, 2023. However, the changes, which are clarifications of the interpretation of the control points, can be applied from the beginning of 2023.

The changes mostly affect companies with no agricultural/aquaculture production, who trade, pack, and market products sourced from GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes. The amendments relate to the general regulations on the one hand, and on the other hand the control points and compliance criteria.

The main changes to the general regulations are mainly clarifications of existing requirements. Compared to CoC version 6.0, the changes are:

• Alignment of the vocabulary used in the IFA (Integrated Farm Assurance) standard version 6 and clarification of definitions (subcontractor, mixed products).
• Clarification of the sampling criteria for retail store chains and restaurants.
• Clarification of retail store distribution center requirements. This includes the need for CoC certification for retail store distribution centers when selling merchandise as a GLOBALG.A.P. product to other companies outside the retail store network.
• Clarification of the GLOBALG.A.P. certification requirement for subcontractors. IFA and Produce Handling Assurance (PHA) standard certificates are included as accepted certifications for high-risk subcontractors.
• Regarding fruits and vegetables, the scope definition now includes products that are processed. Processing may be cutting, slicing, dicing, freezing and/or quick freezing (IQF), to the extent that the original product remains visibly recognizable.
• Added new fields in the CoC paper certificate template, including the GLOBALG.A.P. certificate number and a list of high-risk subcontractors.

The main changes affecting control points and compliance criteria compared to CoC version 6.0 are as follows:

• Changes in the structure (the order of some control points).
• Mass balance requirements.
• Communication of new subcontractors to the OCs.
• Use of the GGN label (yellow logo).
• Two new recommendations that address food loss and waste reduction goals. Clarification on the supplier authentication procedure that only the GGN, CoC or PHA number of the direct supplier (i.e. those from whom the company purchases the products) should be included.
• Clarification that the traceability requirement through the identity preservation method and the segregation method are applicable to all types of products.
• Fusion of the requirements related to product labeling in a single control point.
• Clarify checkpoints for retail stores and restaurant chains by creating groups of checkpoints applicable to each area of ​​the retail store or chain restaurant group (for example head office, retail store distribution center, retail store or restaurant).

The CoC standard ensures that any product sold with a GLOBALG.A.P. claim is truly sourced from a GLOBALG.A.P. certified production process. The standard requirements secure the segregation, traceability, and therefore integrity of a product’s GLOBALG.A.P. certification status throughout its lifecycle from farm to consumer. Read more on the GLOBALG.A.P. website .

• Interested in GLOBALG.A.P. certification by Kiwa? Read more on this page.
• The GLOBALG.A.P. Chain of Custody Standard (CoC) version 6.1 is available on the GLOBALG.AP website, a checklist with the changes made will also be published. Documents can be downloaded from this page.