Food safety, as well as environmental protection, starts with primary production. GLOBALG.A.P. (formerly Eurepgap) is the globally recognised standard specifically designed for aquaculture.
The products covered by GLOBALG.A.P. include crops, commodities, and foods of animal origin, so the Good Agricultural Practices can be applied both on the crop farm and wherever animals are reared. Within the standard, the aquaculture module is specifically designed to cover the primary production of seafood destined for human consumption.
Consumers are more and more concerned about food safety and quality, as well as with the environmental and social impact of the food production processes. Sustainability is the key word for the primary production development. Most of the European retailers, responding to consumer expectations, ask for sustainable products. It is often a mandatory requirement to enter the supply chain.
What is the standard?
GLOBALG.A.P. was originally developed by a European group of representatives from all parties of the fruit and vegetable sector and then expanded to cover all the primary production, both of vegetal and animal origin. Today it is the globally recognised pre-farm gate standard for ensuring the quality and safety of a final product in the primary production sector as well as sustainability of farming activities.
The new version of the standard Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA), released in 2007, is composed of different modules, including an overall module (all farm based), three main base scopes (crop base, livestock base and aquaculture base) and several specific sub-scopes. The aquaculture sub-scopes available at the moment are salmonids and shrimp. Pangasius and Tilapia aquaculture sub-scopes are currently under development.
The aquaculture scheme covers the whole farming process of the certified product, from when the fish or egg enters the production process to non-processed end-product.
The GLOBALG.A.P. IFA - Aquaculture standard focuses on:
• Farmers’ and consumers’ safety and wellness
• Traceability (of products and production records)
• Minimisation of chemicals and medicinal inputs
• Animal welfare
• Efficient resources utilisation
• Environmental awareness
• Compliance to local and international regulations
The additional Chain of Custody (CoC) scope covers all activities once products are sold off the farm and its legal ownership over the product is taken over by a different party (trading, storing, collecting, transport, and processing to the point of final customer selling to the end-consumer) and consists of a management system with an appropriate combination of segregation and identification to ensure that certified and uncertified fish are not mixed. The objective of GLOBALG.A.P. certification is to cover parts of the verification of Good Practices in the whole production chain; it may link up with other food safety standards such as BRC and IFS to cover the entire supply chain.
Why is certification good for my business?
The consumers’ increasing demand for confidence in safe and sustainable food, the aquaculture’s need to produce affordable food in a sustainable way and the retailers – the direct link to the consumers in the food chain – need for a dependable tool for their suppliers, may represent a basic motivation for certification. Sharing the food production guidelines with growers, food producers and retailers – specifying how food is grown and what has been used to produce it – is an important contribution to the harmonisation needed to achieve clear and transparent processes.
This will give farmers several benefits:
• Better and easier access to the market
• Clear agreements with retailers
• More opportunities for fair competition
• Possible increase in quality and quantity
• Possible reduction of long-term production costs
• More effective management of production processes and legal issues
• Higher commitment for improvement
How can I prepare for certification?
It is important that you and your company are positive, committed, and set clear target dates for implementation and assessment. To prepare for certification you need to become familiar with the GLOBALG.A.P. - Aquaculture standard.
Being familiar with the standard will help you with the following:
• Clear dialogue with the buyers: consultation between farmers and buyers on quality and quantity will facilitate cooperation, and support compliance with specified requirements
• Knowing what knowledge and expertise is required, using the support of experts and consultants when needed
• Planning of production: production operations can be planned in order to comply with the standard requirements
• Management of input: all the inputs to the production processes are evaluated according to the standard requirements
• Management of product on farm: to preserve safety, legality and quality
• Investments in farm: to keep equipment well maintained, manage waste disposal, provide training for employees, maintain a high quality and safe working environment
• Record keeping: a milestone for implementing GLOBALG.A.P and a pre-requisite for traceability