Brief Introduction Standard Inspection Program
1. What is EurepGAP:
Briefly
speaking, EurepGAP represents a set of standards and procedures which
has been developed by the “Euro-Retailer Produce Working
Group” (EUREP) and farmer representatives for the
certification of Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) worldwide.
The
standard’s focus is directed on risk analysis and risk prevention
for the purpose of food safety, traceability, workers health and
welfare, environmental pollution and conservation management.
It
covers exclusively the on farm production and handling facilities. Food
processing or even external packing operations are not included in the
standard’s scope.
At the moment specific standards have been developed for the production of
• Fresh fruit and vegetables
• Flowers and ornamentals
• Crops in general and livestock (covered by a set of standards within the “Integrated Farm Assurance”)
• Salmon (covered within the “Integrated Aquaculture Assurance”)
• Green Coffee
being fresh fruit and vegetables the most frequently demanded scope for the moment.
All the above mentioned standards and some additional information can be downloaded from the following website: www.eurep.org
2. Why has EurepGAP been developed?
A
growing consumer and retailer concern about pesticide residue problems
in food made food safety a global issue transcending national borders.
Consumers throughout the world are asking, how food is produced and
need to be re-assured that production is both safe and sustainable.
Many
EurepGAP members are global players in the retail industry and obtain
food products from around the world. Therefore the need for a commonly
recognised reference standard of Good Agricultural Practices has arisen
in order to meet this goal - without every single retailer carrying out
his own audits on each supplier's farm.
3. Why should you get certified for EurepGAP?
There
might be a very simple and obvious reason: Your customer may put the
EurepGAP certification as a requirement for further purchase and you
would enter into the procedure as a kind of “inevitable
reaction” to this requirement.
But
you may also take the possibility of a EurepGAP certification as a
means to demonstrate your commitment to produce safe food in a
sustainable manner, even before your customers require it from you. By
being proactive in this way you may raise your customers' confidence in
your products in a business environment, which is constantly growing
more and more competitive.
4. Technical requirements
In
the following a brief summary of the main technical requirements of the
EurepGAP Protocol for the production of fresh fruit and vegetables is
presented:
4.1 Traceability: Products have to be traceable back to and from the farm.
4.2 Internal Self-Inspection: The farmer has to undertake at least one self-inspection per year against the EurepGAP standard.
4.3 Varieties and Rootstocks: Seeds
and rootstock treatments have to be recorded and quality control
systems must have been applied to internally produced or externally
purchased propagation material.
The planting of GMOs must comply with the applicable legislation of the country of production
4.4 Site History and Site Management:
The suitability of new production sites has to be verified and an
identification system for each field or greenhouse must be implemented.
4.5 Soil and Substrate Management: Soil and substrate fumigation has to be justified and recorded. Erosion control techniques have to be in place.
4.6 Fertiliser use:
Fertiliser application has to be recorded. Fertiliser storage and
machinery have to be kept in good conditions and no human sewage sludge
must be used.
4.7 Irrigation:
No untreated sewage water may be used for irrigation. Irrigation
methods should take into consideration sustainability of the water
sources and the quality of the water.
4.8 Crop Protection:
• Integrated pest management has to be used.
• Chemicals
have to be selected by trained personnel and meet the legal
requirements of the country of production as well as the country of
destination.
• Application
records have to cover many details, such as location, date, product
name and active ingredient, preharvest interval, etc.
• Application equipment and pesticide storage have to be kept in good condition.
Awareness about the Maximum Residue Levels in the countries of
destination has to be proven and yearly residue testing is compulsory.
• Safe disposal of empty pesticide containers and obsolete pesticides must be assured.
4.9 Harvesting:
Hygiene risks must be assessed, and basic hygiene measures have to be
implemented (including access to clean hand washing equipment).
4.10 Produce handling:
• Workers must have received basic instructions about hygiene management.
• Washing water must be suitable (potable).
• Post
harvest treatments must meet the legal requirements of the country of
destination. Application records have to be kept.
• Handling facilities and storage must be kept in clean and safe conditions.
4.11 Waste and pollution management: Sources of pollution should be identified and appropriate actions have to be taken in case of necessity.
4.12 Worker health, safety and welfare:
Workers, who handle dangerous equipment or chemicals, have to be
trained properly for this purpose. First aid equipment and
suitable protective clothing must be provided.
On farm housing must be appropriate and provide basic services.
4.13 Environmental issues:
The environmental impact of the farming activities should be assessed
and appropriate actions have to be taken in case of necessity.
4.14 Complaint form:
A complaint form and procedure must be implemented in order to assure
that EurepGAP related complaints are adequately recorded, studied and
followed up.
Beside
these technical requirements, which can be studied in detail in the
document “EurepGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria
for Fruit and Vegetables”, other important issues like a
general description of the certification process, compliance levels and
options for EurepGAP certification, sanctions, etc. can be found in the
document “EurepGAP General Regulations Fruit and Vegetable”.
All these documents and a lot more additional information is accessible on the above mentioned website: www.eurep.org
Please
be aware that this is only a selection of essential requirements of the
EurepGAP protocol, meant as an introduction. The operator, of
course, has to learn about and meet all requirements of the respective standard.
Attention: In our Document Counter you will find further introducing information under the pdf-file "Steps to Follow EurepGAP Certification ".
according
to EurepGAP Protocol
As a minimum, the inspection of will cover the
following aspects:
No
|
Issue
|
|
1
|
Review of the farmers self evaluation
report and the implementation of the corretive actions
|
|
2
|
Inspection visit to all
fields, or, in case of farms with a large number of small plots, to a
representative sample of fields
|
|
3
|
Inspection visit to stables, storage
rooms, on farm processing units, and other farm
buildings
|
|
4
|
Records:
•
Maps or drawings of all plots, including
farm buildings
•
Invoices for purchase of seeds,
fertilisers, crop protection products, and other relevant farm
inputs
•
Records on all farming activities (fertilisation,
pest control, handling of hazardous substances, irrigation, harvest, field
workers training on security aspects and hygiene, etc.)
•
Storage book and/or processing and/or
packing protocol (if relevant)
•
Book keeping on all sales of farming
products.
|
|
5
|
Labelling,
traceability
|
|
6
|
Post harvest separation from
non-certified products
|
|
7
|
Postharvest sources of
pollution
|
Please
be aware, that these are the minimum requirements. If necessary, additional issues will
have to be included in the inspection schedule!
