GLOBALG.A.P. is a farm assurance scheme for primary production. It covers how agricultural, aquaculture and floriculture products are grown, raised and harvested before they move into processing and retail. Independent certification bodies audit farms against requirements for food safety, environmental protection, worker welfare and animal health and welfare. You may also see the scheme written as “Global GAP” or “GlobalGAP”, although GLOBALG.A.P. is the official styling.
GLOBALG.A.P. began in 1997 as EUREPGAP, an initiative established by European retailers. It was renamed GLOBALG.A.P. in 2007 to reflect its international reach. The scheme reports that it is used in more than 130 countries, covers over 195,000 producers and applies to more than 700 plant and aquatic species.
It covers the scope of GLOBALG.A.P. certification, how certification works, the consumer-facing GGN label and the distinction between GLOBALG.A.P. and GFSI recognition.
What GLOBALG.A.P. covers
The flagship standard is Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA), which applies across several production types:
- Fruit and vegetables
- Flowers and ornamentals
- Aquaculture (fish, crustaceans, molluscs and seaweed)
- Combinable crops
- Plant propagation material
- Tea
- Compound feed manufacturing
IFA addresses food safety, environmental management and biodiversity, workers’ health, safety and welfare, traceability, and, for aquaculture, animal welfare. A separate Chain of Custody standard extends assurance further along the supply chain, covering companies that handle or trade GLOBALG.A.P. certified products without growing them, such as packers, processors and brokers.
A range of optional add-ons can extend a core certification to cover specific topics, including the GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP) for workers’ welfare, and SPRING for responsible water use.
How certification works
Producers are audited annually by an accredited, independent third-party certification body. A successful audit results in certification valid for one year, after which a recertification audit is required to maintain status.
Standards are built from principles and criteria, graded across three levels: Major Must, Minor Must and Recommendation. To achieve certification, a producer must comply with 100% of Major Musts and at least 95% of Minor Musts. Any non-compliances identified during audit must be corrected and verified by the certification body before a certificate is issued.
Every certified producer is assigned a unique 13-digit GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN), which allows buyers and supply chain stakeholders to verify certification status directly through GLOBALG.A.P.’s IT platform.
IFA is available in two editions. IFA v6 Smart offers a more flexible, outcome-oriented approach. IFA v6 GFS is intended for producers whose customers require certification recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative. In practice, the customer’s requirements usually determine which edition a producer uses.
The GGN label
The GGN label is the consumer-facing part of the GLOBALG.A.P. system. It is different from the GLOBALG.A.P. trademark, which is restricted to business-to-business use and cannot appear on consumer packaging. The label can be found on fruit and vegetables, farmed seafood, flowers and plants. Its 13-digit traceability code allows shoppers to view a profile of the producing farm through an online portal.
IFA certification at farm level is one of the requirements for using the GGN label, alongside compliance with the scheme’s traceability and supply chain segregation rules.
GLOBALG.A.P. and GFSI recognition
GLOBALG.A.P. certification does not automatically mean GFSI recognition. It depends on the standard, scope and edition. IFA v6 GFS for fruit and vegetables and IFA v6 GFS for aquaculture are recognised by the Global Food Safety Initiative for specific primary production scopes. IFA v6 Smart should not be treated as a GFSI-recognised route. Do not rely on the GLOBALG.A.P. name alone. Check the exact standard and edition on the certificate before approving a supplier.
For buyers, the key point is that GLOBALG.A.P. applies mainly at farm level. It complements, rather than replaces, certification for processing, packing and manufacturing sites. If GFSI recognition is required, check the exact GLOBALG.A.P. standard and edition shown on the supplier’s certificate.
GLOBALG.A.P. compared to other schemes
GLOBALG.A.P. covers primary production, while schemes such as BRCGS, FSSC 22000 and IFS apply mainly to processing, packing and manufacturing sites. A product may therefore move from a GLOBALG.A.P. certified farm into a separately certified packing or processing facility. Where supplier assurance depends on GFSI recognition or a particular customer standard, buyers should confirm the accepted GLOBALG.A.P. scope and edition rather than assume that certification removes the need for further checks.
GLOBALG.A.P. certification is also distinct from organic certification. The two address different things: organic certification concerns production methods and permitted inputs, while GLOBALG.A.P. addresses food safety, traceability, environmental management and worker welfare. Many producers hold both certifications, since neither is a substitute for the other.
A note on criticism
Like all audit-based certification schemes, GLOBALG.A.P. has faced scrutiny over how far periodic auditing can verify environmental and labour practices on the ground. Research published in Agriculture and Human Values (2025) examining certified smallholder mango farms in Ghana found the scheme has real potential to improve pay, safety and grievance mechanisms, but concluded it “does not necessarily promote decent work” where guidelines and implementation fall short. The scheme has continued to develop its requirements across successive versions, including updates to environmental and social criteria in IFA v6. Certification is best treated as one part of supplier assurance rather than a complete guarantee.
Why this matters for sourcing decisions
For procurement and technical teams sourcing raw or minimally processed agricultural and aquaculture ingredients, GLOBALG.A.P. provides independent assurance at primary production level. This is a stage that many other certification schemes do not directly cover. The GGN number also allows buyers to check certification status through GLOBALG.A.P.’s platform rather than relying only on documents supplied by the seller.
Where GFSI recognition is a specific requirement, it is worth confirming the exact standard and edition a supplier holds, since not all GLOBALG.A.P. certifications carry that recognition.
FAQ
It certifies primary production: farms and aquaculture sites growing, raising or harvesting fruit and vegetables, flowers, aquatic species, combinable crops and other agricultural products, in line with standards covering food safety, environmental management and worker welfare.
Not automatically. Specific editions of GLOBALG.A.P. standards, including IFA v6 GFS for fruit and vegetables and the equivalent edition for aquaculture, have achieved GFSI recognition. Other editions, such as IFA v6 Smart, have not.
The standard is built from general regulations defining the certification process, principles and criteria setting out the requirements, and a checklist used by auditors and producers to assess compliance against those requirements.
A unique 13-digit identification number assigned to every certified producer, used to verify certification status through GLOBALG.A.P.’s IT platform and, where applicable, displayed as part of the consumer-facing GGN label.
Organic certification concerns the methods and inputs used in production. GLOBALG.A.P. addresses food safety, traceability, environmental management and worker welfare. The two are not equivalent, and many producers hold both.
GLOBALG.A.P. is operated by Agraya GmbH, formerly FoodPLUS GmbH, in Cologne, Germany.
Summary
GLOBALG.A.P. gives buyers a way to check independently audited assurance at primary production level. It covers agriculture, aquaculture and floriculture, with annual certification linked to a unique GGN number. Some editions carry GFSI recognition and others do not, so the exact standard and edition should always be checked. It complements certification for later processing and manufacturing stages rather than replacing it.
