GRASP is an add-on to GLOBALG.A.P.’s flagship standard, Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA), that evaluates workers’ health, safety, and welfare at farm level. The newest versions of these standards – IFA v6 and GRASP v2 – are now available for audit. With this combined solution, producers can achieve recognition for both good agricultural practices and social responsibility through a single audit. IFA plus GRASP is a cost-efficient approach for producers to improve responsible social practices and enhance transparency while also providing assurance to retailers.
While IFA criteria cover workers’ health and safety, GRASP additionally covers four key social responsibility topics: Workers’ voice, human and labor rights information, human and labor rights indicators, and child and young worker protection. The newly published U.S. National Interpretation Guideline for GRASP v2 provides alignment within the U.S. legal framework and details specific requirements, clarifications, and best practices for GRASP implementation. This national-level application is particularly important within the context of GRASP, as legal labor requirements such as minimum wage, legal minimum age of employment, and working hours differ from country to country.
“With growing interest in socially responsible practices at farm level, and concerns about increasing audit burden on producers, the efficient GRASP add-on to IFA is gaining attention in this market,” said Roberta Anderson, President of GLOBALG.A.P. North America. U.S. retailers are taking steps such as participating in the Ethical Charter Implementation Program (ECIP) to engage their produce and floral supply chains. IFA plus GRASP is formally benchmarked for ECIP, enabling producers to demonstrate compliance with Ethical Charter principles through an independent third-party audit. Fresh fruit, vegetable and floral producers with GLOBALG.A.P. certified production processes receive a free subscription to ECIP LAB, including its learning resources, templates, and tools.
GLOBALG.A.P.’s U.S. National Technical Working Group (NTWG) – consisting of GLOBALG.A.P. Community Members, qualified experts, and relevant stakeholders including retailers, certification body representatives, and other supply chain actors – was deeply involved bringing this solution to market. Walter Ram from Giumarra, Chairperson of the U.S. NTWG, expressed that “The U.S. NTWG contributed U.S. agriculture perspectives during the development process of GRASP v2, and we were pleased to see that the result was appropriate for our industry. We then developed the national interpretation guideline to support auditors and producers in understanding how GRASP requirements intersect with our laws and regulations. Now, IFA v6 plus GRASP v2 is fit-for-purpose for farms in the U.S.”.
GLOBALG.A.P. North America will be featuring trainings, webinars, and resources throughout 2025 to support the adoption of IFA v6 and the GRASP v2 add-on.
GLOBALG.A.P. is a brand of smart farm assurance solutions developed by FoodPLUS GmbH in Cologne, Germany, with cooperation from producers, retailers, and other stakeholders from across the food industry. These solutions include a range of standards for safe, socially and environmentally responsible farming practices. The most widely used GLOBALG.A.P. standard is Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA), applicable to fruit and vegetables, aquaculture, floriculture, and more. This standard also forms the basis for the GGN label: The consumer label for certified, responsible farming and transparency.
The GLOBALG.A.P. brand began its journey as EUREPGAP in 1997. 25 years later, almost 200,000 producers have GLOBALG.A.P. certification in 137 countries. Nearly 150 team members around the world are dedicated to the mission of spreading responsible farming practices to ensure safe food for future generations.
GLOBALG.A.P. North America, Inc., is a subsidiary company dedicated to serving the needs of the U.S. and Canada markets. Learn more at www.globalgap.org.
