Integrity Report 2019

WELCOME LETTER

Training

Assessment

Brand Integrity

Complaints Management

Customer Support

The Future

ASSESSMENT – CERTIFICATION INTEGRITY

Monitoring Certification Body Performance

Whilst all GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification bodies (CBs) are monitored annually by their own accreditation bodies according to the international rules for product certification (ISO 17065), GLOBALG.A.P. has its own dedicated team of expert assessors responsible for certification integrity.

The Certification Integrity Team monitors and assesses the performance of all GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification bodies in so-called Integrity Assessments. Integrity Assessments ensure that CBs are conducting their audits in line with GLOBALG.A.P. guidelines & procedures, the scheme’s normative documents, and the signed license agreement. This ensures that the same criteria and quality standards have been used on a consistent basis.

Integrity Assessment: How It Works

  1. There are two types of Integrity Assessment: checks at CB offices, and assessments of producer premises which they certify. The offices and producers to be assessed are selected mainly based on risk assessments and follow-up of sanctions or complaints, but there is always a percentage of producer assessments where the sample is selected randomly. In general, CB offices are assessed approximately every 3 years.
  2. After the assessments, reports are reviewed centrally, and CB assessments are classified according to their performance, on a scale of 1─5. For further information on this classification, see here.
  3. Based on the results of one or more assessment reports and in case of failure to demonstrate improvement from previous assessments, the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat forwards the information to the Integrity Surveillance Committee (ISC), which decides on CB sanctions. Made up of industry experts, ISC members are appointed by the Board, but work independently and meet at least twice a year. To ensure an impartial evaluation, the Integrity Assessment reports are anonymized before sending them to the ISC (i.e., they don’t include information regarding the producer name, GGN, country, certification body name, etc.).
  4. After ISC meetings, CBs are informed about their proposed sanctions and are given the opportunity to appeal within 14 days of being notified.

Certification Body Sanctions

Sanctioning steps are not necessarily consecutive. In case of demonstrated fraud or severe breach of normative requirements, the highest sanctions can be applied immediately.

Certification Integrity Team Activities in 2019
(excl. Training*)

In 2019, GLOBALG.A.P. carried out a total of 427 days of Integrity Assessments.

Certification body offices were assessed in 24 countries and producers were assessed in 43 countries.

*For an overview of CB training that took place around the world in 2019, please see here.

Classification of Producer & CB Assessments in 2019​

Class. 5: Good performance: no incidences detected
Class. 4: Acceptable performance
Class. 3: CB needs some improvement
Class. 2: Very poor performance: CB needs major improvement
Class. 1: Unacceptable performance: GLOBALG.A.P. to take immediate action

Integrity Assessment Locations in 2019

In 2019, Integrity Assessments were performed in 43 countries.

Selection of Integrity Assessments at CB Offices in 2019

Selection of Integrity Assessments at Producer Premises in 2019

Evolution of Integrity Assessment Outcomes (2008-2019)

CB Office Assessment Outcomes

Producer Assessment Outcomes

Key Performance Indicators for Certification Bodies

In 2017, a series of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were developed to measure the performance of certification bodies and present the information to the public. The KPIs were developed together with the certification bodies and include not only scores from Integrity Assessments, but also measures for complaint management, Database management, administrative issues, etc.

These criteria are reflected in a 5-star rating system, with 1 star for poorest performance and 5 stars for best performance. The KPIs are published on the GLOBALG.A.P. website and updated on a 6-month basis.