TG TRANSITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR GLOBALG.A.P IFA VERSION 5 PRODUCT CERTIFICATION BODIES

Transcription

1 TRANSITIONAL GUIDELINES FOR GLOBALG.A.P IFA VERSION 5 PRODUCT CERTIFICATION BODIES Approved By: Senior Manager: Mpho Phaloane Created By: Field Manager: John Ndalamo Date of Approval: Date of Implementation: SANAS Page 1 of 5

2 CONTENTS 1. Purpose and Scope Definitions and References Background SANAS Transitional Assessments to IFA V Changes to the Schedule of Accreditation Overview of Changes in Requirements... 5 SANAS Page 2 of 5

3 1. Purpose and Scope The purpose of this technical guidance document is to define the process guidelines and SANAS approach for the seamless transition and implementation of GlobalG.A.P. IFA V5. This document applies to all accreditations for all CBs previously accredited to IFA V4. GlobalG.A.P has recently announced the publication of IFA V5 which becomes mandatory from the 1 st July The IFA V5 will completely replace the IFA V4 from the 1 st July This implies that the last day of validity for certificates issued under IFA V4 is 29 June 2017 for all scopes which means that the last day for entering a certification decision for IFA V4 in the GlobalG.A.P database is 30 June The IFA V4 will then expire on the 30 June 2016 and cannot be used for new inspections/audits. SANAS no longer accepts new applications to IFA V4 as from 1 st July The revised IFA V5 introduces significant changes and can be accessed from the GlobalG.A.P website for use in inspections and certifications. 2. Definitions and References SANAS A01 SANAS P 32 SANAS R 03 SANAS R 04 SANAS References, Acronyms and Definitions Transition to new standards Nominated Representative and Signatories: Responsibilities, Qualifications & Approval Conditions for use of Accreditation Symbols, Reference to Accreditation and Combined Marks Relevant communication in reports as per the monthly bulletins 3. Background The second public consultation period of the IFA V5 ended on 5 April 2015 for the GlobalG.A.P. General Regulations and also for the Control Points and Compliance Criteria (CPCC) for Crops and Aquaculture. GlobalG.A.P has recently announced the publication of IFA V5 on the 30 th June 2015 which becomes mandatory from the 1 st July Other documents which have been published, which also become obligatory from the 1 st July 2016 are as follows: General Regulations Part I General requirements General Regulations Crop Rules General Regulations Aquaculture Rules General Regulations Part I Annex 1.4 Definitions General Regulations Part II Quality Management System Rules General Regulations Part III Certification Body and Accreditation Rules IFA CPCC V5 for all Farm Base, Crops Base, Flowers and Ornamentals, Fruit and Vegetables and Aquaculture module. Certification Bodies are to note that Green Coffee will no longer be part of the IFA standard anymore. Instead, it will be included in a new, to-be-released standard called the Crops for Processing Standard. Furthermore, the second public consultation for the Livestock CPCC ended on 1 st July 2015 and publication of the final documents is expected to be September In view of the above publications, the following transitional guidelines shall apply to affected certification bodies. SANAS Page 3 of 5

4 4. SANAS Transitional Assessments to GlobalG.A.P IFA V5 4.1 All affected CBs will be required to submit a transition action plan detailing, as a minimum, the following: All specific actions to be taken to implement the changes, Timeframes for completion of such actions, The persons responsible for the actions, Process in place to monitor progress and completion of the actions, Transition plans are to reach SANAS at least a month before the date of the scheduled annual assessment. The action plan will need to demonstrate an impact analysis of the new standard on the ISO/IEC 17065:2012 system and communication of changes to interested parties, as appropriate 4.2 SANAS transitional assessments will be performed as far as possible with the scheduled annual assessments in order to avoid extra costs for the CB. 4.3 Transitional assessments shall consist of at least an evaluation of the CB s documented system in line with the new IFA V5 and CB s are expected to have done the following: Trained auditors and verified the result to ensure that the relevant level of competence is demonstrated, Communicated with existing clients/producers and shared guidance on the transition arrangements from IFA V4 to IFA V5, Planned the timing of audit/inspections and certification activities for the revised standard, Considered the stated transition period and current certification period and planned the timing of certification decisions for upgrading certification documents, Encouraged current users of IFA V4 and new users to implement IFA V5 at an early stage and arranged audit schedules for existing client organizations. 4.4 The following transitional provisions shall apply for the effective implementation of IFA V5: All assessments scheduled to take place after the October 2015 for accredited CBs will be conducted against IFA V5 requirements; All findings raised against IFA V5 for the entire transitional period shall be handled as nonconformances, where the submission of corrective actions to SANAS will be required. 4.5 All records and documented changes in line with the new standard will be assessed during the scheduled annual visits and records shall demonstrate the following as a minimum: the internal audit and management review findings are aimed at ensuring effective implementation of ISO/IEC 17065:2012 in line with IFA V5; SANAS Page 4 of 5

5 the actions in the CB s established transition plan are adhered to and monitored to ensure timely transition; the necessary changes made to documentation are implemented; and all changes are implemented in all fixed-office locations/branches, where applicable. 5. Changes to the Certificate and Schedule of Accreditation 5.1 Once the CB has demonstrated successful transition and effective implementation of IFA V5 and the decision by the SANAS Approval Committee is for the continuation / maintenance / renewal of accreditation, the Schedule of Accreditation will be adapted to reflect authorization for the CB to certify against IFA V The effective date on the Schedule of Accreditation will be the issue date as reflected. 5.3 It is important to note that the three (3) year assessment cycles will remain unchanged, i.e. a new 3 year cycle will not automatically commence on the date of accreditation to IFA V5. This will only happen in the case of initial and reassessments. 6. Overview of Changes in Requirements 6.1 SANAS is of the view that Technical News was sent to all approved and provisionally approved CBs, Benchmarked Scheme Owners, NTWG hosts and members of Technical Committees and uploaded to the document center of the CB Extranet (Category "Communication Letters"). CBs were also requested by the GlobalG.A.P Secretariat to confirm receipt of the Technical News by clicking on the corresponding box in the CB Extranet. 6.2 GlobalG.A.P has also published a content-wise summary in the General Regulations and in the CPCC F&V V4 versus V5 and these can be accessed using the following directories: For General Comparison of Version 4 and Version 5 ychangesv4vsv5-0gren.pdf For CPCC F&V comparison of Version 4 and Version 5 ychangesv5-0 CPCCAFCBFVen.pdf SANAS Page 5 of 5