GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP)

Transcription

1 GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP) GRASP General Regulations V 1.1 Valid from: Mandatory from: English Version

2 GRASP General Regulations 1. THE GRASP MODULE WITHIN THE GLOBALG.A.P. SYSTEM 3 2. GRASP DOCUMENTS/TOOLS GRASP General Regulations GRASP Module - Control Points and Compliance Criteria GRASP Checklist GRASP Implementation Guideline GRASP National Interpretation Guidelines 5 3. DEFINITION OF TERMS 6 4. GRASP AUDITOR/INSPECTOR QUALIFICATION 6 5. GRASP ASSESSMENTS OF PRODUCER GROUPS (OPTION 2) 7 6. PRODUCE HANDLING 7 7. INTEGRITY PROGRAM 8 8. DECISION MAKING/GOVERNANCE 9 ANNEX I: PROCEDURES FOR THE APPROVAL OF GRASP NATIONAL INTERPRETATION GUIDELINES 10 ANNEX II: DATA USE 12 ANNEX III: TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE AUTHORIZED ACCESS TO THE GRASP RESULTS 13 GRASP General Regulations 2

3 1. The GRASP Module within the GLOBALG.A.P. System The abbreviation GRASP stands for GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice. It is a voluntary module, consisting of 13 control points and compliance criteria. The GRASP Module focuses on the review of basic indicators of potential social risks on farms. GRASP is applied to assess the social situation in primary production. GRASP can only be implemented if a National Interpretation Guideline exists for the respective country. It helps farmers to address important social issues and build awareness at farm level. The GRASP Tools were developed in a public private partnership project between 2005 and 2010, involving various field trials and stakeholder consultations worldwide. Any producer (see definition of this term in 2.5) of primary agricultural products, whose production processes are certified against the GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard and/or the Plant Propagation Material (PPM) standard may apply for a GRASP Assessment through a GLOBALG.A.P. approved Certification Body. GRASP cannot be a standalone module, as it relies on and complements the Worker Health and Safety chapter of the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA standard or the Plant Propagation Material standard. However, if produce handling is included in the GLOBALG.A.P. Certification, GRASP is also applicable for the employees working in the produce handling facilities. GRASP does not fall under the ISO 65 accredited certification. The results of the GRASP Assessment will only be displayed in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database if there is a valid GLOBALG.A.P. IFA or PPM certificate. The results of the GRASP Assessment are only visible to database users that have the assigned user rights and that have signed the respective Terms of Reference with the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. GRASP Assessments can only be carried out by those GLOBALG.A.P. approved auditors and GRASP General Regulations 3

4 inspectors registered by an ISO 65 accredited Certification Body with GLOBALG.A.P. scope who have followed the specific training program for GRASP (see point 4). 2. GRASP Documents/Tools GRASP consists of a set of documents, which includes the: GRASP General Regulations GRASP Module (Control Points and Compliance Criteria) GRASP Checklist GRASP Implementation Guideline and GRASP National Interpretation Guidelines. The GRASP toolset provides information for the implementation and assessment of basic social criteria on those farms on which the GLOBALG.A.P. Standard has been implemented. Find below a description of the documents and their purpose of use. 2.1 GRASP General Regulations The General Regulations describe the basic steps and considerations relevant for the applicant producer to implement the GRASP Module, as well as the roles of and relationships between the producers, GLOBALG.A.P. and the Certification Bodies (CBs). 2.2 GRASP Module - Control Points and Compliance Criteria The GRASP Module is composed of Control Points and Compliance Criteria (CPCC) that shall be followed by the producer. As the GRASP Module is a voluntary module, there is no passing or failing the Module - only the level of compliance per control point is indicated in the GRASP Checklist. 2.3 GRASP Checklist Assessment and compliance to the GRASP Module is voluntary. However, a GRASP Assessment becomes only valid if the completed GRASP Checklist has been uploaded to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database and if the producer has a valid GLOBALG.A.P. IFA or PPM certification. During the assessment, the Control Points and Compliance Criteria serve as a headline. The assessment procedure follows the sub-control points listed in the GRASP Checklist and their proposed means of assessment. After assessing each sub-control point, a 5- level-rating gives a picture on the producers compliance to the control point. There is no mathematical correlation between the sub-points and the overall judgement on the control point. There is an overall rating for compliance for each Control Point: - Fully compliant; - Compliant, but some improvements needed; - Not compliant, but some step taken; - Not compliant; - Not applicable In cases of exception where a control point is not applicable, a clear written justification must be given under comments (i.e. for CPCC 9 when no children of employees are living on the farm). GRASP can become not applicable as a whole if the producer does not employ any workers (i.e. a family farm with no employees at any time of the year). During the assessment of the GRASP Module, all control points shall be assessed, all results GRASP General Regulations 4

5 documented by the approved auditor/inspector in the GRASP checklist and uploaded to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database. Data use rules are prescribed in Annex II. At the end of the assessment, non-compliances per control point shall be promptly brought to the applicantʼs attention in writing. This is a provisional report that can always be rectified afterwards if needed by the CB. The producer then has 28 days (or less as agreed by the producer and CB) from date of inspection/audit to rectify with corrective actions before the final assessment results are uploaded to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database. The CB shall upload the GRASP Checklist to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database within a maximum of 28 calendar days after closure of any outstanding non-compliances. It is recommended to give evidence (comments) for all control points assessed in all external and internal assessments. Comments and evidence, such as which document(s) were sampled etc., shall be site-specific and included in the checklist, showing that all the control points have been properly assessed. After the upload of the checklist to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database, the CB issues a proof of assessment to the producer. This proof of assessment is generated through the GLOBALG.A.P. Database. If the CB issues a proof of assessment that is not generated through the GLOBALG.A.P. Database, it must conform completely to the template in Annex III. The paper proof of assessment may only be issued based on the information available at that time in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database for that unique GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN). In case of Option 2, this proof of assessment also lists all members of the producer group. 2.4 GRASP Implementation Guideline The GRASP Implementation Guideline provides guidance for producers and producer group managers. The Implementation Guideline is not a normative, but a supportive document with examples and ideas on how to implement the GRASP Module. It explains how a social management system according to the GRASP Module can be established, and gives examples and recommendations on implementation steps. This document is a generic supporting document, addressing different kinds of producer settings. Template documents will likely have to be adjusted according to the specific situation on the farm and the legal requirements of the country. 2.5 GRASP National Interpretation Guidelines GRASP can be used only in a country where a GLOBALG.A.P.-approved National Interpretation Guideline exists. Any exception to that rule must be agreed by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. The GRASP National Interpretation Guideline provides guidance to producers and assessors on the respective legal framework of the country/region. The development of a GRASP National Interpretation Guideline must be backed by a local stakeholder consultation and other existing local structures as the GLOBALG.A.P. National Technical Working Groups, in order to ensure transparency, its proper elaboration (and/or adaptation if necessary) and correct interpretation of the respective national legislation. It is important that the group developing the National Interpretation Guideline represents the main local stakeholders concerned, such as: producer organizations, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Agriculture, labor unions, NGOs, etc. The GRASP Technical Committee finally approves the National Interpretation Guideline. The GRASP National Interpretations must be revised at least every 4 (four) years, or whenever necessary, by the GLOBALG.A.P. NTWG or by the responsible group (e.g. in case of changes in the national legislation of the country). More detail on the process of the development of GRASP National Interpretation Guidelines is provided in Annex I. GRASP General Regulations 5

6 3. Definition of Terms For the application of the GRASP Module, the terms below are defined as follows. These definitions apply to this and all other GRASP-related documents: Producer: A person (individual) or business (individual or producer group) with a registered legal entity owning the production, relevant to the scope of GRASP (certified to a GLOBALG.A.P. Standard), who has the legal responsibility for the products sold by that farming business. A GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN), as specified in the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA General Regulations V4.0 Part I Pt. 8.3, identifies each producer. A producer can apply for GRASP together with the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA audit following the application procedure set in the GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations V4.0 Part I. Farm Management: The term farm management is used as being the one who is operationally responsible for the production and employees. The producer might employ the farm manager - in that case the person will also be treated as a normal employee. Employee: An employee is remunerated for the agricultural production services and/or production-related services (e.g. staff preparing meals for employees) he/she provides to a producer. This includes permanent, casual and seasonal workers as well as apprentices and subcontractors (hired labor) that are handling the product. It may exclude the core family members of the producer. In the case a producer has no employees during any time of the year, he has to provide an according self-declaration and GRASP becomes not applicable. Core family members: Core family members are defined as those relatives who are related in direct line to the producer (this does not apply for employed farm managers) and live in the same household as the producer. It may include parents, spouses, brothers/sisters and children, but does not include uncles, cousins or other relatives. Employees Representative: An employees representation facilitates the dialogue among the employees, but also between the employees and the management. Problems on the farm can easily be addressed, discussed and solved. Furthermore, the employees council or representative(s) can act as mediator in case of conflicts. Agreements with the employees representation will generally be well accepted within the workforce, as the representative(s) of the employees have negotiated the terms. Further clarifications can be found in the GRASP Implementation Guideline. 4. GRASP Auditor/Inspector Qualification Only approved GLOBALG.A.P. auditors and inspectors, who are working for a GLOBALG.A.P. approved and accredited CB, can assess the GRASP Module. In order to be approved for GRASP Assessments, auditors and inspectors need to have completed and passed the GLOBALG.A.P. and GRASP online training and test and have participated in a one-day GRASP Assessor training course provided by GLOBALG.A.P. Auditors and inspectors who have passed the one-day assessor training and not the online training or vice-versa, will receive the status provisionally approved. Within 6 months, they need to have completed both or they will lose the provisionally approved status and have to repeat the training. Furthermore, the auditor/inspector need to have an in-depth knowledge on the GRASP National Interpretation Guideline and the current national legislation of the respective country where he carries out a GRASP Assessment. Qualification and approval is per auditor/inspector not per Certification Body. Certification Bodies that have GRASP approved auditors/inspectors are listed on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website and the approved auditors/inspectors will be able to upload GRASP Checklists to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database. See: GLOBALG.A.P. IFA V4.0 GR, Part II, Appendix II.1: Internal Auditor and Inspector Qualifications and Responsibilities. GRASP General Regulations 6

7 5. GRASP Assessments of Producer Groups (Option 2) A producer group is a group of producers as defined in the GLOBALG.A.P. IFA V4.0 General Regulations Part II. All members of this producer group must be included in the internal quality management system (QMS) of the group. In order to simplify the introduction of GRASP, subgroups can be formed. All producer group members registered under one GGN shall be included in the GRASP Assessment within a maximum time frame of three years. The group must have a legal structure, contracts with each producer stating entry and exit requirements, stipulated suspensions, and agreement to comply with GRASP requirements for registered members. A list of all members of the producer group with the relevant registration status must be available. The producer group must have a management representative with ultimate responsibility. Only GLOBALG.A.P. IFA option 2 certified farmer groups could be assessed for GRASP as a group. A minimum of one internal inspection per annum of each registered producer within the producer group must be carried out by qualified internal producer group inspectors or subcontracted to an external verification body, different from the certification body responsible for the external inspections of the group. During the internal inspection, the internal inspector shall follow the basic principles for inspection following the ISO 65 requirements (i.e. sampling of records to achieve evidence of compliance). The results of the internal assessments shall be kept and summarized in the GRASP Internal Checklist for Producer Groups. NOTE: A GRASP self-assessment by each member of the group is only required if it is an internal requirement by the group, but it is not a GLOBALG.A.P. requirement. If a producer has no employees he/she has to state that in a self-declaration and GRASP becomes not applicable for him/her as a whole. In case that this producer forms part of a producer group, he must be included in the internal quality management system of the group assuring that in the case the producer employs someone, GRASP is implemented. The annual external assessment carried out by a CB checks on the functioning of the QMS (i.e. have all group members been internally assessed?) and conducts an external assessment with a sample (square root) of producer members registered for GRASP. The auditor/inspector shall assess the level of the implementation of the internal quality management system as described in Control Point PG1 in the GRASP CPCCs and check the plausibility of the internal inspection results. The GRASP result of the producer group is formed of the summary of the results from the internal inspections and the result of the PG1 question on the effectiveness of the quality management system. The resulting group checklist is then uploaded to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database and visible to all users with the assigned role: GRASP Observer. If the external assessment of the sample of producer group members reveals major differences between the results of the internal and external inspection, this must be mentioned in the checklist and the GRASP status of the producer group shall be set to Implausible in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database. Major differences would be any deviation indicating that there is a serious fraud in the internal inspection results. I.e.: The internal assessment results of a producer for question 1 states that the producer is fully compliant whilst the external inspection shows that only some steps are taken. If the CB detects such cases the producer group as a whole will be granted the status Implausible. In this case, the producer group needs to be re-assessed after a time frame of 3 months in order to lift the status if corrective actions have been taken. GRASP in Producer Groups (Option 2) 1. Internal Inspections: Use the GRASP Internal Checklist for Producer Groups to internally inspect all producer group members registered for GRASP. Keep the records of these inspections. Aggregate the results of the internal inspections in the GRASP Internal Checklist for Producer Groups, which can be downloaded from the GLOBALG.A.P. Website. GRASP General Regulations 7

8 2. External Inspections and Audit: Use the GRASP Checklist to assess the square root sample of the producer group members registered for GRASP. Compare the results of the sample external inspections with the results of the internal inspections. If there are major differences between the external and the internal assessment results, the status of the whole producer group and all producer group members registered for GRASP must be set to Implausible. In that case, no results of the internal inspections will be visible to database users with the status GRASP Observer. If the results of the internal and external inspections match, aggregate the results of the internal inspections in the GRASP Checklist for Producer Groups and complete the control point PG1 on the efficiency of the group s quality management system. 3. Upload of the results to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database: Upload the completed GRASP Option 2 Checklist (summary of the result of the internal producer inspections + PG 1) to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database. The results of the sample assessments do not need to be uploaded. 5.1 Internal Producer Group Inspector Qualifications (i) Inspectors will be able to inspect GRASP once factual evidence (as described below) of their qualifications and experience has been verified by the producer group. The GLOBALG.A.P. CB will audit compliance with the requirements as set out below during the external QMS audit. (ii) The relevant CB shall have a complete and current list of all the producer group s internal inspectors. The qualification of the internal inspectors shall be approved by the CBs during the external inspections Skills and Qualifications for Internal Producer Group Inspectors (i) One-day practical inspection course setting out basic principles of inspections (ii) Knowledge about and/or access to legal labor regulations (iii) Knowledge of the GRASP National Interpretation Guideline of the respective country (iv) Working language skills in the corresponding native/working language Key Tasks of Internal Producer Group Inspectors (i) Inspection of producers of the producer group to assess the compliance level against the GRASP Module. (ii) Timely and accurate report writing on these inspections. (iii) Inspectors cannot inspect their own work. 6. Produce Handling Where produce handling is included in the scope of the IFA certificate, GRASP also covers the produce handling facilities. During the external assessment performed by the CB, the pack house is assessed in addition to the sample of the producer group members. Pack house(s) are assessed separately and shall be covered by a separate GRASP Checklist. A producer s own pack house (also under Option 1) shall as well be covered in a separate GRASP Checklist. In such case, the final result of the GRASP Assessment is composed of the results of both production and produce handling. If findings differ, detailed explanations shall be given under remarks. 7. Integrity Program 7.1 The Certification Body authorises GLOBALG.A.P. to carry out integrity assessments on the Certification Body s premises and in the producers sites certified by Certification Body. 7.2 The Certification Body shall cooperate with GLOBALG.A.P. during Integrity Program activities. GRASP General Regulations 8

9 7.3 Before, during and after the integrity assessment, the Certification Body shall be granted access to any information, documents and sites relevant to complete the integrity assessment within the timeframe required by GLOBALG.A.P. 7.4 The Certification Body agrees that the result of the integrity assessment shall be brought to the Accreditation Body s - and where applicable - to the Benchmarked Scheme Owners attention. 7.5 The Certification Body accepts those sanctions (IFA V4.0 GR, Part II, 1.7) including fines and cost reimbursement obligation proposed by the Integrity Surveillance Committee and enforced by GLOBALG.A.P. 7.6 Appeal against cancellation follows the arbitration procedure described in the CB-License Agreement. 7.7 With prior agreement with the Accreditation Body, the Certification Body accepts that GLOBALG.A.P. may join the assessment team of the Accreditation Body during its assessment. 7.8 Assessment visits that are carried out on a routine basis by GLOBALG.A.P. and no costs for the Certification Bodies are generated. However, if during the routine assessment incidents are found that lead to follow-up assessment visits, GLOBALG.A.P. reserves the right to charge the Certification Body for these additional assessment visits. Where the total number of days for such follow-up assessment visit exceeds 3 days, a decision of the Integrity Surveillance Committee is needed. 7.9 Assessments that are carried out to investigate complaints received by GLOBALG.A.P. will be initially covered by GLOBALG.A.P. Where complaints are found to be valid, GLOBALG.A.P. reserves the right to charge the Certification Body all, or part of the investigation costs following the decision of the Integrity Surveillance Committee. 8. Decision Making/Governance Any decision on GRASP is under the final responsibility of the GLOBALG.A.P. Board. A Boardnominated GRASP Technical Committee is responsible for all technical issues concerning the GRASP CPCCs, the National Interpretation Guidelines and all other GRASP Tools. For further details see the Terms of Reference of the GRASP Technical Committee. GRASP General Regulations 9

10 Annex I: Procedures for the Approval of GRASP National Interpretation Guidelines 1. Preamble GRASP shall be used only in countries where there is a GLOBALG.A.P. approved National Interpretation Guideline. Any exception to this rule must be agreed by the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. The GRASP National Interpretation Guideline must provide guidance to implementers and assessors on the respective legal framework. GRASP National Interpretation Guidelines must have been discussed and backed up by local stakeholders. Round Tables or other local activities must exist (ownership of the National Interpretation Guideline). The National Interpretation Guidelines are approved and published by the GLOBALG.A.P. GRASP Technical Committee (TC). 2. Responsibilities In countries where there is a GLOBALG.A.P. National Technical Working Group, this working group shall be responsible to develop the GRASP National Interpretation Guideline. In countries where there is no GLOBALG.A.P. NTWG, the responsibility of the development of the National Interpretation Guideline must be with a GLOBALG.A.P. member company that signs up to be responsible for the development process. GLOBALG.A.P. reserves the right to change, update or withdraw the National Interpretation Guideline at any time, if necessary. The development and approval of the guidelines has to follow the defined minimum procedure (see point 3). The main goal of this procedure is to involve relevant local stakeholders and to ensure transparency of the development process. The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat will, together with the GRASP TC, assess that the development of the GRASP National Interpretation Guideline followed this procedure. The GRASP TC finally approves the National Interpretation Guideline. 3. Approval Procedure of GRASP National Interpretation Guidelines 3.1 Information of GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat and Project Planning The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat must be informed about the plan to develop a GRASP National Interpretation Guideline. The applicant must provide GLOBALG.A.P. with a project plan lining out the planned development process. The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat has to agree to the proposed process and reserves the right to adapt it. The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat informs the GRASP TC about all plans for developing National Interpretation Guidelines. 3.2 Preparation of Draft version of the National Interpretation Guideline A local labor law expert (or group of experts) shall draft a first version of the interpretation guideline, providing local interpretation for each of the 13 control points, where necessary. This interpretation shall not give examples for implementation but rather compile applicable regulations or collective bargaining agreements (e.g. minimum wage, links to resources). The DRAFT National Interpretation Guideline must be shared with the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat before discussing it in the local stakeholder workshop. 3.3 Stakeholder Consultation This DRAFT National Interpretation Guideline shall then be presented to and discussed by a representative group of local stakeholders. The stakeholders shall include, if possible, representatives from the following interest groups: GRASP General Regulations 10

11 Civil society: e.g. consumer organizations, Non-Governmental Organizations Relevant labor unions (local, regional, different sectors) (Local) Government representatives (e.g. Ministry of Labour, Agriculture) Producers, producer organizations, export organizations GLOBALG.A.P. Retail and Food Service members Others A representative of the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat must be informed and invited to the consultation. The representative may give input and advise on the process. The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat informs the GRASP TC about all planned stakeholder consultation workshops. The goal of the stakeholder consultation is to reach consensus and to approve the document by the stakeholders. The stakeholder consultation should take place in a facilitated one-day workshop. The workshop and its results must be documented in a report and shared with all workshop participants. Where a physical stakeholder round table is not feasible, due to justifiable reasons (evidence must be provided to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat) there is the possibility to organize consultation by written correspondence. In that case, the initiator of the process must ensure transparency of this process to all relevant stakeholders. All comments received must be filed and made available on request. The main interest groups named above must provide their feedback to the National Interpretation Guideline. 3.4 Approval of the GRASP National Interpretation Guideline The revised GRASP Interpretation Guideline must be forwarded to the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat. The documentation of steps one to three must be made available. The interpretation must be translated into English. The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat will forward the developed National Interpretation Guideline to the GRASP Technical Committee for final approval and shall give feedback within four weeks to approve the Guideline or to require corrective actions. If corrective actions are required, approval will be given after completion of the document only. After approval by the GRASP Technical Committee, the National Interpretation Guideline is published on the GLOBALG.A.P. Website. All members and Certification Bodies are informed that the GRASP Module can from then on be assessed in the respective country. 3.5 Validity/Update of the Document The GRASP National Interpretation Guideline has a validity of maximum 4 years. It must be revised by the NTWG or another responsible organization according to the timing of the revision process of the GRASP Module. The revision of the National Interpretation Guideline must follow a certain procedure ensuring that local stakeholders have been informed and involved. GLOBALG.A.P. can withdraw or revise the National Interpretation Guidelines at any time on an individual point basis if global integrity of the standard is challenged. GRASP General Regulations 11

12 Annex II: Data Use The CB must record the following data and the GLOBALG.A.P. Database needs to be updated accordingly (as required in the current database manual): Company and Location information Responsible person(s) of the company data Product information This information shall be updated regularly whenever there is a change. It must be updated latest with the re-acceptance of GRASP as a product for the next certificate cycle and/or the recertification. The CB must provide the producer or producer group with a choice of four different data release levels, which will specify the data display to specified user groups in the database and the public for certificate validation: Unless indicated to the contrary by the producer or producer group, level (a) is automatically chosen: a. The GGN, registration no., scheme, version, option, CB, products and status, produce handling/processing declaration, number of producers (in Option 2), country of production and destination are available to the public. b. GLOBALG.A.P. members and other industry market participants with authorized database access are allowed to see producer or producer group s organization name, city and postal code and the proof of assessment including the following information: The GGN, Registration no., Version of GRASP Module, Certification Option, Certification Body, Upload Date, Name of Auditor/Inspector, Status: GRASP assessed, Produce handling/processing declaration, Number of producers covered by GRASP per product (in Option 2), Option 1/2: GRASP Results Summary, Results per Control Point - with remarks, For Option 2: As Annex II: GGNs of the producers. c. GLOBALG.A.P., the Certification Body and aggregator (if applicable), which the producer or producer group is working with, can use all data in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database for internal purposes and sanctioning procedures. The level of data visibility must be fixed and signed during registration with the CB. The producer or producer group is the data owner and is responsible to grant and determine the level of the rights for data access. The data owner, however, can transfer the responsibility to other users (e.g. the Certification Body, producer group or other data aggregator; as described in GLOBALG.A.P. IFA V4.0 GR Part I, 4.1). Therefore, a Certification Body, producer group or other data trustee can do the Database registration, if the producer or producer group has assigned them the according rights in writing. GRASP General Regulations 12

13 Annex III: Terms of Reference for the Authorized Access to the GRASP Results For GLOBALG.A.P. Database users with authorised database access for GRASP We hereby recognise the following GLOBALG.A.P. terms of reference for market participants that have access to the GRASP results in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database via a GLOBALG.A.P. service package. The purpose of these Terms of Reference is to assure a proper handling of information gathered during the GRASP Assessment and to define clearly the scope of GRASP and how the results can be interpreted and used to initiate continuous improvement regarding social practice in primary production. In addition, these Terms of Reference shall regulate the communication of GRASP Assessment results to the public. 1. The abbreviation GRASP stands for GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice. 2. GRASP is a voluntary assessment module, consisting of a definite number of control points and compliance criteria for individual producers and one additional control point for producer groups. 3. GRASP is applied to assess social practice in primary production. It focuses on the review of basic indicators of potential social risks on farms. 4. GRASP shall only be applied once a National Interpretation Guideline has been published by GLOBALG.A.P. for the respective country. Any exception to that rule must be consulted with the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat for approval. 5. The implementation of GRASP helps farmers to address important social issues and build awareness at farm level. This is the main aim of GRASP. 6. There is no passing or failing of the GRASP Module the assessment rather delivers basic indicators on the performance of the farms in terms of implemented procedures to comply with national/international regulations on labor issues. 7. The completion of a GRASP Assessment does not indicate that a producer fully complies with all control points the level of compliance requires an analysis on a case-by-case basis. 8. GRASP is not a social audit it is requiring the producers to keep documentation and to follow basic procedures regarding the management of their employees that form the basis of a social management system. Those documents and procedures are reviewed during the audit. 9. GRASP auditors/inspectors are requested to check the level of compliance to the GRASP requirements based on the GRASP Checklist that defines the minimum means of assessment. This approach limits GRASP to interviews with key responsible persons, inspections and document reviews. 10. To avoid miscommunication, all communication of GRASP shall be agreed beforehand with the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat to assure that it follows these Terms of Reference. 11. The GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat will provide a GLOBALG.A.P. GRASP Service Package for users that have signed these Terms of Reference including a communication package, which they can use for communication purposes. 12. The term GRASP shall NOT appear on any product (This is in line with the use of the GLOBALG.A.P. trademark. See GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations Integrated Farm Assurance V4.0 Part I, 8.1). 13. GRASP can only be assessed in combination with a GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance or plant propagation material certificate. We hereby declare our agreement to the above-mentioned Terms of Reference. GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat will grant our company access to the GLOBALG.A.P. Database and the GRASP Assessment results. Company: Company Representative Date/Place Signature GRASP General Regulations 13

14 Annex IV: GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice Proof of Assessment CB Logo GGN: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Registration number of producer/ producer group (from CB) xxxxxx GLOBALG.A.P. RISK ASSESSMENT ON SOCIAL PRACTICE (GRASP) PROOF OF ASSESSMENT According to GRASP General Regulations V1.1 January 2011 Option X 1 Issued to Producer Group Pimiento del Sur Street, Place, Country The Annex contains details of the GRASP results (and the covered producer group members. 2 ) The Certification Body [Company Name] declares that the producer group mentioned on this proof has been assessed according to the GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice Version 1.1 January GLOBALG.A.P.-certified products covered by GRASP 3 Products 8 Assessment Number 6 Produce Handling No. of GRASP assessed producers Total number of producers Product Yes Yes Product Yes No Total: Product fully assessed Assessment Result: Only for Option 2: Does the assessment of the Quality Management System of the Group show evidence of the correct implementation of GRASP for all producer group members? 4) Yes, fully compliant Date of Assessment: xx.xx.2011 Date of Upload: xx.xx.2011 Validity Date: xx.xx.2012 (depending on IFA certificate validity) Only for Option 1: 5) Yes, fully compliant Yes, some improvement needed Not compliant but some steps taken Not, compliant The actual status of this proof is always displayed at: GRASP General Regulations 14

15 GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP) ANNEX 1 for GGN xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Producers Group Members: Product(s) GLOBALG.A.P Number (GGN) Company/Producer Name and Address Product a xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Producer 1 Product n xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Producer n ANNEX 2 for GGN xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Checklist the completed GRASP Checklist Notes The proof of assessment shall be in English. You may add a second language in the proof Option (1-2) must always appear on the proof of assessment. Second part and the producer group members covered by GRASP only applicable for producer groups. Listing of products only applicable in case of Option 2 (producer group). In case of Option 1 the proof is not product-specific. Question shall only be entered, for Option 2 assessments (this ist he result of the GRASP Control Point for Producer Groups (PG1). For Option 1: the results of the GRASP Checklist will be displayed here. The color bars show the level of compliance to the GRASP control points (automatically generated out of the results per control point). Assessment Number is a number equivalent to the Certification Number it assessment number shall be printed on the paper certificate. It is a reference code to the certificate in the GLOBALG.A.P. Database per product and certificate cycle. The GLOBALG.A.P. Certificate Number is generated automatically in the system and consists of 5 digits, 5 letters and a suffix (#####-ABCDE-####). All changes to the certificate in a given certificate cycle are reflected in the suffix. 7 The completed GRASP Checklist must be available in the Annex 2. 8 The GLOBALG.A.P. Integrated Farm Assurance or Plant Propagation Material Standard certified products that are covered by GRASP must be listed here. GRASP General Regulations 15