GLOBALG.A.P.’s roots began in 1997 as EUREPGAP, an initiative by retailers belonging to the Euro-Retailer Produce Working Group. British retailers working together with supermarkets in continental Europe become aware of consumers’ growing concerns regarding product safety, environmental impact and the health, safety and welfare of workers and animals.
Their solution: Harmonize their own standards and procedures and develop an independent certification system for Good Agricultural Practice (G.A.P.).
The EUREPGAP standards helped producers comply with Europe-wide accepted criteria for food safety, sustainable production methods, worker and animal welfare, and responsible use of water, compound feed and plant propagation materials. Harmonized certification also meant savings for producers, as they would no longer need to undergo several audits against different criteria every year.
Over the next ten years the process spread throughout the continent and beyond. Driven by the impacts of globalization, a growing number of producers and retailers around the globe joined in, gaining the European organization global significance.
To reflect both its global reach and its goal of becoming the leading international G.A.P. standard, EurepGAP changed its name to GLOBALG.A.P. in 2007.
GLOBALG.A.P. today is the world’s leading farm assurance program, translating consumer requirements into Good Agricultural Practice in a rapidly growing list of countries – currently more than 100 on every continent.
