United Fresh Produce Association said that the Harmonized Standard Audit is now available from numerous organizations.
The following auditing organizations offer the food safety audit, according to United Fresh:
- Americert International;
- Ceres Certifications, International (CCI);
- Equicert;
- GLOBALG.A.P.;
- Lighthouse Food Safety & Quality;
- NSF;
- Perry Johnson Registrars Food Safety, Inc.;
- Quality Certification Services (QCS);
- Quality Fresh, LLC;
- SCS Global Services;
- United States Department of Agriculture (USDA, AMS); and
- WQS – World Quality Services.
The produce industry collaborated to develop the technical requirements of the Harmonized Standard nearly a decade ago, according to a news release.
United Fresh manages the official standards and coordinates efforts that enable consistent interpretation and application of the standard across the industry, according to the release.
“We appreciate that growers, processors, and buyers alike continue to recognize and appreciate the strength in the Harmonized as a method of verifying that produce safety practices are appropriately implemented,” Dr. Emily Griep, United Fresh’s manager of food safety, said in the news release. “We are very happy to continue working with these auditing organization as we move forward with efforts to refine, align, and promote market awareness of the Harmonized Standard.”
For questions on the standard, contact Emily Griep at egriep@unitedfresh.org or 202-303-3401.
