PrimusGFS vs GLOBALG.A.P. vs Harmonized GAP vs CanadaGAP

Produce Audits at a Glance

• 3 of 4are GFSI-recognized programs. USDA's Harmonized GAP Plus+ has technical equivalence insteadGFSI
• July 2026CanadaGAP v11 became the first produce program recognized against GFSI's 2024 requirementsGFSI
• 90%PrimusGFS overall score needed to certify, with at least 85% in every modulePrimusGFS
• $175/hrUSDA's audit rate from October 1, 2026, plus a $250 GFSI fee per Plus+ auditFederal Register

Updated October 6, 2026. Checked against the scheme owners' current rules (Azzule Systems, GLOBALG.A.P., USDA AMS and CanAgPlus), GFSI's recognition lists, FDA, CFIA and buyers' published requirements. Schemes and buyer lists change, so confirm with your buyer and your certification body before you book an audit.

How Do PrimusGFS, GLOBALG.A.P., Harmonized GAP and CanadaGAP Compare?

All four check core food safety practices on a produce operation, such as agricultural water, pesticides and traceability. They differ in who owns them, who audits, which operations they cover, how they score and whether GFSI recognizes them.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Sources: PrimusGFS General Regulations v3.2, GLOBALG.A.P. General Regulations v6.0, USDA Harmonized GAP Program Manual (April 2026), CanadaGAP Program Management Manual v11.0, GFSI's recognition and benchmarking lists, and the scheme owners' certification body lists, scope pages and news pages, all checked October 6, 2026.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]}

What Is PrimusGFS?

PrimusGFS is a GFSI-recognized food safety audit scheme for fresh produce, owned and managed by Azzule Systems, part of Primus Group, Inc., based in Santa Maria, California. Version 3.2 has been the only version allowed for audits scheduled since March 1, 2022, and GFSI recognizes it for farming, pre-processing handling, processing and storage and distribution scopes.^[1][6][10]

A PrimusGFS audit is built from modules. Module 1, the Food Safety Management System, is part of every certification, and each operation adds the modules for what it does.^[6]

Optional Module 8 is a grains and pulses audit and optional Module 9 documents integrated pest management (IPM). Each operation on the application is scored and certified separately.^[6][25]

Scoring. Each question is scored as total conformance, minor deficiency, major deficiency or non-conformance. To be certified, an operation needs an overall score of at least 90% and at least 85% in every module. Some questions are automatic failures: any deduction on them sets that module's score to 0%, which blocks certification. If the preliminary overall score is under 85%, the audit isn't certified and a new audit is needed.^[6]

After the audit. Every finding needs a corrective action, with root cause, entered in the PrimusGFS database within 30 calendar days. The certification body then decides and issues the final report within 45 days of the audit. Certificates last up to 12 months, and the next audit is due 12 months after the last one.^[6]

Unannounced audits. Each year, certification bodies must audit 10% of their farm, harvest crew, indoor agriculture, cooler and packinghouse operations unannounced. Processing and storage and distribution operations get one unannounced audit every three years.^[6]

Records and recalls. Module 1 asks for food safety records kept at least 24 months, or the product's shelf life if longer, and mock recalls at least every six months for operations that run more than six months a year.^[3]

FSMA. Azzule says PrimusGFS has included the FDA Produce Safety Rule and Preventive Controls requirements since version 3.0, and every audit report comes with an FSMA sub-report. It also says the audit doesn't guarantee legal compliance; only FDA can decide that.^[26]

What's next. PrimusGFS published version 4.0 documents for information in August 2025 and said version 3.2 stays mandatory. Version 4.0 adds food safety culture, crisis management and allergen questions, strengthens traceability and adds new indoor agriculture questions. As of October 6, 2026, GFSI was still benchmarking it and hadn't opened the public consultation that comes before a recognition decision, and we found no announced mandatory start date. Version 3.2 certificates stay GFSI-recognized in the meantime. In May 2026 Azzule added an optional harvest equipment sanitation addendum to version 3.2 as a bridge.^{[27][28][21][29][30]}

Read more on our PrimusGFS certification page.

What Is a GLOBALG.A.P. Audit?

GLOBALG.A.P. is a farm assurance system owned by Agraya GmbH in Cologne, Germany, the renamed FoodPLUS GmbH. Certification bodies that certify in the U.S. and Canada contract with GLOBALG.A.P. North America Inc.^[18] Its main produce standard is Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) for fruit and vegetables. At the end of 2024, 184,037 producers in 133 countries held it.^[2]

Two editions. IFA version 6 comes in two equally valid editions. IFA v6 Smart is for most producers. IFA v6 GFS is for producers whose buyers need GFSI-recognized certification, and only the GFS edition is on GFSI's list. Buyer requirements usually decide which one you need.^[2][10]

Scoring. IFA v6 calls its requirements principles and criteria, and each one is a Major Must, a Minor Must or a Recommendation. Certification needs 100% of the applicable Major Musts and at least 95% of the Minor Musts, and a result such as 94.8% isn't rounded up.^[7]

Options. Option 1 is an individual producer, with one site or several. Option 2 is a producer group that runs a quality management system (QMS). Option 1 producers complete a self-assessment of the whole scope every year before the audit. Groups must audit every member internally each year, and the certification body audits at least the square root of the members.^[7][13]

Audits. After an announced initial audit, Option 1 producers are audited every year, and each audit has a 10% chance of being unannounced. Smart allows up to 48 hours' notice for those; GFS allows none. Certificates are valid for 12 months.^[7] Before the first audit you need records from registration onward, or at least three months, whichever is longer, and the initial audit has to cover the harvest of each product you want certified.^[7][35]

The GGN. Every registered producer gets a 13-digit GLOBALG.A.P. Number (GGN). Buyers check it in the free Supply Chain Portal, which fully replaced the old GLOBALG.A.P. database on November 3, 2025.^[36]

Packing and storage. Produce Handling Assurance (PHA) covers cooling, packing, repacking and storage. It doesn't cover processing such as cutting, freezing or peeling, and a stand-alone facility must handle GLOBALG.A.P.-certified product to qualify.^[22]

For the U.S. market. The Harmonized Produce Safety Standard (HPSS) is GLOBALG.A.P.'s food-safety-only standard for growers supplying the U.S. It contains the industry Harmonized Standard word for word, adds GFSI and traceability requirements, and treats every control point as a Major Must.^[37] Growers on IFA can add the FSMA Produce Safety Rule add-on, version 2.1 since April 7, 2025, which ends in a letter of conformance rather than a certificate. GLOBALG.A.P. charges U.S. and Canadian producers no fee for it when it's paired with IFA.^[38][39]

In a voluntary pilot, FDA found an older pairing, IFA v5.4-1-GFS with add-on v1.3, aligned with the Produce Safety Rule; the review left out the agricultural water and sprout subparts. FDA said the finding isn't an endorsement, and audits to these standards don't replace FDA or state inspections. FDA has ended the pilot.^[40]

What's next. IFA v6.1 Smart was published on September 1, 2026, with its start date still to be announced. IFA v6.1 GFS, HPS version 2 and PHA version 2 won't be released until GFSI recognizes them; until then the current versions stay valid.^[14]

Kiwa ASI isn't a GLOBALG.A.P.-approved certification body. The Kiwa group certification bodies approved for IFA fruit and vegetables list their area as every country except the USA and Canada.^[18] Read more on our GLOBALG.A.P. overview page.

What Is Harmonized GAP?

"Harmonized GAP" means two related things. The first is the Produce GAPs Harmonized Food Safety Standard, an industry standard written from 2009 by more than 150 volunteer experts after comparing 13 existing produce standards. It has two parts, Field Operations and Harvesting and Post-Harvest Operations. The International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) is its secretariat.^[8] It was designed so that any auditor could use it, and private certification bodies offer their own Harmonized audits too.^[8][41]

The second is USDA's audit programs built on that standard, run by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).^[12] Walmart's non-GFSI alternative list names USDA Harmonized GAP Plus+. Sysco lists Plus+ with its GFSI schemes, and lists USDA Harmonized GAP and, separately, the industry Harmonized Standard as non-GFSI options for small and local growers.^[33][34]

USDA says Plus+ is the only USDA GAP audit acknowledged as technically equivalent by GFSI.^[42] Of USDA's GAP audits, only Harmonized GAP and Plus+, which is built on it, are aligned with the Produce Safety Rule.^[43][42]

Versions. USDA's current standards are Harmonized GAP v3.1 and Harmonized GAP Plus+ v5.1, both effective July 3, 2025 and both written to match version 3.0 of the industry standard. The update added Warehouse, Food Defense and Integrated Pest Management addenda without changing existing requirements.^[12] Plus+ adds requirements such as food safety objectives, a written food defense plan and a food fraud section with an annual fraud risk assessment.^[4]

Who audits. USDA's program manual says Harmonized GAP audits are done by Federal or Federal-State licensed auditors. USDA's Plus+ Q&A says these are trained, licensed employees of USDA and state departments of agriculture. So private certification bodies, including Kiwa ASI, can't issue a USDA Harmonized GAP or Plus+ certificate.^[8][42] To request an audit, set up a billing account on form SC-430. Then send forms SC-237A and SC-651 to the USDA Specialty Crops Inspection Division office closest to the facility. For an audit outside the U.S., such as in Canada, contact USDA's national office.^[44]

Scopes. General Questions (G) are part of every audit. Operations add Field Operations and Harvesting (F), Post-Harvest Operations (P) or both, and can add Logo Use (L), IPM, Warehouse (WH), Food Defense (FD) and four tomato scopes.^[4]

Scoring. Each question is rated compliant, corrective action needed, immediate action required (IAR) or not applicable. To pass you need no IAR (falsified records count as one), every applicable mandatory question compliant, the required risk assessments done, earlier findings closed and at least 80% compliance in each major section (G, F and P). A pass brings a certificate and a listing on USDA's website. A fail brings corrective action reports, and the operation can fix the issues and schedule a new audit.^[8] USDA audits at least once a year and also runs unannounced audits.^[8]

What it doesn't cover. Sprouts are out of scope. So is fresh-cut processing, which USDA sends to its separate Plant Systems Audit. Processed produce, such as canned, dried or frozen product, is also out of scope.^[23][8]

Groups. USDA GroupGAP lets cooperatives, food hubs and a distributor's growers certify together. The group runs a quality management system based on ISO 9001 and audits every member each year, and USDA audits the system and a sample of members.^[15]

GFSI. GFSI acknowledged USDA Harmonized GAP Plus+ version 3.0 as technically equivalent in October 2022, for farming of plants (BI) and pre-processing handling (BIII).^[24] Technical equivalence is GFSI's track for government-owned standards. It checks the standard's content but, unlike recognition, not the program's governance or operations. GFSI voted in April 2023 to phase it out and takes no new applications; programs already acknowledged continue to the end of their current cycle.^[11] USDA tells growers to confirm a buyer accepts Plus+ before scheduling.^[42]

Kiwa ASI doesn't conduct USDA audits. Read more on our USDA Harmonized GAP overview page.

What Is CanadaGAP?

CanadaGAP is a HACCP-based food safety program for companies that grow, pack, store, repack, wholesale and broker fruits and vegetables. It's owned and operated by CanAgPlus, a Canadian not-for-profit corporation. The Canadian Horticultural Council launched it in 2008, and it has run independently under CanAgPlus since 2012.^{[45][46][16][47]}

There are two manuals, one for fruit and vegetables and one for greenhouse product. Version 11.0 took effect for certification on April 1, 2026.^[48] Farms, packers and storage operations follow CanadaGAP's generic HACCP models, so they don't write their own HACCP plan. Repackers and wholesalers must develop a site-specific HACCP plan.^[45]

If you score below the pass mark, you can usually still be certified by finishing corrective actions on time. Options B to F can also use a corrective action plan approved by the certification body for fixes that have to wait until next season; A1 and A2 can't. Automatic-failure items must always be corrected, and a plan can't cover them. Option A3 is discontinued.^[49][9][50]

In the year to August 31, 2025, CanadaGAP had 2,870 participants, and 62% of them were on Option C. No group has used Option B since 2024.^[16]

Scope. Production, packing and storage cover only listed crops: small fruit, potatoes, combined vegetables, leafy vegetables and crucifers (except microgreens), and tree and vine fruit. Repacking and wholesaling cover almost all fresh fruits and vegetables. Fresh-cut and other minimally processed product and sprouts are out of scope, and microgreens can't be certified for production, packing or storage.^[51]

Automatic failures. The checklist fails an audit outright for things such as an immediate food safety risk, feces or rodent evidence on food contact surfaces or product, an unregistered pesticide or missing application records, manure applied less than 120 days before harvest, missing water tests where water touches product, and no toilets or handwashing.^[52]

Records and timing. You need at least three months of records before the first audit, and records must be kept at least four years.^[5][9] Corrective actions are due within 45 calendar days of the audit report, or by the end of your season if that's sooner. Certificates last 12 months.^[49][53] Every option includes unannounced audits: each year a certification body must audit at least 10% of its Option C, D, E and F clients and 5% of A1 and A2 clients unannounced.^[9]

U.S. operations. Farms outside Canada, including U.S. farms, can enroll and pay the program fee in U.S. dollars. About 125 U.S. operations were on CanadaGAP's September 2026 certified list. Audits are done in English or French, and the manuals are also published in Spanish.^[53][54] CanadaGAP's version 11 fruit and vegetable manual includes guidance on the FDA Food Traceability Rule (FSMA 204), but we found no CanadaGAP statement that the program aligns with the FDA Produce Safety Rule. Sysco, for one, asks suppliers covered by FSMA for a Produce Safety Rule or Preventive Controls addendum with any scheme except the current PrimusGFS version, so ask your buyer how it wants the rule covered.^[5][34]

In Canada. CFIA's Food Safety Recognition Program lists CanadaGAP as a fully recognized on-farm program. Certification doesn't replace a Safe Food for Canadians licence where one is needed, and CFIA still inspects.^[55][56][57]

Kiwa ASI delivers CanadaGAP certification through TSLC, a CanadaGAP-licensed certification body that is part of Kiwa ASI. Read more on our CanadaGAP certification page and in 8 changes to CanadaGAP Version 11.^[20]

Which Produce Audits Are GFSI-Recognized?

Three of the four are GFSI-recognized programs: PrimusGFS, GLOBALG.A.P. (IFA GFS, HPSS and PHA) and CanadaGAP (Options B, C and D). USDA Harmonized GAP Plus+ is acknowledged through technical equivalence, a separate track for government standards. USDA says Plus+ is its only GAP audit with that status, so Harmonized GAP without Plus+ has none.^[10][11][42]

BI is farming of plants, BII farming of grains and pulses, BIII pre-processing handling of plant products such as packing, cooling and storage, CII to CIV processing, and G storage and distribution.^{[10][21][11][24]}

GFSI released new Benchmarking Requirements in 2024. Programs recognized against the 2020 requirements keep that recognition while they are re-benchmarked.^[29] CanadaGAP v11 was recognized against the 2024 requirements in July 2026.^[58][59] GFSI says certificates issued against a version that is still going through recognition aren't GFSI-recognized until benchmarking is complete.^[60]

GFSI doesn't audit or certify anyone. Certification bodies issue certificates under each program owner's rules, and GFSI asks that nobody say "GFSI certified"; the accurate phrase is certified to a GFSI-recognized program.^[61]

Which Produce Audit Do Buyers Accept?

Buyers decide which audit you need, and their lists don't match. Here is what three large North American buyers' published requirements say about these programs.

Buyer documents change and some apply only to certain products or brands. Ask your buyer's food safety team which scheme, version, options and certification bodies it accepts before you book an audit.

For more on one retailer, see Walmart food supplier requirements.

Which Produce Audit Should You Choose?

Choose by buyer first, then by what your operation does and where it is. This table sums up how the programs fit common situations; it isn't a substitute for your buyer's written requirements.^{[6][10][13][36][22][42][15][50][16][65]}

Does a Produce Audit Replace the FDA Produce Safety Rule?

No. These audits are voluntary, and passing one doesn't replace the FDA Produce Safety Rule (21 CFR part 112) or state inspections. FDA says third-party audits aren't required under the rule.^[66] Buyers ask for them anyway, partly because importers and food facilities can use supplier audits to meet their own supplier verification duties.^[66]

The rule covers farms with average annual produce sales over $25,000, a 2011 figure adjusted for inflation. For 2023 to 2025 the cutoff averaged $34,324. Farms with average food sales under $686,476 that sell mostly to qualified end users can be eligible for a qualified exemption with modified requirements.^[67][68][69]

USDA aligned Harmonized GAP with the rule in 2018, but the two aren't identical and a USDA audit isn't a regulatory inspection.^[43] FDA's pilot found one older GLOBALG.A.P. pairing, IFA v5.4-1-GFS plus the FSMA Produce Safety Rule add-on v1.3, aligned with the rule. The review left out the agricultural water and sprout subparts, and the finding covers only those versions. FDA says it doesn't currently have the resources to review more standards.^[40]

Two dates to watch: very small farms must meet the Produce Safety Rule's pre-harvest agricultural water requirements from April 5, 2027, and FDA won't enforce the Food Traceability Rule before July 20, 2028. Small farms have had to meet the water requirements since April 6, 2026.^[68][70] In Canada, CanadaGAP certification doesn't replace a Safe Food for Canadians licence where one is required.^[56]

What Does a Produce Audit Cost?

A produce audit costs the scheme or program fee plus the audit itself. Private schemes' audit fees are set by each certification body; USDA bills by the hour at a published rate. The biggest variable is audit time, which grows with the number of crops, sites and operations, and with travel.

Published fees as checked on October 6, 2026. Kiwa ASI doesn't publish CanadaGAP or PrimusGFS audit prices; ask us for a quote based on your crops, sites and operations.

Minimum audit times give a feel for the audit fee. PrimusGFS guidance is half a day for farm and packing scopes and two days for processing, and a straightforward CanadaGAP farm audit is typically half a day.^[6][9]

How Do You Prepare for a Produce Audit?

The four programs share most of their content, so the groundwork is the same whichever one you choose.

• Confirm the requirementGet your buyer's scheme, version, options or modules, and certification body list in writing.
• Write the programA food safety manual or plan, a responsible person and procedures that match how you operate.
• Assess the risksLand history, adjacent land, agricultural water, soil amendments, animal intrusion and worker health.
• Test and document waterWater that touches product needs testing that meets the scheme. In CanadaGAP, missing potability tests for wash or flume water and ice used on product are an automatic failure.^[52]
• Get hygiene rightToilets, stocked handwashing stations, training and rules people actually follow.
• Control inputsPesticide application records, registered products only, and manure timing.
• Prove traceabilityLot coding and a mock recall: at least every six months under PrimusGFS and every year under CanadaGAP.^[3][5]
• Audit yourselfAn internal audit or self-assessment before the certification audit; all four programs require one (PrimusGFS in Module 1).^[7][5][4][3]
• Build a record historyAt least three months of records before a first CanadaGAP or GLOBALG.A.P. audit.^[9][7]
• Book it at the right timeSchedule while the crops and activities you want certified are actually happening, including harvest.^[6][35][9]

Where Does Kiwa ASI Fit?

CanadaGAP: Kiwa ASI delivers CanadaGAP certification through TSLC, a certification body licensed by CanadaGAP for all Canadian provinces and the United States and part of Kiwa ASI. ASI Food Safety, LLC is accredited by ANAB to ISO/IEC 17065 for CanadaGAP version 11 (accreditation ID 1222), covering production, packing and storage of the listed fruit and vegetable crop groups and repacking, wholesaling and brokerage. Costco's audit expectations (v3.0) list TSLC (Produce) among approved certification bodies for North America. Costco accepts CanadaGAP Options B and C with its Produce Addendum, and Option D for warehousing, so confirm your Costco buyer's requirements.^[20][73][32] About CanadaGAP with Kiwa ASI.

PrimusGFS: Kiwa ASI delivers PrimusGFS audits and certification through Kiwa BCS Öko-Garantie, a Kiwa group certification body on Azzule's approved list. ASI Food Safety, LLC's own ANAB accreditation doesn't cover PrimusGFS. Kiwa BCS Öko-Garantie isn't on Costco's list of approved certification bodies, and Costco accepts audits only from that list, so a PrimusGFS audit through Kiwa won't meet Costco's audit expectations.^[17][73][32] About PrimusGFS with Kiwa ASI.

GLOBALG.A.P. and USDA Harmonized GAP: Kiwa ASI doesn't offer either. No Kiwa certification body is approved for GLOBALG.A.P. fruit and vegetable certification in the U.S. or Canada, and only USDA and state auditors conduct USDA Harmonized GAP audits.^[18][8]

A certification body can't consult for the companies it certifies, and the schemes enforce that. PrimusGFS requires three years between training or consulting a company and auditing it, and CanadaGAP's version 11 rules count pre-audits as consulting.^[6][74]

Training is separate from certification. ASI Training and Consulting, LLC offers IHA-accredited general HACCP training, internal auditor training and FSMA 204 traceability training. It operates separately from the certification body and has no effect on audit outcomes. You don't need any of its courses to get certified.

Frequently Asked Questions