GlobalGAP is claiming it has contributed to good agricultural practice harmonisation in North America, as it leaves the US following its fourth stop on a worldwide tour.

By the end of November, GlobalGAP will have visited five continents as part of its outreach and consultation with key stakeholders in advance of its new version to be published in 2011.

In his opening remarks to delegates in Virginia last week, Nigel Garbutt, chairman of GlobalGAP, offered the organisation`s experience gained in the nearly 100,000 farms certified in 100 countries to support the North American process.

He said: “It works in all those countries, why should it not work here as well? Especially we can bring to the table our learnings on how to assure high, third-party auditor performance and how to retain and build market access for local small- and medium-sized family farms."

Dr David Gombas, senior vice-president of food safety and technology at the United Fresh Produce Association and a GlobalGAP sector committee member, said: “The intention of the produce good agricultural practice harmonisation initiative is to partner with all willing GAP standard owners, including GlobalGAP, in a mutual goal of standards harmonisation.”

Gombas added that it would be ideal if a North America GAP standard, developed through the harmonisation initiative, would also serve as interpretation guidelines for GlobalGAP in North America.

Gombas said: “To that goal, the GlobalGAP national technical working group shall be founded in conjunction with the first meeting of the technical working group of the harmonisation initiative on November 18-19 in Herndon, Virginia."

GlobalGAP also got support from elsewhere. Howard Popoola, senior director of US Foodservice said: “US Foodservice supports GlobalGAP partnering with the produce good agricultural practice harmonisation initiative of United Fresh because it fits well with our sourcing policy and our efforts to implement standards including GlobalGAP into our requirements for national and foreign producers."

Delegates were also updated on rule-making, third-party certification and produce tracing initiatives by Michelle Smith, senior policy analyst at the US Food & Drug Administration. The final stop for the tour is November 18-19 in Athens.