Several organizations part of Harmonized Standard Audit

United Fresh Produce Association said March 7 that the Harmonized Standard Audit is now available from the following auditing organizations:

• 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)
• WQS – World Quality Services

To reduce audit fatigue, the produce industry collaborated to develop the technical requirements of the Harmonized Standard nearly a decade ago. As Secretariat to the Harmonized Standard, United Fresh manages the official standards and coordinates efforts that enable consistent interpretation and application of the standard across the industry. Each licensee combines the technical standard with their unique audit process and auditor qualifications to encourage and evaluate food safety practices in the growing and post-harvest environments.

“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,” said Emily Griep, United Fresh’s Manager of Food Safety. “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.”

Individuals interested in learning more about the Harmonized Standard should contact Emily Griep at 202-303-3401 or visit the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section of the United Fresh website.