ASIAGAP
Asia Good Agricultural PracticeControl Points and Compliance Criteria(for Group Administration)

Ver.2.3
Issue date: October 1, 2020
Effective: November 1, 2020

Table of contents
1. How to use this document
2. Copyright
3. Disclaimer
4. Terms and definitions

p.1
p.1
p.1
p.1

A. Management structure of the group
1. Basic information of the group and allocation of responsibilities
2. Contract management
3. Group/farm management manual

p.3
p.4
p.5

B. Implementation of the group/farm management manual and verification of the implementation status
4. Internal audit
4.1 Internal audit programme
4.2 Preparation of Internal audit
4.3 Internal audit for the Group administration
4.4 Internal audit for the member farms and Produce handling facility
4.5 Internal audit for the subcontractors
4.6 Verification of the internal audit results
5. Sanctions for rule violations
6. Traceability
7. Handling complaints, abnormalities and recall
8. Use of the ASIAGAP logo
9. Documents and records management

p.6
p.6
p.7
p.9
p.10
p.11
p.12
p.13
p.13
p.14
p.15
p.15

Guideline for sampling of member farms for agrochemical residue analysis (Fruits and Vegetables/Grains)
Guideline for sampling of member farms for agrochemical residue analysis (Tea)

p.17
p.18

1. How to use this document
This document is used for both ASIAGAP group audits.
2. CopyrightThis document has been developed by the Japan GAP Foundation, and its copyright belongs to the Japan GAP Foundation.
When any entity intends to produce a secondary document that derives from this original, the entity needs to have permission
from the Japan GAP Foundation in advance.
3. Disclaimer
The Japan GAP Foundation and ASIAGAP certification bodies shall not be held legally responsible for the agricultural produce
sold by the certified farms and groups.
4. Terms and definitions (See also the "ASIAGAP General Regulations")
Note: When laws are quoted, unless otherwise specified, Japanese laws have been quoted.
(1)

ASIAGAP Certified Farm Logomark : Registered trademark owned by the Japan GAP Foundation. It represents that group/farmachieves ASIAGAP requirements that include farm management, food safety, environmental conservation, worker safety, humanrights, and welfare.

(2)

Outsourcing: Subcontracting activities to external entities that are directly related to agricultural production. Such activities include
sowing, planting, agrochemical application, fertilizer application, skiffing, pruning, harvesting, plucking, and produce handling.
aguricultural residue analysis, equipment maintenance, infrastructure development, accounting, etc. are not included, as they are
not part of the agricultural production process. In the case of a group, support of agricultural activities among the group members
is not considered to be outsourcing.
Farm: A farm is a management entity that conducts the production of agricultural produce having legal ownership of the
agricultural produce and has a unitary management system. A Farm consists of either single site or multiple sites.

(3)
(4)

Site: The unit administrated under one control system. Each unit is required to grapple with "Control Points and Complaiance
Criteria". Site can be farm, jointly owned tune up area or sorting plant, country elevator, unprocessed tea plant. Multiple sitemeans that there are multiple numbers of sites separately located.

(5)Group: Organization that consists of multiple sites that are under the policy fixed by the group, and that has a representative anda group administration. When one management entity has multiple sites, it shall have an administration office, and in the case of
they manage the site, they shall be group.
1(6)Group Certification : ASIAGAP certificate to be provided to Group/farm which is auditted and verified the comformity against"ASIAGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria (for Group Administration) " and Control Points and Compliance Criteria (forFarms).

(7)

Certified produce: Agricultural produce that meets all the following criteriaa) Shipped from certified farm or group within the certificate validity periodb) Item that is listed on the ASIAGAP certificatec) Handled in a produce handling facility that is listed on the ASIAGAP certificate (when there is a produce handling facility on thefarm)
Violation of rules by the farm/group: When a farm or a group violates regulations that were defined based on “ASIAGAP Control
Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms” and “ASIAGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Group Administration” orviolates “General Regulations.”

(8)

(9)

Group/farm management manual: Manual that is indispensable for managing a producer group and includes the following
contents:a) Procedures for group governance that meet the “ASIAGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Group Administration.”b) Procedures for site management under the responsibility of the group administration that meet the “ASIAGAP Control Points
and Compliance Criteria for Farms.”c) Common procedures for site management under the responsibility of the group members that meet the “ASIAGAP Control
Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms.”(10) Group administration: An administrative body that is set up within a group to govern the organization based on the ASIAGAP
requirements.
(11) Internal audit: A producer group’s internal auditor and internal auditor assistant check and verify the status of group members’
farm management, based on the group/farm management manual. The results of the internal audits are reported to the group
administrator and the group representative. ASIAGAP requires at least one internal audit per year.
(12) Internal auditor: A person who governs the internal audit.

2

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

A. Management structure of the group
1. Basic information of the group and allocation of responsibilities
The following documented information of the group are maintained.
(1) Name of the group(2) Name of the group administration(3) Address and contact method(s) of the group administration(4) Property rights of agricultural produce and management
responsibilities between the group and the member site(5) Property rights of agricultural produce and management
responsibilities between the group and its client

1.1

Basic
Major information of
the group

1.2

There is a documented organizational chart or a its describeddocument that shows the following responsible personnel.
(1) Representative of the group
Organizational(2) Responsible personnel of the group administration
Major structure of the(3) Responsible personnel of internal audits
group(4) Responsible personnel that required by the "ASIAGAP Control
Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms" (if the group administration
manages the farms)(1) Representative of the group shall review the effectiveness of thegroup management system at least once a year. At the reviewing time,
representative of the group shall understand the output of each internalManagement
audit, include control point 4.6.1. Instructions on improvements given to
Review by
1.2.1 Major
the responsible personnel include improvement of group management
Representative
manual are recorded.
of the group(2) Output of management review and instructions for responsible
personnel are documented and maintained

3

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria(1) The responsible personnel of the group administration shall
Responsible
demonstrate his/her knowledge of group management system.
personnel of thegroup(2) Responsible personnel for internal audits shall demonstrate to fit
1.2.2 Major administration
under the following conditions.
and responsible
1) Certificated group internal auditor.
personnel for2) ensure that creation, monitoring, review, and improvement ofinternal audits
internal audit programme.

1.3

Information on
Major the member
sites

The following information of the member farms is registered.
(1) Site name, address, contact numbers and the name of the top
management(2) Site manager(3) Address of the sites and facilities(4) Produce items that are and will be cultivated or handling items(5) The size of cultivation area for each item (only in the case for thefarm)

2. Contract management

2.1

Contract
between the
Majorgroup and themember sites

The group administration has a contract with the group member sites.
The contract includes the following contents.
(1) The group administration's name, address, contact numbers, andthe name of the group's representative(2) The site name, address, contact numbers, and the name of the top
management(3) Agreement to follow the group's principles and instructions(4) Agreement regarding sanctions in case of a violation of the contract

4

ResultComment

No

2.2

Level

Control Point

Contract
between the
Majorgroup and thesubcontractors

Compliance Criteria
The group administration has a contract with the subcontractors. The
contract includes the following contents.
(1) The group administration's name, address, contact numbers, andthe name of the group's representative(2) The subcontractor's name, address, contact numbers, and thename of the representative of the subcontractor(3) Rules for food safety regarding the outsourced activity and process(4) Agreement to respect the rules established by the group
administration defined in (3)(5) Agreement regarding sanctions in case of violation of the contract(6) Agreement to accept an external audit and a request for corrective
actions if any non-compliance is identified
In a case where it is unable to have a contract between a group
administration and a subcontractor, the group administration canalternatively confirm the documents that the subcontractor disclosed tothe public.

3. Group/farm management manual

3.1

Allocation of
responsibilities
between the
Major group
administrationand the member
sites

There is a document that states location of responsibilities between thegroup administration and the member sites for each control point of the"ASIAGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms."

5

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

3.2

Requirements
for group/farmMajormanagement
manualThere is a group/farm management manual to operate the group, andthe manual includes the following content.
(1) Methods and procedures for the group administration to implementthe "ASIAGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Group
Administration."(2) Methods and procedures for the group administration to implementthe "ASIAGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms,"
based on the allocation of responsibilities defined in Control Point 3.1.
(3) Methods and procedures for the member sites to implement the"ASIAGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms," basedon the allocation of responsibilities defined in Control Point 3.1. Whenthe methods and procedures for any control point are different for each
farm, such control points are indicated in the manual.

3.3

Understandingof theMajor group/farmmanagement
manualThe responsible personnel of the group administration ensures that thegroup administration and the member sites understand thecorresponding parts of the group/farm management manual.

ResultComment

B. Implementation of the group/farm management manual and verification of the implementation status
4. Internal audit
4.1 Internal audit program

Internal audit
4.1.1 Major program
proceduresInternal audit program procedures have been established, anddocumented. The procedures have been established to fulfill at least
Control Points 4.2 through 4.6, stipulating information such as the
purpose of auditing, ensuring the resources of internal auditors andassistant auditors, frequency and timing of internal audits, planning andimplementation of individual audits, audit reviews and input tomanagement reviews.
6

No

Level

Control Point

Internal audit
4.1.2 Major program
formulation

Compliance Criteria"An internal audit program has been formulated in accordance with
Control Point 4.1.1, and the program has been approved by a member(or members) of personnel responsible for the group administration.
(1) The timing for internal audits to be carried out under the internal
audit program has been determined such that the group administration,
all sites, all produce-handling facilities and all applicable subcontractors(Ref. Control Point 4.5.1) undergo audits at least once a year.
(2) The internal audit program includes mechanisms that enableinternal audits to be conducted based on a new group/farmmanagement manual (when the “ASIAGAP Control Points andCompliance Criteria for Farms” and/or the “ASIAGAP Control Points
and Compliance Criteria for Group Administration” are updated to a
new version, and a corresponding group/farm management manual iscreated and put into operation), even when less than one year has
passed since the previous internal audit. In such cases, an internal
audit may be conducted to audit only parts where there are differences
between the previous manual and the new manual. Additionally, theinternal audit based on the new manual must be complete prior to anaudit by a certification body."

4.2 Preparation for Internal audit
Requirementsof an internal
4.2.1 Major auditor and aninternal auditor
assistant

The internal auditors and the internal auditor assistants shall meet thefollowing requirements.
(1) Internal auditors:
1) The latest "ASIAGAP General Regulation 12.1.2(2) Internal auditor assistants:
1) The latest "ASIAGAP General Regulation 12.1.3

7

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

Responsible personnel of internal audits verify, once a year or more,
and approve that internal auditors and internal auditor assistants havethe competence to conduct appropriate audits. The results of theseInternal auditor
verifications and approvals are recorded. When necessary, responsible
4.2.2 Major competence
personnel of internal audits attend and oversee internal audits, andchecksrecord the results. Where a member of responsible personnel ofinternal audits is also an internal auditor him or herself, his or hercompetence is verified by another internal auditor.
Internal audits
Internal auditors and internal auditor assistants do not audit their own
4.2.3 Major without conflicts
work to ensure impartiality.
of interest

4.2.4 Major

4.2.5 Major

Calibration ofinternal audits

When multiple internal auditors and internal auditor assistants are
conducting internal audits, there is a mechanism to calibrate theinterpretation of the standard and audit methods among them, and theimplementation of the calibration mechanism is recorded.

Internal audit
plan

Responsible personnel of internal audits ensure that a concrete plan isformulated for each individual internal audit in accordance with theinternal audit program, and that the plan is documented. The plancontains the purpose of the audit, auditing criteria, applicable scope,schedule, selection of internal auditors and internal auditor assistants,
and key points to be checked.

8

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

4.3 Internal audit of the group administration(1) An internal audit of the group administration is conducted based on
the group/farm management manual, in accordance with an internal
audit plan as described under Control Point 4.2.5.
Implementation (2) The record of internal audit results contains at least the followingof an internal
contents.
4.3.1 Major audit of the1) Internal audit dategroup2) Name of the internal auditor and internal auditor assistantadministration
3) Name of the responsible personnel of the group administration thatis subjected to the internal audit
4) Non-compliances
5) Corrective actions requested
Corrective
actions by the
4.3.2 Majorgroup
administration

The group administration must take the corrective actions requested,
and the results of the implementation are recorded.

9

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

4.4 Internal audit of the sites(1) An internal audit for each member farm and produce handlingfacility is conducted based on the group/farm management manual, in
accordance with an internal audit plan as described under Control Point
4.2.5.
Implementation(2) The record of an internal audit results contains at least the following
of internal
4.4.1 Major
information.
audits of the1) Name of the sites
sites2) Internal audit date3) Name of the internal auditor and internal auditor assistant4) Non-compliances
5) Corrective actions requested or sanctions for rule violations

Corrective
4.4.2 Major actions of thesites

The farm must take the corrective actions requested, and the results of
the implementation are recorded.

(1) A group administration conducts an internal audit of a new member
Internal audit ofsite before admitting it to the group.
4.4.3 Major a new member(2) If there are non-compliances identified, these must be corrected andsite
recorded in a document.

10

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

4.5 Internal audit of the subcontractors(1) An internal audit for each subcontractor is conducted, in accordancewith an internal audit plan as described under Control Point 4.2.5, toverify whether or not it is following the rules in the contract document
described under Control Point 2.2.
(2) The result of an internal audit contains at least the following
information.
1) Name of the subcontractor
Implementation
2) Internal audit dateof internal
4.5.1 Major
3) Name of the internal auditor and internal auditor assistant
audits of the4) Non-compliances
subcontractors5) Corrective actions requested or sanctions for rule violations
In cases where the subcontractor is already certified by ASIAGAP oranother third-party certification scheme recognized by the Japan GAPFoundation, the group administration can alternatively confirm thesubcontractor's certificate with its scope and validity, instead of
conducting an internal audit.

11

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Corrective
4.5.2 Major actions of thesubcontractors

Compliance Criteria
The subcontractor must take the corrective actions requested, and theresults of the implementation are recorded.

4.6 Verification of the internal audit results
Responsible personnel of internal audits verify nonconformities
discovered in internal audits, judge whether it is necessary to apply
corrective measures laterally within the group, and implement
Judgements
measures where necessary. Where a management decision is
4.6.1 Major regarding lateralrequired, this is used as reference material for considerations in
implementation
reviews by the representative of the group. A chain of records is kept,
including the results of lateral implementation of measures within thegroup.
(1) The responsible personnel of internal audits is aware of thefollowing information regarding the internal audits conducted for group
administration, member sites, and subcontractors.
1) Internal audit date2) nonconformities and the results of the corrective actions
Verification of(2) The responsible personnel of internal audits ensures thatinternal audits
nonconformities and corrective actions applied with respect to them are
4.6.2 Major by a responsible
verified. Where the responsible personnel of internal audits is an
personnel ofinternal auditor, the results of internal audits conducted by that person
internal audits
are verified by another internal auditor.
(3) The responsible personnel of internal audits verifies thenonconformities and the corrective actions, and reports the result of theverification to the responsible personnel of the group administration andto the representative of the group.

12

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Completion of
4.6.3 Major
internal audits

Compliance Criteria
A responsible personnel of a group administration and a representativeof a group confirm that all non-conformities have been corrected andinternal audits have been completed.

5. Sanctions for rule violations
Sanctions forrule violations

A group applies sanctions to a member farm for violation of thegroup/farm management manual, and records the measures applied.

5.1

Major

5.2

Reporting to the If a member farm is suspended or expelled from the group due to the
Major certification
result of an internal audit, the group reports it to the certification body
bodythat has issued the ASIAGAP certificate.

6. Traceability

6.1

A shipped produce can be traced back to the site of origin. It could be
Traceability
multiple farms, but never includes farms that did not ship the produce.
Major
within the group Agricultural produce that is not shipped through a group administration
shall not be shipped as certified produce.

6.2

Management of When a group handles produce that has not been produced in a
Major parallel handling certified farm/group, the group demonstrates through records thatwithin the group certified produce is handled separately.

13

ResultComment

No

6.3

Level

Control Point

Reasonable
quantity ofMajor
certifiedproduceCompliance Criteria
A group confirms that the quantity of ASIAGAP certified produce isreasonable. For example, there are records which indicate that theverification was made with the following information(1) Size of a registered production area
(2) Average yield for each unit area(3)Track record of crop yield

7. Handling complaints, abnormalities, and product recall
There are documented effective major incident management
procedures for handling cases of complaints and abnormalities withregard to the group/farm or specific member farms or facilities, and thefollowing points are clear in the document. Product abnormalities
include serious nonconformities relating to the safety of harvested
produce, as well as agricultural products and shipments underpreparation.

7.1(1) Reporting to the person responsible for product management, in the
Handlingcase of complaints and abnormalities of products
Major complaints and (2) Analysis of the situation and the impacts (including the decision
abnormalities
regarding product recall)(3) Emergency responses (contacting clients that can be affected,
consulting and informing relevant institutions, product recall, disposal of
products with problems, etc.)(4) Investigation of causes(5) Corrective actions and their completion due dates(6) Reporting to the ASIAGAP audit and certification body, in case theillegalities are founded(7) Verification of the effectiveness of the corrective actions taken(8) The incident management procedures shall be regularly tested.

14

ResultComment

No

7.2

7.3

Level

Control Point

Major Product recall

Major

Product recall
trial

Compliance Criteria
The records show that the farm handled complaints and abnormalities
of products according to the procedures established in Control Point
7.1.
(1) A group conducts a trial of the product recall procedures establishedin the Control Point 8.1 at least once a year, and records the result of
the trial.
(2) Based on the result, a group revises the product recall procedures.

8. Use of the ASIAGAP logo

8.1

Supervision of
the ASIAGAP
Major logo by thegroup
administration

The ASIAGAP certified farm logo is used under the control of the group
administration.

9. Documents and records management

9.1

Issuing of agroup/farmMajormanagement
manualThe records demonstrate that the group/farm management manual isdeveloped and revised by the following procedures.
(1) The manual is developed by a responsible personnel of the group
administration or by a responsible personnel of internal audits.
(2) The Control Point 3.2 is verified by a person who meets the internal
auditor requirements.
(3) The manual is approved by a representative of the group.

9.2

Revision of agroup/farmMajormanagement
manualThe group/farm management manual is revised at least once a year.

15

ResultComment

No

Level

9.3

Management of
the latest
version of theMajorgroup/farmmanagement
manual9.4

Major

Control Point

Records
management

Compliance Criteria
When the group/farm management manual is revised, the following
procedures are conducted.
(1) The old version and the new version are clearly identified.
(2) The changes from the old version to the new version are explained
to the contact personnel of the group administration and to the member
farms.
The required records need to be stored for at least two years and beavailable for audits. For the first audit, there must be records of the past
three months prior to the date of audit, except the records of activities
that have not taken place during that corresponding period. After the
first audit, the group continuously keeps records.

16

ResultComment

ASIAGAP（Asia Good Agricultural Practice）
For Group Administration
Effective as of the 1st of November 2020

Guideline for sampling of member farms for agrochemical residue analysis(Fruits and Vegetables / Grains)
This guideline needs to be additionally applied for a ASIAGAP group inspection and certification of fruits and vegetables / grains, regarding the sampling
method of member farms for agrochemical residue analysis that is requested in the Control Point 24.6.1 of the "ASIAGAP Control Points andCompliance Criteria for Farms Fruits and Vegetables / Grains".
1. Basic principles
Agrochemical residue analysis for ASIAGAP is to verify whether the farm is using agrochemicals in an appropriate manner, and is not to inspect a
product for the purpose of acceptance of a certain product lot. Therefore, creating a sample by mixing produce from multiple farms is prohibited. Fora selected farm for sampling, a sample needs to be taken from the produce that meets the criteria regarding active ingredients, harvest interval, andlocation, stated in the Control Point 24.6.1 (ASIAGAP Ver.1 or Ver.2 Fruits and Vegetables / Grains).
2. Target farms
All the member farms of the group should be potentially selected for sampling.
3. Sampling method
More than one farm needs to be selected from the highest and higher risk of agrochemical residue. When there is no specific farm with a higher risk,a sample farm can be randomly selected. When selecting farms, the farms should not know in advance whether they will be selected for
agrochemical residue analysis. The following conditions determine the level of risk of agrochemical residue. (They are not in the order ofimportance.)
a. A farm is planning to harvest the produce for sale in spite of agrochemical drift that occurred.
A farm has been detected inappropriately using agrochemicals by the group administration, a certification body or an internal audit in the pastb.
year.
c. A farm has recently joined the group, or a farm has recently added a new site.
d. A farm where a responsible personnel for agrochemical management has been changed in the past year.
e. A farm has never been sampled for an agrochemical residue analysis.
f.

A site of a farm has a risk of agrochemical residue in the soil. (e.g. A farm has buried agrochemicals in the past.)

g. A farm cultivates a new crop on the site right after the harvest of the previous crop.

17

ASIAGAP（Asia Good Agricultural Practice）
For Group Administration
Effective as of the 1st of November 2020

Guideline for sampling of member farms for agrochemical residue analysis (Tea)This guideline needs to be additionally applied for a ASIAGAP group inspection and certification of tea, regarding the sampling method of member farms
for agrochemical residue analysis that is requested in the Control Point 24.6.1 of the "ASIAGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms Tea".
1. Basic principles
Agrochemical residue analysis for ASIAGAP is to verify whether the farm is using agrochemicals in an appropriate manner, and is not to inspect a
product for the purpose of acceptance of a certain product lot. Therefore, creating a sample by mixing produce from multiple farms is prohibited. Fora selected farm for sampling, a sample needs to be taken from the crude tea that has been manufactured from fresh leaves that meet the criteria
regarding active ingredients, harvest interval, and location, stated in the Control Point 24.6.1 (ASIAGAP Ver.1 or Ver.2 Tea). When it is not possible
nor willing to manufacture crude tea by usual method, fresh leaves can be dried using other methods to bring down the moisture level up to that ofmanufactured crude tea.
2. Target farms
All the member farms of the group should be potentially selected for sampling.
3. Sampling method
More than one farm needs to be selected from the highest and higher risk of agrochemical residue. When there is no specific farm with a higher risk,a sample farm can be randomly selected. When selecting farms, the farms should not know in advance whether they will be selected for
agrochemical residue analysis. The following conditions determine the level of risk of agrochemical residue. (They are not in the order ofimportance.)
a. A farm is planning to harvest the produce for sale in spite of agrochemical drift that occurred.
b.

A farm has been detected inappropriately using agrochemicals by the group administration, a certification body or in an internal audit in the pastyear.

c. A farm has recently joined the group, or a farm has recently added a new site.
d. A farm where a responsible personnel for agrochemical management has been changed in the past year.
e. A farm has never been sampled for an agrochemical residue analysis.

18

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