JGAP

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

2016
Issue date: 1st September 2016

Table of content
1. Handling of the previous versions
2. How to use this document
3. Copyright
4. Disclaimer
5. Terms and definitions

p.1
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.5
p.6

B. Implementation of the group/farm management manual and the verification of the implementation status
4. Internal audit
4.1 Internal auditor
4.2 Internal audit of the group administration
4.3 Internal audit of the member farms
4.4 Internal audit of the subcontractors
4.5 Verification of the internal audit results
5. Measures against non-compliances
6. Traceability
7. Handling complaints and abnormalities
8. Procedure for product recall
9. Use of the JGAP logo
10. Document management and record management

p.11
p.12
p.12
p.13
p.13
p.14

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

p.15
p.16
p.17

p.7

1. Handling of the previous versions
After the issue of the "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Group Administration 2016", first audits and renewal
audits of the "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Group Administration 2012" can be continued until the end of
August of 2017.
2. How to use this document
This document is used for both JGAP Basic group audits and JGAP Advance group audits.
3. 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 the original, the entity needs to have permission
from the Japan GAP Foundation in advance.
4. Disclaimer
The Japan GAP Foundation and JGAP certification bodies do not hold legal responsibility for the agricultural produce sold by thecertified farms and groups.
5. Terms and definitions (See also the "JGAP General Regulations")
Note: When laws are quoted, unless otherwise specified, Japanese laws have been quoted.
1)

2)

3)

JGAP logo: Registered trademark owned by the Japan GAP Foundation. It represents as agricultural produce that has been
produced by a farm or a group that achieves JGAP requirement that include farm management, food safety, environmental
conservation, worker safety, human rights and welfare.
Outsourcing: Subcontracting activities that are directly related to agricultural production to external entities. Such activities
include sowing, planting, agrochemical application, fertilizer application, skiffing, pruning, harvesting, plucking and produce
handling. MRL analysis, equipment maintenance, infrastructure development, accounting etc. are not included, as they are notpart 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.
Group: Organization that consists of multiple farms that are under the principles and missions of the group, and has arepresentative and a group administration.

-1-

4)

Group inspection and certification: Inspection and certification of both the state of group governance by the group
administration and the state of management of the agricultural production processes by member farms.

5)

Compliance criteria: Criteria for objective judgment regarding good farm management. To be certified, a group needs to comply
with all the applicable control points in the "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Group Administration".

6)

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 JGAP certificatec) Handled in a produce handling facility that is listed on the JGAP 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 “JGAP Control
Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms” and “JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Group Administration” orviolates “General Regulations”

7)

8)

9)

Group/farm management manual: Manual that is indispensable for managing a producer group and contains the following
contents:a) Procedures for group governance, which meet the “JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Group Administration”b) Procedures for farm management under the responsibility of the group administration, which meet the “JGAP Control Points
and Compliance Criteria for Farms.”c) Common procedures for farm management under the responsibility of the group members, which meet the “JGAP Control
Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms.”
Group administration: An administrative body that is set up within a group to govern the organization based on the JGAP
requirements.

10) 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. JGAP requires at least one internal audit per year.

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No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

A. Management structure of the group
1. Basic information of the group and allocation of responsibilities
The following information of the group is documented.
① Name of the group② Name of the group administration③ Address and contact numbers of the group administration④ Property rights of agricultural produce and management
responsibilities between the group and the member farm
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 an organizational chart or a document that shows the following
responsible personnel.
① Representative of the group
Organizational② Responsible personnel of the group administration
Major structure of the③ Responsible personnel for internal auditsgroup④ Responsible personnel required by the "JGAP Control Points andCompliance Criteria for Farms" (if the group administration manages
the farms)-3-

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

The responsible personnel of the group administration candemonstrate his/her knowledge on (e) and the responsible personnel
for internal audits can demonstrate his/her knowledge on (a) to (f)below.
(a) Latest knowledge on GAP including food safety and hygiene
Responsible(b) Knowledge on risk assessment based on hazard analysis
personnel of the(c) Basic knowledge on agrochemicals, fertilizers, worker safety andgroup
environmental conservation
1.2.1 Major administration(d) Basic knowledge on human rights, welfare and labor management
and responsible(e) Knowledge on group management systems
personnel for(f) Knowledge and competency on audits
internal audits※ (a), (b), (c), (d) include understanding of the "JGAP Control Points
and Compliance Criteria for Farms".
※ (e), (f) include understanding of the "JGAP Control Points andCompliance Criteria for Group Administration".

1.3

Information on
Major the member
farms

The following information of the member farms is registered.
① Farm name, address, contact numbers, top management② Farm manager③ Address of the sites and facilities④ Produce items that is and will be cultivated⑤ The size of cultivation area for each item

-4-

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

2. Contract management

2.1

2.2

Contract
between the
Majorgroup and themembers

Contract
between the
Majorgroup and thesubcontractors

The group administration has a contract with the group member farms.
The contract covers the following contents.
① The group administration, address, contact numbers and the group's
representative② The farm name, address, contact numbers and the top management③ Agreement to follow the group's principles and instructions④ Agreement regarding sanctions in case of a violation of the contract

The group administration has a contract with the subcontractors. The
contract covers the following contents.
① The group administration, address, contact numbers and the group's
representative② The subcontractor's name, address, contact numbers and therepresentative of the subcontractor③ Rules for food safety regarding the outsourced activity and process④ Agreement to respect the rules established by the group
administration defined in ③
⑤ Agreement regarding sanctions in case of violation of the contract⑥ Agreement to accept an external audit and a request of corrective
actions if any non-compliance is identified
In a cases where it is unable to have a contract between a group
administration and a subcontractor, the group administration canalternatively verify the documents that the subcontractor disclosed tothe public.

-5-

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

3. Group/farm management manual

3.1

Allocation of
responsibilities
between the
There is a document that states location of responsibilities between the
Major group
group administration and the member farms for each control point ofadministration the "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms".
and the member
farms

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 "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Group
Administration"② Methods and procedures for the group administration to implementthe "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms", basedon the allocation of responsibilities defined in the Control Point 3.1.
③ Methods and procedures for the member farms to implement the"JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms", based on
the allocation of responsibilities defined in the Control Point 3.1. Whenthe methods and procedures for any control point are different fromeach 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 farms understand thecorresponding parts of the group/farm management manual.

-6-

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

ResultComment

B. Implementation of the group/farm management manual and the verification of the implementation status
4. Internal audit
4.1 Internal auditor
Requirementsof an internal
4.1.1 Major auditor and aninternal auditor
assistant

The internal auditors and the internal auditor assistants meet therequirements of the latest "JGAP General Regulations".

① When an internal auditor or an internal auditor assistant is related to
the farm that is to be audited, the farm needs to be audited by anotherinternal auditor or an internal auditor assistant who are not related toInternal audits the farm.
4.1.2 Major without conflicts ② When an internal auditor is part of the group administration, theof interest
internal audit of the group administration is conducted by anotherinternal auditor that is not conducting the same duty. In case that there
is only one internal auditor, a self-assessment is accepted, however
this must be informed to a external auditor before a audit.

4.1.3 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 amongst them, andthe implementation of the calibration mechanism is recorded.

-7-

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

4.2 Internal audit of the group administration① An internal audit of the group administration is conducted at least
once a year using the checklist based on the group/farm management
manual.
② There is a documented implementation procedure of an internal
Implementation
audit of the group administration, and the result of an internal auditof an internal
contains the following information.
4.2.1 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
4.2.2 Majorgroup
administration

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

-8-

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

4.3 Internal audit of the member farms① An internal audit for each member farm is conducted at least once a
year using the checklist based on the group/farm management manual.
Implementation② There is a documented implementation procedure for internal audits
of internalof the member farms, and the result of an internal audit contains theaudits of thefollowing information.
4.3.1 Major member farms
1) Name of the member farmand produce
2) Internal audit datehandling
3) Name of the internal auditor and internal auditor assistantfacilities
4) Non-compliances
5) Corrective actions requested or sanction for rule violation
Corrective
actions of themember farms
4.3.2 Major
and produce
handling
facilities

The farm need to take the corrective actions requested, and the resultsof the implementation are recorded.

① A group administration conducts an internal audit of a new member
Internal audit offarm before admitting to the group.
4.3.3 Major a new member② If there are non-compliances identified, this must be corrected andfarmrecorded as document.

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ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

4.4 Internal audit of the subcontractors① An internal audit for each subcontractor is conducted at least once a
year to verify whether it is following the rules in the contract documentof the Control Point 2.2.
② There is a documented implementation procedure for internal auditsof the subcontractors, and the result of an internal audit contains thefollowing information.
1) Name of the subcontractor
Implementation
2) Internal audit dateof internal3) Name of the internal auditor and internal auditor assistant
4.4.1 Major
audits of the4) Non-compliances
subcontractors5) Corrective actions requested or sanction for rule violation
In cases whereby the subcontractor is already certified by JGAP oranother third-party certification scheme recognized by the JGAP
Association, the group administration can alternatively
verify the subcontractor's certificate with its scope and validity, insteadof conducting internal audit.
Corrective
4.4.2 Major actions of thesubcontractors

Subcontractor need to take the corrective actions requested, and theresults of the implementation are recorded.

- 10 -

ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

4.5 Verification of the internal audit results

Verification ofinternal audits
by a
4.5.1 Major
responsible
personnel ofinternal audits① The responsible personnel of internal audits is aware of thefollowing information regarding the internal audits conducted for agroup administration, member farms and subcontractors.
1) Internal audit date2) Non-compliances and the results of the corrective actions② The responsible personnel of internal audits verify the noncompliances and the corrective actions, and reports the result of theverification to the responsible personnel of the group administrationand to the representative of the group.

Completion of
4.5.2 Major
internal audits

A responsible personnel of a group administration and a representativeof a group verify that all non-compliances have been corrected andinternal audits have been completed.

5. Sanction against rule violation
5.1

Sanction
Major against ruleviolations

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 JGAP certificate.

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

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ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

6. Traceability
Traceability
A shipped produce can be traced back to the farm of origin. It could bewithin the group multiple farms, but never include farms that did not ship the produce.

6.1

Major

6.2

Management of
When a group handles produce that has not been produced in aparallelcertified farm, the group demonstrates that a certified produce isMajor
handling within
handled separately by record.
the group

6.3

Reasonable
quantity ofMajor
certifiedproduceA group verifies that the quantity of JGAP certified produce isreasonable, using 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 and abnormalities

7.1① There are written procedures for complaints and abnormalities abouta group, member farm, specific site or produce handling facility, which
Handling
contains how to receive, record, investigate their causes, resolve theMajor complaints andproblems and verify the result of corrective actions.
abnormalities② When a group receive a complaint or an abnormality, the group
follows the above written procedures, and records its actions.

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ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

8. Procedure for product recall

8.1

Major Product recall① There are written procedures for product recall that include thefollowings.
1) Responsible personnel
2) Decision making criteria
3) Communication with clients and relevant institutions, such as apublic health center, an agriculture and forestry office and a local
agricultural cooperative and the JGAP certification body, which can beaffected,
4) Investigating the causes of the problem, resolving the problems
and verifying the result of corrective action5) Recording the above actions taken② When product recall occur, the group follows the written procedures,and records its actions.

8.2

Product recall
Major
trial

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.

9. Use of the JGAP logo

9.1

Supervision of
the JGAP logo
Major
by the group
administration

When the JGAP logos are used, it is used under the supervision of thegroup administration, and is used only for certified produce.

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ResultComment

No

Level

Control Point

Compliance Criteria

10. Documents and records management

Issuing of agroup/farm
10.1 Major
management
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.

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

Management of
the latest
version of the10.3 Majorgroup/farmmanagement
manualWhen 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.

10.4 Major

Records
management

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 thepast three months prior to the date of audit, except the records ofactivities that have not taken place during that corresponding period.
After the first audit, the group continuously keeps records.

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ResultComment

JGAP（Japan Good Agricultural Practice）
For Group Administration
Effective as of the 1st of September 2016

Guideline for sampling of member farms for agrochemical residue analysis(Fruits and Vegetables)
This guideline needs to be additionally applied for a JGAP group inspection and certification of fruits and vegetables, regarding the sampling method ofmember farms for agrochemical residue analysis that is requested in the Control Point 6.6.2 of the "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for
Farms - Fruits and Vegetables 2010" and the Control Point 24.6.1 of the "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms - Basic/Advance Fruits and Vegetables 2016".
1. Basic principles
Agrochemical residue analysis for JGAP 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, it is prohibited from creating a sample by mixing produce from multiple
farms. For a selected farm for sampling, a sample needs to be taken from the produce that meets the criteria regarding active ingredients, harvestinterval and location, stated in the Control Point 6.6.2 (JGAP Fruits and Vegetables 2010) or the Control Point 24.6.1 (JGAP Fruits and Vegetables
2016).
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. Following conditions determine the level of risk of agrochemical residue. (They are not in the order of importance.)
a. A farm is planning to harvest the produce for sale in spite of agrochemical drift occurred.
A farm has been detected for an inappropriate use of agrochemicals by the group administration, a certification body or an internal audit in theb.
past one year.
c. A farm has recently joined the group, or a farm has recently added a new site.
d. A farm that a responsible personnel for agrochemical management has been changed in the past one 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.

- 15 -JGAP（Japan Good Agricultural Practice）
For Group Administration
Effective as of the 1st of September 2016

Guideline for sampling of member farms for agrochemical residue analysis (Grains)
This guideline needs to be additionally applied for a JGAP group inspection and certification of grains, regarding the sampling method of member farms
for agrochemical residue analysis that is requested in the Control Point 5.6.2 of the "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms - Grains2012" and the Control Point 24.6.1 of the "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms - Basic/Advance - Grains 2016".
1. Basic principles
Agrochemical residue analysis for JGAP 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, it is prohibited from creating a sample by mixing produce from multiple
farms. For a selected farm for sampling, a sample needs to be taken from the produce that meets the criteria regarding active ingredients, harvestinterval and location, stated in the Control Point 5.6.2 (JGAP Grains 2012) or the Control Point 24.6.1 (JGAP Grains 2016).
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. Following conditions determine the level of risk of agrochemical residue. (They are not in the order of importance.)
a. A farm is planning to harvest the produce for sale in spite of agrochemical residue occurred.
A farm has been detected for an inappropriate use of agrochemicals by the group administration, a certification body or an internal audit in theb.
past one year.
c. A farm has recently joined the group, or a farm has recently added a new site.
d. A farm that a responsible personnel for agrochemical management has been changed in the past one 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.

- 16 -JGAP（Japan Good Agricultural Practice）
For Group Administration
Effective as of the 1st of September 2016

Guideline for sampling of member farms for agrochemical residue analysis (Tea)This guideline needs to be additionally applied for a JGAP group inspection and certification of tea, regarding the sampling method of member farms for
agrochemical residue analysis that is requested in the Control Point 3.3.4 of the "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms - Tea 2012" andthe Control Point 24.6.1 of the "JGAP Control Points and Compliance Criteria for Farms - Basic/Advance - Tea 2016".
1. Basic principles
Agrochemical residue analysis for JGAP is to verify whether the farm is using agrochemicals in an appropriate manner, and is not to inspect a productfor the purpose of acceptance of a certain product lot. Therefore, it is prohibited from creating a sample by mixing produce from multiple farms. For aselected 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 3.3.4 (JGAP Tea 2012) or the Control Point 24.6.1 (JGAP Tea
2016). 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 of manufactured 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, asample farm can be randomly selected. When selecting farms, the farms should not know in advance whether they will be selected for agrochemical
residue analysis. Following conditions determine the level of risk of agrochemical residue. (They are not in the order of importance.)
a. A farm is planning to harvest the produce for sale in spite of agrochemical drift occurred.
b.

A farm has been detected for an inappropriate use of agrochemicals by the group administration, a certification body or in an internal audit in thepast one year.

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

- 17 -

The Japan GAP Foundation
Nihon nougyo kenkyujo Bldg. 4F, 3-29 Kioi-cho
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0094, Japan
Tel: (81) 3 5215 1112, Fax (81) 3 5215 1113
URL: http://jgap.jp
E-mail: info@jgap.jp
Printed: 1st May 2016