Other party private solution
AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer
AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer is a private add-on to the Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard for producers that supply the Dutch retailer Albert Heijn. It contains two modules that address a range of criteria for social compliance and sustainable production methods.
Targeted criteria for Albert Heijn suppliers
What is AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer?
Launched in 2022, AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer was developed to strengthen partnerships with fruit and vegetable producers in the areas of social and environmental sustainability. The add-on consists of two modules: Producer (criteria on transparency and workers’ well-being) and Nature (criteria on soil/water management, energy, fertilization, integrated pest management, and more). Applicable to fruit and vegetable production and audited in combination with the Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard, FoodPLUS GmbH worked with Albert Heijn to create the private solution which reduces duplication in the supply chain.
AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer at a glance
Audited together
with IFA for fruit and vegetables to minimize the audit burden for producers
Focused content
on socially and environmentally responsible farming practices
Robust integrity
through third-party, accredited GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification bodies
Audited together
with IFA for fruit and vegetables to minimize the audit burden for producers
Focused content
on socially and environmentally responsible farming practices
Robust integrity
through third-party, accredited GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification bodies
Which topics does AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer address?
Social compliance
Biodiversity
Resilient and healthy soil
Fertilization
Integrated pest management
Emission reduction of plant protection products
Efficient water use
Energy
CO2 footprint
Who should use AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer?
AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer is only available for individual producers (multisite with or without a quality management system) who supply fruit and vegetable products either directly or via their suppliers to Albert Heijn in the Netherlands. The add-on can only be implemented by producers registered in the Netherlands.
All producers must hold certification to IFA, as the audit builds on existing criteria in the IFA standard. Furthermore, the GLOBALG.A.P. Risk Assessment on Social Practice (GRASP) add-on (or an equivalent alternative as mentioned in the add-on documents) must be implemented at farm level.
Reducing audit duplication in the supply chain
How does AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer work?
The add-on content is formed of control points and compliance criteria (CPCCs) which are graded as either Major Must or Minor Must. There are also additional control measures which are optional. The AH Beter voor Natuur en Boer checklist contains dedicated Albert Heijn requirements – 46 CPCCs – that are audited in combination with those in the Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) standard for fruit and vegetables.
Which documents are required?
General rules specifications: Rules that define how the audit process works, from the scope of the add-on to the audit requirements.
Checklist: The full list of add-on criteria as used by CB auditors, enabling producers to perform a self-assessment in preparation for the on-site audit.
How is certification status verified?
Every producer registered in the GLOBALG.A.P. system is assigned a 13-digit GLOBALG.A.P. identification number (e.g., a GGN). This number allows real-time verification of certification status in the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems, upholding our rigorous transparency requirements throughout the supply chain.
Latest news
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Looking for technical news?
Technical news updates for all add-ones can be found in our technical news libraries.
Your guide to implementation
How to prepare for an AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer audit
Follow our “five steps to conformance” guide for a simple overview of the audit process and find a GLOBALG.A.P. approved certification body (CB) in your area to get started.
How does the audit process work?
Compliance with the add-on requirements is audited annually by an accredited and independent third-party certification body (CB) in combination with an Integrated Farm Assurance (IFA) audit.
Producers have the freedom to choose which CB they use (although it must be the same CB conducting the IFA audit and the AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer audit).
A successful audit results in a letter of conformance valid for one year.
The CB is responsible for uploading the audit report, including the data points, and maintaining the accuracy of producer data in the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems.
Producers must undergo an on-site audit each year as part of the renewal process.
Audit results are uploaded to the GLOBALG.A.P. database. Only AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer Observers (Albert Heijn employees and service providers who have been granted the appropriate access), the GLOBALG.A.P. Secretariat, and the CB which conducted the audit will be able to view your results.
Which version of AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer is currently valid?
There is one valid version of AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer available for audit.
Version 1.1 was published and became obligatory on 1 March 2023. It can be combined with IFA v5.2 or v5.4-1-GFS, and from 1 January 2024, IFA v6.
Ready to get started?
Use our Smart Checklist Builder to easily understand which GLOBALG.A.P. smart farm assurance solutions are recommended for your production practices and generate a personalized checklist for your self-assessment.
Five steps to conformance
You will need the AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer general rules specifications and the checklist. All of the required documents are available online, for free, and in multiple languages. They are linked below and can also be found in the document center.
Use the documents to guide the implementation of the standard requirements, and then perform a self-assessment using the checklist.
Contact your CB and request an audit. Note that the GLOBALG.A.P. fee table does not cover CB service fees such as audit time or travel costs to your site.
The CB will perform the on-site audit and upload the results to Audit Online Hub. Any non-compliances which are detected during the audit must be corrected within the specified period and verified by the CB before a letter of conformance can be issued.
When all requirements are met and verified by the CB, they will issue your letter of conformance for AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer. Your conformance status is then visible in the GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems for transparency in the market.
Key documents
The most relevant documents are linked below. Click ‘view more’ to see further related documents. Remember to always check with your CB that you have all necessary documents prior to audit.
AH Beter voor Natuur & Boer
Rules and regulations
V1.1
English | Last updated: 10/10/2023
Rules and regulations define how a specific standard must be implemented – from the certification scope to the audit requirements for certification bodies.
GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs
The list of GLOBALG.A.P. approved CBs can be filtered by region, country, scope, and status. Click a CB to find more information and contact details.
If you do not filter your search, or filter only according to region and/or country, your search results will also show CBs that offer certification against benchmarked schemes, but which may not have approval for any GLOBALG.A.P. standards and add-ons.
Contact us
For questions about technical topics or interpretation of the add-on, please contact us at standard_support@globalgap.org.
For questions about the audit process or GLOBALG.A.P. IT systems, please contact us at customer_support@globalgap.org.