Why are EurepGAP certificates important for farmers?

As consumers and customers demand for high quality and safe food is constantly increasing, the challenge for farmers and farmer groups is to keep up with the standards of quality.
Today EurepGAP certification is required by a considerable number of retailers, especially supermarkets. This can be a threat for some farmers, as non-compliance with EurepGAP standards may lead to an exclusion from certain (export) markets. But it offers also a great chance for farmer groups to introduce sustainable agricultural practices based on integrated crop and pest management principles.

What do I have to do to become EurepGAP Certified?

Firstly, it is recommended to read the EurepGAP general regulations and control points of the respective product scope before contacting a certification body which will accomplish the certification procedure.

EurepGAP is not issuing the certificates itself but has authorised registered Certification Bodies to do this. Please find here a list of all EurepGAP registered Certification Bodies.
EurepGAP offers four different options for certification to them.

* Individual growers (Option 1)

* Grower organisations (Option 2)

For these first two options the producers receive their EurepGAP approval via a EurepGAP certificate, which is issued by a Certification Body (CB) that is accredited to ISO Guide 65 and has been approved by EurepGAP.

Farmers who want to get certified to EurepGAP have to take certain costs into account. Generally they have to pay for registration, inspection and certification. Find more details about the fees here.

Option 3 (individual farmers) and Option 4 (farmer groups) are known as benchmarking options. A specially designed approval process, the EurepGAP Benchmarking Option facilitates existing national or regional quality assurance schemes to prove equivalence with EurepGAP requirements.
Hereby multiple audits are avoided at grower level and the development of regionally adjusted integrated crop management systems is encouraged.

You find all the relevant documents for your information and registration on our website. Please click on the respective product scope.


Do I have to be a member to become EurepGAP approved?

The membership of EurepGAP is independent from an approval as grower or as certifier. EurepGAP is an open system, where anybody can apply and receive approval when complying with the objective criteria set out in the various EurepGAP documents.

Members show additional commitment to shape and improve our system as active partners. In return, members qualify for discounts in the EurepGAP fee system for approvals.