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GAP Certification

The NH Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food: Division of Regulatory Services offers GAP/GHP certification under the USDA Federal-State Audit Program. GAP refers to "Good Agricultural Practices," and GHP refers to "Good Handling Practices."

This nationally recognized cooperative partnership performs audits based on the Food and Drug Administration's Guidelines to Minimize Microbial Contamination for Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. GAP & GHP audits are performed on a voluntary basis at the request of NH farmers and packing operations.

GAP Certified NH Farms

2023 GAP Certified NH Farms

  • Autumnview Farm

  • Brookdale Fruit Farm

  • Carter Hill Orchard

  • D.S. Cole Growers

  • Patch Orchards

  • Peachblow Farm

  • Pearl & Sons Farm

  • Viel Farm

What is GAP & GHP?

The purpose of the GAP/GHP program is to provide consumers with confidence that they are purchasing fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nuts that have been handled in a manner to reduce the risk of microbial contamination. The auditors verify compliance with the scopes requested by the application, of the USDA Federal/State Audit Checklist.

The GAP certification process consists of three (3) main sections for farm operations:

  1. General Questions
  2. Farm Review
  3. Field Harvest and Field Packing

The GHP certification process is for operations that conduct packing activities of fresh fruits and vegetables. This also consists of three (3) sections:

  1. General Questions
  2. House Packing Facility
  3. Storage and Transportation

Every operation must compile a farm safety program, which outlines the standard operating procedures and policies that are in practice for the requirements of each section. In certain circumstances, documentation must also be provided to substantiate evidence of compliance with the requirements in the checklist. Additionally, trace back and mock recall requirements have been included in the General questions, and all other sections where applicable and a traceability program must be in place and documented before on-site inspection occurs.

GAP Requirements

For more information on the GAP/GHP Certification requirements, visit the USDA GAP website.

Requesting a GAP Audit

To request a GAP/GHP audit, a completed Audit Request Form and an Audit Agreement are required.

These forms are also available on the USDA website. The completed forms may be emailed to Allen Wyman at allen.g.wyman@agr.nh.gov, faxed to (603) 271-1109, or mailed to:

NH Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food
Division of Regulatory Services
PO Box 2042
Concord, NH 03302

In addition to the 2 forms, a copy of your Food Safety Plan must be submitted at least 14 days prior to the scheduled audit visit.

Billing Policy and Process

Effective October 1, 2018, the USDA, AMS, amended the fee structure for its voluntary Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) audit program. Under the amended fee structure, you will receive two bills for your USDA GAP audit:

  1. The first bill will be from the NH Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food to cover the time and associated travel costs for trained and licensed inspectors to conduct the audit. The hourly rate will be $115.
  2. The second bill will be from the USDA to cover the time required for AMS to review, approve, issue certification, and if requested, post your audit report on a commercial database used by buyers. The USDA cost is estimated to be between 2-5 hours. The hourly rate will be $115.

Please click on this link to learn more about USDA’s Billing Policy and Processpdf file.

-Vendor Form

All USDA GAP participants must complete and submit an SC-430 New Vendor Form before scheduling an audit. The SC-430 form and instructions are posted on the AMS website at: https://www.ams.usda.gov/resources/sc430.

Click here for a copy of the SC-430 Vendor Formpdf file

-Submission

You may submit your completed SC-430 form using the information listed below:

  • Email to SCReimbursement@ams.usda.gov
  • Fax to 866-230-9168
  • Mail to:

    USDA, AMS, SCI, ASB
    1400 Independence Avenue, SW
    Stop 0247, Room 0707-S
    Washington, DC 20250-0247

If you do not submit your SC-430 form New Vendor form, you will not be able to schedule the USDA GAP audit.

Harmonized GAP

For those interested in requesting a Harmonized GAP audit, please contact the USDA Audit Services Branch directly at:

Telephone: (202) 720-5021
Fax:(866) 230-9168
Email: SCAudits@ams.usda.gov

Further Reading

Training Videos

Portable Document Format SymbolPortable Document Format (.pdf). Visit nh.gov for a list of free .pdf readers for a variety of operating systems.


NH Department of Agriculture, Markets and Food
Mailing: PO Box 2042, Concord NH 03302 -2042
Physical: 25 Capitol Street, Second Floor, Concord, NH 03301
(603) 271-3551 | fax: (603) 271-1109