Option A

Four-year Audit Cycle

Option A, the four-year audit cycle, was specifically designed to meet the Canadian government requirements for on-farm audits. This cycle is based on minimum requirements for the CanadaGAP Program to meet government recognition under the CanadaGAP Recognition Program (to be re-assessed after the first four-year cycle).

The random audit component provides a statistically-validated basis to maintain program rigour in the years where producers are not automatically scheduled for on-site visits. “Random” does not mean a surprise visit; it means that a grower could be randomly chosen for an audit during any of the three self-assessment years. Those who are selected for random audits will have no added costs; they will be covered by the annual program enrolment fee.

Table 1 below provides an overview of each year’s Audit Activity for participants certified to Option A of the CanadaGAP Program:

Option A: Audit Activity
	Full Audit	Self-Assessment (self-declaration and completed checklist)	Random Audit	Triggered Audit*
Year 1
Year 2			Possible	Possible
Year 3			Possible	Possible
Year 4			Possible	Possible
Year 5	Repeat Cycle

* A triggered audit would only be deemed necessary to investigate a potential food safety risk at a particular site.
These could be triggered as a follow up to an on-site visit or a self-assessment. The cost of triggered audits would be
borne by the producer/packer. Participants can avoid triggered audits by managing risks as outlined in the CanadaGAP Manual.

For an overview of the cost of Option A, visit CanadaGap's Web site.

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