If you fail the audit, you will usually be able to achieve certification through the corrective actions process.
Options B, C and D |
Options E and F |
Options A1, A2 | |
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1. What is the passing score? | 100% | 95% | 85% |
2. What happens if an operation does not achieve the passing score? | The operation needs to complete corrective actions or a corrective actions plan to achieve certification. | The operation needs to complete corrective actions or a corrective actions plan to achieve certification. | The operation needs to complete corrective actions to achieve certification. |
3. Can an operation use a corrective actions plan? When can an operation use a corrective actions plan? |
Yes Depending on the nature of the corrective actions, it may not be possible for an operation to address them until the subsequent year/season. In such cases, to achieve the audit score of 100% needed to be certified in the current year, the operation may submit a corrective action plan for approval by the Certification Body. NOTE: Autofails cannot be corrected through a corrective actions plan |
Yes
Depending on the nature of the corrective actions, it may not be possible for an operation to address them until the subsequent year/season. In such cases, to achieve the audit passing score of 95% needed to be certified in the current year, the operation may submit a corrective action plan for approval by the Certification Body. NOTE: Autofails cannot be corrected through a corrective actions plan |
No, corrective actions must be taken. |
4. How does an operation choose which items to correct from their audit? |
All items on the audit checklist that receive less than full points must be addressed. | Autofail items need to be addressed first. All autofail items must be corrected. Otherwise, (or as needed in addition to correcting autofails), operations should refer to their audit report for auditor comments (i.e., Executive Summary page and sections where they lost marks). | Autofail items need to be addressed first. All autofail items must be corrected. Otherwise, (or as needed in addition to correcting autofails), operations should refer to their audit report for auditor comments (i.e., Executive Summary page and sections where they lost marks). |
5. What happens if an operation cannot take corrective actions until next season? | To be certified in the current season, the operation would need to submit a corrective actions plan for approval by the Certification Body.
The corrective actions plan will be verified at the next audit. The company can be certified in the meantime if the corrective actions plan is acceptable to the certification body. |
If necessary to obtain a passing score and be certified in the current season, the operation would need to submit a corrective actions plan for approval by the Certification Body.
The corrective actions plan will be verified at the next audit. The company can be certified in the meantime if the corrective actions plan is acceptable to the certification body. |
It might not always be possible to take corrective action after the audit. It might be too late or it might be necessary to wait until the following season (for example, if the season is already over). In this case, the operation would need to wait until the next season to achieve certification. |
6. What tool should an operation use to record corrective actions taken or the corrective actions plan? How does an operation complete the Corrective Actions Report? |
The Corrective Actions Report (CAR)
Carefully read the instructions on the CAR |
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7. Who decides whether the corrective action(s) or plan(s) are acceptable? | The Certification Body | ||
7. What are the applicable timelines for program participants and CBs? | Program participants have 45 calendar days after receipt of the audit report, or before the end of their season, whichever is sooner, to submit their corrective action(s)/plan(s).
After this, the Certification Body has another 15 calendar days for CAR review and closure (for a total of 60 calendar days). |
The Corrective Action Request (CAR) form is available below or may have been provided by your Certification Body. Follow the instructions carefully and submit to your auditor or Certification Body. The technical procedure document detailing the corrective actions follow-up procedure is also available below.
For complete details on CARs, please refer to the CanadaGAP Program Management Manual.
Corrective Action/Plan Guide
The Corrective Action/Plan (CAP) guide provides guidance for operations on how to correct non-conformances (either through corrective actions or corrective actions plans) that may occur during an audit. The CAP guide outlines some examples of potential non-conformances as well as possible corrective actions or plans. Please note the guide has examples only and is NOT an exhaustive list. The CAP guide can help an operation determine what steps to take after receiving a non-conformance.