When you buy table grapes in bulk, you’re not just buying fruit. You’re taking on your supplier’s standards. If something goes wrong with food safety, traceability or how workers are treated, it can land on your business and your brand.
That’s why certifications matter. When you’re comparing grape suppliers in Australia, certifications and accreditations give you independent evidence that a supplier’s systems hold up, not just their word for it.
Lazzara Fruits is a family-owned and operated table grape business in Robinvale, Victoria, run by Joe and Frances Lazzara alongside their four sons, Josef, Stevan, Dean and Brien. We know ethical standards are a high priority for our customers, and we see it as our responsibility to be accountable and protect the image of our trading partners.
Here’s a plain-English guide to the grape supplier certifications you’ll come across in Australia, and what each one tells you.
Why do certifications matter when buying grapes wholesale in Australia?
Certifications give buyers confidence in four areas:
- Food safety: fruit is grown and packed under documented, audited systems.
- Traceability: if there’s ever an issue, it can be traced back and fixed quickly.
- Ethical sourcing: workers are treated fairly and lawfully.
- Market access: many retailers, importers and distributors require specific standards before they’ll list a product.
What is HACCP?
HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points. It’s an internationally recognised food safety system that identifies the points where hazards could occur during production and puts controls in place to prevent them.
Lazzara Fruits is HACCP accredited and follows strict QA guidelines, so our fruit is grown and packed to a high quality in a safe and professional manner.
What is GLOBALG.A.P.?
GLOBALG.A.P. sets standards for the certification of agriculture, aquaculture and floriculture production, with the aim of promoting safer and more sustainable farming practices in more than 130 countries. Its standards are backed by independent third-party certification.
Its work focuses on food safety, environmental sustainability, workers’ well-being, animal welfare and supply chain transparency. Buyers can check whether a supplier’s GLOBALG.A.P. certificate is valid in real time using the supplier’s GLOBALG.A.P. number.
What is Harps?
Harps, the Harmonised Australian Retailer Produce Scheme, is a retailer-led scheme. It helps suppliers to Australia’s major grocery retailers comply with food safety, legal and trade requirements.
Instead of being audited to multiple schemes for multiple customers, suppliers need one GFSI-approved food safety scheme plus Harps. Harps certificates also carry a scannable code, so buyers can confirm a certificate is genuine.
What is Sedex?
Sedex is a platform that helps businesses build ethical and sustainable supply chains. Suppliers use it to share information about their responsible business practices with their customers.
Sedex’s audit, SMETA, is described as the world’s most used social audit methodology. It looks at labour standards, health and safety, the environment and business ethics, and it reduces the need for duplicate audits for different customers.
What is Fair Farms?
Fair Farms is an Australian training and certification program for social compliance in horticulture. It helps growers improve their compliance with workplace laws and show buyers and the community that they treat workers in a fair, ethical and responsible manner.
The program is developed and delivered by Queensland Fruit & Vegetable Growers and includes a third-party audit before certification is issued.
How does Lazzara Fruits approach certification and quality?
We have implemented systems to help us achieve accreditation and certification with initiatives such as GLOBALG.A.P., Harps, Sedex and Fair Farms. We’re also HACCP accredited.
Those systems are backed by how we run the farm day to day:
- Traceability on every box. Our system records the date of picking and packing, the farm and patch where the fruit was grown, and who picked and packed it. Any issue can be quickly identified and rectified.
- Immediate pre-cooling. Grapes are cooled straight after picking in high humidity cool rooms, which are computer linked and monitored to keep fruit at the optimum temperature.
- Export accreditation. We’re DAFF accredited (J & F Lazzara & Sons Pty Ltd), with facilities to conduct on-farm fruit inspections in our warehouse. We comply with all protocols, which allows us to export to all countries.
- Family oversight. Joe and his four sons are responsible for every stage of growing, packing and marketing, so they can monitor the fruit closely from vine to dispatch.
Find out more about how we supply export markets.
What should I ask an Australian grape supplier about certifications?
Whichever grape supplier you source from in Australia, these questions will tell you a lot:
- Which food safety and ethical standards do you work to?
- Are your certifications current, and do they cover both growing and packing?
- Can you trace a box of fruit back to the farm and patch it came from?
- Are you accredited to export to my destination market?
- Can you share ethical sourcing information through a platform like Sedex?
You can also check some certifications yourself. GLOBALG.A.P. certificates can be looked up in the GLOBALG.A.P. database, and Harps certificates can be scanned to confirm they’re genuine.
A good supplier will be happy to answer. For more on choosing a supplier, see our guide to buying wholesale grapes in Australia.
Frequently asked questions
Which certifications should a grape supplier in Australia have?
There’s no single list, because requirements depend on your market and customers. For food safety, look for HACCP and a recognised farm assurance standard such as GLOBALG.A.P. If you supply major Australian retailers, look for Harps. For ethical sourcing, programs like Fair Farms and Sedex show how a supplier treats its workers.
Do I need a GLOBALG.A.P. supplier to import Australian grapes?
It depends on your market and customers. Requirements vary between countries, retailers and importers, and many international buyers ask for GLOBALG.A.P. Check what your own customers expect before you source.
What’s the difference between Harps and GLOBALG.A.P.?
GLOBALG.A.P. is an international farm assurance standard. Harps is an Australian retailer-led scheme that works alongside a GFSI-approved food safety scheme to meet the requirements of major Australian grocery retailers.
Is Sedex a certification?
Sedex is a platform for sharing ethical supply chain information, and SMETA is its social audit methodology. Buyers use SMETA audit results to see how a supplier performs on labour standards, health and safety, the environment and business ethics.
What does DAFF accredited mean for grape exports?
DAFF is the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Lazzara Fruits is DAFF accredited, with facilities for on-farm fruit inspections, and we load inspected fruit directly into containers from cool storage so it stays at optimum temperature.
Talk to the Lazzara family
Looking for an Australian grape supplier with the systems to back up your quality and ethical requirements? Tell us about your market, volumes and quality requirements, and one of the Lazzara family will be in touch. Contact us here or explore our variety range.
