Audit Services Program

 

The DAB’s Commodities Branch conducts USDA audit certification for fresh fruit and vegetable producers. Through a Cooperative Agreement with the USDA, the DAB inspectors act on behalf of the USDA to perform the 3rd party audit. The types of audits provided by DAB are listed below. Audits are buyer driven, meaning that the buyer determines what level of audit a seller/producer is required to have to enter their marketplace and sell their product. Audits are also limited in scope, meaning the audit may cover a single produce item or some, most, or all of the produce grown on a farm. It is up to the farm requesting the audit to determine what crops will be included under the audit and thus part of the USDA certification. A USDA Voluntary Food Safety Market Access Audit is NOT a substitute nor a replacement of an FDA or DAB Mandatory Produce Safety Rule Compliance Inspection for a covered farm under the FSMA – PSR.

COMMODITIES BRANCH
Hawai`i Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity
Quality Assurance Division
1851 Auiki Street
Honolulu, HI 96819-3100
Phone: (808) 832-0700
Fax: (808) 832-0683

  • Certification services offered by the Commodities Branch include:
    • USDA GAP Audit (formerly USDA GAP/GHP Audit)
      • Scope includes: Farm Review, Field Harvest and/or Field Packing Activities, House Packing Facility, Storage and Transportation, Wholesale Distribution/Terminal Warehouse, Preventive Food Defense Procedures
    • USDA Harmonized GAP Audit
      • Scope includes: Field Operations & Harvesting, Post-harvest, Warehouse, Food Defense, Integrated Pest Management, Tomato Audit Protocol
    • USDA Harmonized GAP Plus+ Audit
      • Scope includes: Field Operations & Harvesting, Post-harvest, Warehouse, Food Defense, Integrated Pest Management, Tomato Audit Protocol
    • Tomato Audit Protocol
      • Scope includes: Open-field Production and Harvesting, Packinghouse, Greenhouse, Packing and Distribution
    • GroupGAP
    • GMP or Good Manufacturing Practices
      • USDA currently offers this service through Federal Inspectors.

The mission of the Audit Services Program is to provide a uniformly applied national program for the fresh produce industry. To view which farms in Hawaii have been audited by the DAB auditing team, click on the tab Audited Farms/Companies.

How to Request an On-Farm Audit

If you would like to request an on-farm audit for your operation, you must:

  1. Name someone—you or other farm management staff—as your food safety officer. That officer must be present at the time of the audit, and must know your food safety practices in complete detail. Not having a food safety officer will result in automatic failure on your audit.
  2. Have your food safety plan and recordkeeping in order. A documented food safety plan is required to pass a USDA GAP audit. Complete prior to requesting an audit.
  3. Schedule an audit by calling the DAB Commodities Branch on your island
    Oahu – (808) 832-0700 Maui – (808) 873-3554
    Hilo – (808) 974-6514 Kauai – (808) 241-7133
  4. Make your request for your initial audit no later than two (2) weeks prior to the end of the growing/ harvesting/ packing season. Note: If you are seeking to certify only one crop with a short production season (e.g., strawberries), you may want to schedule your audit for the very start of your production season so that you can sell a GAP-certified product throughout the season. If you are certifying multiple crops, schedule your audit so that the auditor is visiting your farm when you have the largest variety of crops being harvested.
  5. Complete and sign an Agreement for Participation in Audit Services and Request for Audit Services form.

Fee Schedule

Currently the fee is $171.00 per hour for any audit or audit related visits.
An annual $50 USDA Administrative fee will also be charged on your initial annual audit.  

There is an additional fee of $250.00 for Global Food Safety Audits (USDA Harmonized Audits).

Inspection $171.00/hour as of October 1st, 2025.
Travel Variable. Depends on farm location.

 Note: USDA updates their audit certification fees annually on October 1. For the latest fee schedule, please see:


https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/04/29/2025-07349/20252026-rates-charged-for-ams-services

Resources

 

  • If you would like help with your food safety plan or preparing for a GAP audit, you can contact UH Cooperative Extension Farm Food Safety Outreach program.
  • North Shore EVP offers smaller and medium sized operations throughout Hawai`i assistance and support in achieving USDA Harmonized GAP food safety certification through the USDA GroupGAP program. North Shore EVP Website