McDonald's, the global hamburger chain which has recently entered the prepared-fruit retail market in the UK, is also a recently signed-up member of EurepGAP. Dr Reinhard Kaeppel, head of the chain's European quality assurance division, said that all McDonald's suppliers will be pushed down the EurepGAP route.
He took to the podium in Madrid to explain its reasons for joining EurepGAP and supporting the Integrated Farm Assurance initiative, which widens the EurepGAP remit to foodstuffs other than fruit and vegetables.
"Every day we serve over 46 million people world-wide and over 10m in Europe," he said. "That is more than Wal-Mart. Our reputation is built on [consumer] trust to deliver quality, service, cleanliness and value and we need to protect and further build customer confidence."
As well as produce, McDonald's puts meat, fish, milk, cereals, oilseeds and potatoes on its menus, and sources standardised raw materials in huge volume. "Our supplies need to be assured and consistent, from controlled origin," said Kaeppel, "and we need to demonstrate our ethical behaviour in a visual way." Therefore, the group established MAAP, the McDonald's Agricultural Assurance Programme, a pan-European initiative covering all raw materials in McDonald's products.
Kaeppel voiced his support for harmonised standards such as the EurepGAP Integrated Farm Assurance standards (IFA). "More transparency and efficiency is needed and that can be achieved through harmonisation. The new IFA standards are a great step forward. It is in our interest that this will become the reference for benchmarking and many local schemes can be accredited against it.
"We have a special long-term relationship with our direct suppliers, working in partnership. They are independent, but considered part of our system." He added that in some sectors it can be more complex, as more producers are involved, and this is where quality schemes such as EurepGAP come in.
"When evaluating local schemes for compatibility with MAAP, EurepGAP certification opens doors. As a result supplies will be shifted to EurepGAP approved sources," he said.
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