Stephen Cox, global produce director at CMi, says that EurepGAP's current position means there is plenty of work ahead. “UK retailers had set a completion date of December 31, 2003 for all their suppliers, but it is clear this target is not going to be met in some fresh products,” he says.
In the UK these demands have fallen at the feet of the importers, with retailers setting the challenge. Cox says that proximity of the time limit for certification is causing problems for certain importers. He explains: “The complexities of EurepGAP are being realised. Problems with registration and pesticides are causing headaches and there is also the problem of countries outside of Europe, which have no pesticide registration system.”
It is important that there is better communication between the retailers and importers and to understand that there are some countries that are unable to comply. Cox says that most countries, which produce exotic fruits, are having problems. He says: “Due to the structural difficulties there is very little currently that can be done in for these products.”
As one of the leading service providers for farm assurance schemes, CMi understands and assumes its responsibilities as a vital link of the supply chain communications strategy on this issue. Cox says: “We talk to the supply chain, whether retailer, importer, exporter or producer. We have been alerting people to the situation and we have identified some of the global problems, which the trade is facing. As CMi is independent, we have been able to highlight, to retailers and importers alike, the generic technical problems being found on farm.”
The problem of pesticide registration has no short-term solutions and CMi believes that the problem is excruciating for some producers, but the likelihood is it will only get more painful. “The pesticide issue could potentially redefine fresh produce availability from countries across the world in the next five years,” Cox continues. “Eurep has highlighted the problem to retailers, but it is a huge issue to solve and political lobbying is not the job of retailers.”
On CMi's stance upon the role of Eurep and the issue of integrity of the scheme, Cox says: “Farm assurance is only as good as the integrity of the standard. EurepGAP has 41 approved or in process, certification bodies globally. When the scheme was small there were small problems but as the scheme as grown, this now means bigger problems. We are hearing serious concerns from importers on the issues of auditing consistency and integrity of the farm audits around the world. CMi has always expressed concern over the imperative need to control this issue from the start of the initiative.”
It is this issue which worries Cox the most. He says: “There is not an effective mechanism for ensuring farm auditing consistency on a worldwide basis, and if not corrected this could be its downfall. This lack of central management from Eurep is its Achilles Heel.”
Cox also expresses strong feelings about the technical know-how of some of the auditors currently being used. “The lack of technical understanding of some auditors is a serious challenge for the EurepGAP standard. Eurep has stated that it is the in-country accreditation body's responsibility, but this is clearly not being effective. This scheme is a reference point for global fresh produce trading but if these issues are not addressed, there is the potential that the scheme could be found wanting under scrutiny.”
Cox commented on the introduction period for the new EurepGAP version as being too long in his opinion. It will not be obligatory for farm auditing until January 1, 2005. The new version incorporates the important new areas for consumer confidence for food safety of product harvesting and farm packing module. Cox says: “The new EurepGAP standard is well focused upon food, farming and safety issues but it is 13 months before it is obligatory to use it for farm audits. This timeframe is out of step with other schemes, a more suitable period for obligatory application for auditing would have been a maximum of six months from the initial publication at the Eurep Madrid conference in September.”
Although retailers' timeframes are changing for accreditation, their confidence remains high. Sainsbury's head of produce Tony Sullivan feels the group is on the right track for EurepGAP accreditation for all its suppliers and the group is in a strong position. He said: “Sainsbury's was the first UK supermarket to commit to working towards 100 per cent compliance with EurepGAP before 2004 and we are delighted to announce our significant progress to date. Over the last three years we have progressed from approximately 25 per cent to today's position of 95 per cent compliance.”
Sullivan says that Sainsbury's ongoing close relationships with suppliers are key to the group's success. “This high level is a result of working closely with our suppliers to ensure they meet the stringent standards required. It is encouraging to see equal progress across all crop sectors and continents, from French apples to Brazilian mangoes, babycorn from Thailand to South African citrus. We are continuing to work with suppliers towards 100 per cent compliance in 2004 and will be explaining the benefits of EurepGAP sourcing to our customers. We are confident that EurepGAP will improve our record of sourcing product grown to the best standards of food safety, good agricultural and environmental practice and socially responsible trading,” he says.
Asda has equally expressed its ongoing commitment to ensuring full accreditation for suppliers. Nigel Williams a produce technologist at Asda, says: “We were on the technical sub-committee that helped re-write the latest version of the EurepGAP standard and we are fully committed to implementing it across our entire fresh produce supply chain.”
Asda is keen to push the Assured Produce Scheme across the world but is encouraging growers to join forces in a bid to reduce costs. Williams says: “Our UK growers are becoming accredited in tandem with the Assured Produce Scheme and we are now well underway in rolling out the standard to all our growers across the rest of the world.
“We are however mindful of imposing unnecessary financial burdens on our international growers, that is why we have encouraged growers to seek certification from in-country certification bodies. This will enable us to reduce the cost of each EurepGAP audit, as we will not have international travel costs each time we conduct an audit using a UK based certification body.
“In countries where this is not achievable in the near future, we are encouraging growers to join together so that a number of audits can be covered off in one visit by a UK certification body, thus reducing costs.
“By the end of February 2004 we expect all of our international growers to have conducted a self-audit. This will enable us to highlight any weak areas that growers may have within the EurepGAP standard and help us to create an action plan for them before they apply for a full audit. We believe this is a sensible step as it will help reduce costs for our growers.”
One company clearly focused on the demands of quality assurance and which holds high regard for the importance of EurepGAP accreditation is Mehadrin Tnuport Export (MTEX). The company is the largest citrus exporter in Israel and a pioneer in the setting of quality standards for fresh produce from the country.
MTEX was the first company in Israel to achieve EurepGAP accreditation for citrus and sub-tropical products. This original accreditation was achieved in 2002 and the 2003 annual audit achieved a very high score.
Dov Warmen, UK managing director, says: “All our growers, including new ones, are involved in strict internal testing systems to achieve accredited standards and protocols prior to marketing any product. In 2004 MTEX will continue with accreditation for all our potatoes and vegetables - all grown to the European standard.”
In addition to EurepGAP MTEX is accredited with ISO 9000 and hopes to achieve full accreditation to SA 8000 in January 2004. MTEX strives to achieve the highest level of employee conditions and benefits and therefore made the decision to activate SA 8000, which works to a higher level than the standard ETI guidelines.
Warmen says: “We continually strive to improve all aspects of our organisation and welcome initiatives from any area of the industry. Working with our customers we have also helped to develop and follow excellent initiatives such as Natures Choice in the UK and guidelines set by the British Retail Consortium.”
Magrabi Agriculture based in Egypt is equally as focused on the demands of quality assurance. The company has held EurepGAP accreditation since 2000. Quality assurance manager Manal Saleh says: “We supply our produce to UK retailers and we are working hard to satisfy the demands of our clients across a range of produce including; strawberries, grapes, herbs and citrus. We have also achieved EFSIS higher level certificate of conformity and are focused on providing produce of the highest food safety and quality standard.” Saleh believes that the rational use of pesticides is the challenge for all growers now. She says: “Clear guidance regarding changes in pesticide legislations must be easily available to the growers ahead of their harvest season.”
Not everyone is so well equipped with industry demands. A relatively new company, ProTeQ aims to assist those in the industry unsure of the requirements of quality assurance. ProTeQ managing director Nick Stewart has eight years of experience as a technical manager, but 12 months ago he decided to go it alone and provide a consultancy service to companies pursuing accreditation to help implement or improve their due diligence management.
Having acquired experience at MacLeod McCombe, Enza UK and JP Fruits, Stewart felt that due to changes in the industry there was an opportunity to use his expertise to assist growers, exporters and importers.
Stewart says: “ProTeQ provides a host of services and aims to assist companies unsure of the demands of quality assurance. The company can assist the cogs of the supply chain when they are pushing forward for accreditation.
“We offer supplier audits on quality assurance offering advice to growers and with the growing demands of the industry, we have also begun to provide a service to manage pesticide legislation for importers. A lot of our business here is with smaller customers who cannot afford their own technical services department and the issue of quality assurance and compliance with ongoing and ever-changing pesticide legislation is a minefield of information.”
Stewart believes that for importers, quality assurance is a way of demonstrating sound and effective due diligence and hopes to increase the fluency with which companies operate. He says: “It is important for the grower and exporter to demonstrate to their UK partners and customers that there is no risk of non-compliance. Our aim as an organisation is to provide a service of information rather than manage the information.”
Stewart believes that growers and exporters have a clear understanding of what advantages there are to be had from gaining accreditation. He says: “I think companies need to be given clearer messages of what is required from them as well as support and I believe more realistic timeframes need to be in place. At ProTeQ we feel that Eurep should be doing more to drive these initiatives. The objectives are sound and much needed but there is a requirement for a clear communication strategy.”
One of the problems with EurepGAP according to Stewart is the continual movement of the goalposts. Stewart says: “Once you get to grips with the basics of EurepGAP protocol it's easy to follow, but it's difficult for producers particularly in developing countries to work towards and achieve the all important accreditation. The initiatives are a fantastic concept but miracles cannot happen overnight and better guidance plus appropriate support mechanisms are essential for all parties concerned.”
NATURE'S CHOICE ROLLS OUT
EurepGAP of course is a minimum standard, designed to harmonise production requirements around the world. Many retailers have their own schemes set at higher levels. Tesco, for instance, is pushing ahead following the roll-out of its Nature's Choice scheme to its full international supplier base. This aims to help to protect and care for the environment within the group's supply chain. Food production can cause some disruption to the natural environment, but Tesco says that Nature's Choice is about identifying and adopting farming systems and practices to lessen this effect.
Tesco spokesman Steve Gracey says that the code sets demanding but achievable standards of production, incorporating the requirement to farm in an environmentally friendly manner. A key element of the plan is developing a wildlife and landscape conservation and enhancement policy and action plan. Gracey says: “Our customers tell us they want high quality produce at the best price, grown using less pesticides and with greater regard for the environment. That is exactly what Nature's Choice delivers and we believe it is now time to extend this to all our suppliers - wherever they are. By extending Nature's Choice globally we can guarantee that no matter where Tesco produce comes from it will be grown using the same environmentally sound methods and offers them the best quality product on the market.”
No comments yet