Flandria closes the Gap

The Flandria label has been extended to cover FlandriaGap specifications by Belgian auctions Mechelse Veilingen and Veiling Hoogstraten. The move, which comes in response to trade and government demands, means that protocols concerning food safety, sustainability, and care for the environment are now set higher. It also brings quality and food safety specifications together under the Flandria label at the two auctions.

"We looked at content of other specifications such as EurepGAP and the German system," Bert Stas, in charge of marketing at Mechelse Veilingen told freshinfo. "And we tried to rewrite them to make them as specific as possible for our producers. In some cases they are stricter than provided for EurepGAP. For example, where EurepGAP just calls for a hygiene plan, FlandriaGap details each point that should be contained in that plan."

Stas says the auctions have asked for benchmarking of FlandriaGap to EurepGAP, but warns that the issue is likely to generate a lot of debate. "We want every quality system in Europe to come together and accept each other's specifications, but we know we will have discussions about this in the future," said Stas. "For example, on tomatoes, some buyers in the UK have already told Belgian exporters that they want EurepGAP and won't accept FlandriaGap, so we will have to see if we can convince them."

FlandriaGap was introduced at the auctions for vegetables and salads grown under glass and will be extended to field vegetables and salads from April 1. It does not cover fruit.