Lincolnshire-based soft-fruit plant-propagator, Hargreaves Plants has just received ISO 9001:2000 accreditation for its strawberry and raspberry plant operations.
“It has taken over two years of hard work for the Hargreaves Plants team to reach the standards needed,” said the company’s commercial director Rupert Hargreaves. Since receiving the Grower of the Year Award for our improved plant quality brand, SupaViga, we have been looking at how to improve plants further to benefit customers. ISO 9001:2000 includes Assured Produce protocols where appropriate. This is a major step forward.”
Hargreaves Plants is a market leader in supplying the full range of soft fruit plants for commercial growers. Strawberry and raspberry plants represent more than 65 per cent of the company’s turnover. “We now have checks in all parts of our plant propagation business,” said Hargreaves. “Growers are under increasing pressure to produce ever higher quality fruit for most multiple retailers. Hargreaves Plants simply must continue to provide improved varieties and plants to help in this process.”
The company’s next project is to get ISO to cover its blueberries and asparagus operations and its tissue-culture laboratory.
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