Baby leaf salad and fresh herb specialist Vitacress has been awarded Flagship Farm accreditation by McDonald’s, becoming the 20th producer in Europe to be lauded by the fast food chain for its good agricultural practices.
The certification was assigned to Quinta da Azenha, one of Vitacress’ Portuguese farms located in a natural park in Southwest Alentejo and composed of 130ha of white sandy soils, near the Vicentina Coast.
The Flagship Farm distinction was assigned for good management and production practices covering the supply of young lettuce leaves and Iceberg lettuce that Vitacress supplies to McDonald's 144 restaurants in Portugal. These include the provision of qualified training to workers; the use of green manures to fertilise soils; the use of natural biogas fumigation to control soil pests and diseases and improving biodiversity through Fair to Nature, an independent and scientifically validated protocol, designed to conserve important local species.
“Vitacress Portugal feels naturally honoured with this distinction, awarded by one of its most demanding customers. Our mission as a company is not limited to providing quality products at a competitive price: we are committed to preserving the environment and also to the economic and social wellbeing of our community and our employees,” said Luís Mesquita Dias, general manager at Vitacress Portugal. He received the certification from Jorge Ferraz, McDonald’s Portugal’s general manager, in the presence of agriculture minister Assunção Cristas at a ceremony held on Tuesday.
Developed by McDonald’s in conjunction with the Food Animal Initiative, the Flagship Farms project is designed to recognise best practice in the 500,000 farms that provide raw materials to the chain’s 7,000 restaurants across Europe. Flagship Farms are designated for their good practices in one or more of the following areas:ethical, environmental and economic.
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