The Assured Produce Scheme (APS), currently audited exclusively by Checkmate International, is to be opened up to all-comers.

EFSIS has already thrown its hat into the ring as auditing firms compete to provide the best possible service to growers wishing to benchmark against the UK fresh produce food standard.

Bosses at the firm, which already does food safety tests, believe they will be able to save producers money by offering a holistic service that will enable packhouses to opt for APS from EFSIS, as well as inspection and certification against the Food Standard for the packhouse.

Spokesman Rob Gready said: 'From a supply point of view we're in the business of assisting people to drive out cost, offering a range of requirements of assurance - APS or Eurep-Gap.

'We are adding value - we have experts in food safety, experts in assurance, and some who can do both, so we will [need to] send out just one inspector, or at the most two.' EFSIS was one of the first bodies to become accredited by UKAS, and currently undertakes 65 per cent of all world food producers' safety checks. It has 3,700 certified growers, 20,000 farms and 5,000 post-farmgate inspections.

Gready said: 'The important thing we want people in fresh produce to know we are not new boys, but we have been excluded from AP, quite understandably, for the last three years.' Gready cites current suppliers Checkmate as EFSIS' main competitor in the race to get a foothold in APS benchmarking, but incumbent firm said it was relishing the challenge.

Checkmate International Spokesman David Edwards said: 'We always welcome competition, as it keeps us on our toes so we have no problem with that. Our view will always be competition is a good thing - often when our customers have a choice they will see how good we are.'