During the recent Sustainability and Food Safety seminar in the Netherlands, Dutch fresh produce group The Greenery awarded four new growers with its Nature Counts label, in recognition of products cultivated through sustainable practices.
First introduced in 2009 in an effort to promote sustainable agriculture, the label is awarded biannually by a special jury of experts, and is applied in order to communicate with clients and consumers in a transparent manner.
Picking up the label at the event were Grootscholte BV for its breeding of peppers on coconut matting, strawberry grower Loos for a collaboration with two dairy farmers and an agriculturist on sustainable biogas, mushroom grower Heeren 't Voske for its climate friendly breeding, and UK-based Cornerways Nursery, a greenhouse built by the British Sugar Factory that aims to grow energy-efficient tomatoes.
The Sustainability and Food Safety seminar also saw various speakers discuss key topics, with Albert-Jan Maat of LTO The Netherlands highlighting the role of Dutch horticulture in food safety, while S. Bindraban or ISRIC World Soil outlined worldwide food safety and the efficient use of farmland.
