Dutch grower association Prominent, a major supplier of vine tomatoes, has become the first association to start using MPS-Fruit & Vegetables, a new production certification scheme designed to help growers meet the high standards of food safety and hygiene demanded by retailers.
Seven of Prominent's members have reportedly familiarised themselves with the scheme as part of a pilot project and are now in the process of ensuring their operations conform to its various requirements.
MPS-Fruit & Vegetables was launched last month as a joint venture involving certification company MPS, residue control group AgriQ and data management specialist Groeinet.
The scheme, which has a major focus on sustainability and transparency, aims to provide growers with improved management instruments and a model for sustainable production.
Growers who achieve the highest scores in all areas of the certification process are allowed to display the Vita Certa label on their produce.
Richard Hartensveld of Kwekerij De Kabel, one of Prominent's member growers said: 'After the first test, we appeared to have a good basis for obtaining the top label Vita Certa within the foreseeable future.'
Knowledge gained by any of Prominent's members will be shared and applied by other companies belonging to the association, which has already obtained the GlobalGAP and ISO9001 certificates.
'This new certificate will be an easy way for us to show that we are at all times able to meet the high demands set by customers,' Els Weerdenburg, quality manager at Prominent. 'The many demands of our end customers have been collected and included in the certification scheme.'
Test audits at three of Prominent's member companies apparently showed that they already complied with some of the certification requirements, added Ms Weerdenburg. 'So its introduction will not present an additional administrative burden for the growers. The coming months will prove whether the companies can meet the requirements for obtaining the top label Vita Certa.'
Prominent brings together a total of 23 member growers producing different varieties of vine tomatoes, with a total cultivated area of 221ha.
