Nigel Garbutt, chairman of EurepGAP opened the organisation's conference in Paris this week urging the industry to co-operate on harmonisation and thus avoid duplication.
"Harmonisation is a continuous process," said Garbutt. "...We must not duplicate, but co-operate. It is something in which each and every one of us in this room can choose to play a positive role. Harmonisation requires team players."
Garbutt addressed an audience of some 450 from 46 different countries and brought a panel of the largest number of expert speakers yet - 75 - to a EurepGAP conference as the body celebrated its ninth anniversary.
The global retailer-producer partnership, which sets standards for fresh produce, has grown to include 31 retailers and has certified some 30,000 producers in more than 60 countries. Almost one million hectares globally have been certified and EurepGAP's benchmarking system has played a major role, said Garbutt.
"This has encouraged local accountability and adoption as well as creating a global reference point for food safety in the process," he said. "Producers around the world no not ask for favouritism, but they do want a level playing field. Benchmarking brings that undeniable transparency without which there is no hope of ever achieving a level playing field."
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