Produce inspectors from across Europe congregated at the Rural Payment Agency’s (RPA) headquarters in Reading to gain an insight into UK practices and help harmonise EU Marketing Standards on fruit and vegetables last week.

The three-day technical event was hosted and delivered by the RPA's Horticultural Marketing Inspectorate (HMI) and included representatives from the European Commission and UN/ECE Geneva.

Following the implementation of the new General Marketing Standards (GMS) last July, the meeting gave member states the opportunity to discuss the recent changes.

During the trip, delegates visited Western International market and were accompanied by Ashok Chowdry of Fruity Fresh, Paul Smith of Smith & Son and Western International business development manager Peter Clarke. Delegates learned how Western International market traders were diversifying and how the market itself had made recent progress in increasing and encouraging recycling.

The UK is generally seen as being forward-thinking in this area and this meeting provided a convenient platform for inspectors to speak to each other, learn from the UK’s example and ensure the same products were being categorised in the same way across Europe.

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