The International Federation for Produce Standards has attracted initial membership from bodies in the UK, US, Chile, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway.
The IFPS is incorporated in the UK with the US Produce Marketing Association, providing the secretariat. Jane Proctor, Canadian Produce Marketing Association, and Stuart Johnston, United Fresh (NZ), will serve as chair and vice-chair respectively.
Douglas Pattie, representative of UK member FPC, said IFPS has evolved from a body originally brought together to address the international harmonisation of industry-defined PLU codes. It has been expanded to provide a forum to address common issues.
Proctor explained: “The IFPS is the result of a significant amount of work by the founding members and provides a go-to body for international standard-setting organisations.
“All of us involved sincerely believe this provides a tremendous opportunity to eliminate previous fragmentation in efforts towards standards which affect our truly global industry.”
Johnston added: “The IFPS is in its infancy but the expectation is that this forum will provide the vehicle for global attention to issues which, in the past, each national or regional association was left to address on its own. Working together as one international body, the produce sector will benefit from the recognition and credibility enjoyed by other sectors.”
The brief the new body expects to cover is extremely wide, encompassing technology, traceability, pesticides, legislative changes, implications for global trade, and the promotion of good agricultural practices.
Several international trade bodies already either hold watching briefs in many of these areas, or in some cases are actively involved.
For example, EurepGAP, which is holding its biennial conference in Prague this week, has been concerned with GAP for some 10 years and has already established an independent monitoring system which now spreads as far as China and Japan, and covers more and more food products beyond fresh produce.
Chairman Nigel Garbutt told frehinfo: “We obviously would like to have more details, but we welcome the initiative provided it does not lead to duplication. We want co-operation. It is often thought that the route to harmonisation creates more standards, but that is not the case, if we are working together.”
This is certainly Proctor’s intention. “It is always about harmonisation,” she told FPJ. “There are organisations out there with tremendous buy-in and we will be looking at what exists already and what we can reasonably hope to harmonise. There are some huge tasks facing the global produce industry that have been problems for some time and I don’t see them being resolved overnight. The most important thing is to bring the community together.”
The IFPS is seeking to expand its membership to include other national and international bodies. Membership would be offered to other bodies within a two-category system.
The first category is for ordinary members covering national trade associations and representing active companies in the fresh produce industry supply chain.
Associate membership is available to any non-operational individual or organisation within the chain. Subscriptions for both categories are £100 annually.
The organisation will be meeting next at the US PMA trade event, in San Diego, on October 24. “That first meeting will really determine where we go from here,” said Proctor.
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