‘Product Proof’ and collaboration with GlobalGAP
MPS: Shaping the future of horticulture
Product Proof is a system that is able to demonstrate that certain active substances were not used in cultivation by means of compulsory daily registration and independent sampling. Tests are performed to, for example, ascertain whether an active substance was administered in accordance with the label and whether the substance is registered on a daily basis. Tests also examine whether the active substance appears on the so-called 'bee unfriendly' list and whether it belongs to the neonicotinoids group. A verification of the restrictions, which a specific customer has imposed, completes the process and affords Product Proof a tailor-made character. Growers that possess an MPS-ABC certificate are eligible for Product Proof.
Importance
"Recent developments clearly demonstrate the importance of introducing a system that proves certain active substances have not been administered during cultivation," explains MPS director Theo de Groot, who refers to the measure proposed by Dutch State Secretary Van Dam banning the substance Imidacloprid and including eight active substances by Aldi Süd in Germany.
On the eve of a new era
According to the MPS director the sector is on the eve of a new era. "Retailers will increasingly act on the basis of hard numbers instead of whether a certificate has been obtained or not. In the United States it is the most normal thing in the world for a retailer to have detailed insight into company-specific figures related to a grower's environmental impact. Launching Product Proof allows us to join this development." During IPM a number of growers already registered who want to be included in the ongoing Product Proof pilot.
A single company auditor
Besides a growing need for transparency for traders and consumers MPS notes that growers are looking for simplification. "At the moment it is possible for a producer to be visited by two different auditors two days in a row for different certificates," De Groot reveals. "The audits could have major overlaps. This is not particularly efficient from the grower's perspective." To avoid unnecessarily burdening the grower when performing audits MPS recently concluded a collaboration with GlobalGAP, as it is one of the certificates in greatest demand from retailers. "GlobalGAP may have originated in the vegetable sector but the pressure from retailers is ever increasing in the horticultural sector too." Thanks to the collaboration between MPS and GlobalGAP in future, growers can be (remain) eligible for both MPS-ABC and GlobalGAP certification with a single audit. Another advantage is that the grower is now free to choose the certification institution.
MPS at IPM
During the IPM, growers and other interested parties can get more information about Product Proof or the collaboration with GlobalGAP. MPS can be found at stand 1D12.06 in hall 1.
For more information:
MPS
Arjan van der Meer
T. +31(0)6 - 35 12 13 96
E: [email protected]
www.my-mps.com
