The Fresh Produce Sector Board met in London on 27 February. The meeting largely focused on the Farm Assurance Review (FAR) recommendations. Representatives shared their views, which were passed to the Red Tractor Board. With their response now published, I can share details of the Sector Board’s discussion on the FAR report.
There was agreement from the Sector Board that the report is positive and provides helpful suggestions that can assist in driving progress. We agreed that there is a need to recognise farm sector differences, consider retailer and other supply chain audits and for the Fresh Produce industry as a whole to work together to address audit burden. The thoughts and suggestions made from this board were collated and discussed at the Standards Committee meeting held on the 4 March.
There was a feeling from the Sector Board that the review did not fully capture the contribution of retailer and customer audits that have caused duplication and a proliferation in audit burden and the role of certification bodies was felt to be somewhat peripheral within the farm assurance review.
Philippa Wiltshire, Red Tractor Director of Operations, provided an update on Red Tractor’s progress against recommendations made in the Campbell Tickell report and there was a request from the Sector Board that with the continued progress on this and Red Tractor’s response to the FAR, our progress must be timely and clearly communicated to all stakeholders.
The meeting reflected the Sector Board’s ongoing commitment to ensuring there is balance between the needs of growers, customers and consumers. Attendees stressed the importance of ensuring this was safeguarded when proceeding with our response to the FAR. The consensus was that communication with farmers is critical to our progress in implementing the recommendations made in the farm assurance review and farmers must understand the reasoning behind individual standards and the continued value of assurance to their business in meeting customer and consumer needs.
The role of technology is essential in enabling progress of the review recommendations, this can assist in reducing audit burden however the Sector Board raised that a cautious approach should be taken to work through the concerns regarding data ownership complexity. The meeting concluded that collaboration across the industry is essential to develop new models and a central QMS system for groups of producers.
Kind regards,
Lucy MacLennan,
Chair, Red Tractor Fresh Produce board
Fresh Produce board:
Sarah Blanford – Retailer
Veryan Bliss – Technical Consultant
Tim Casey – Grower and NFU
Jan Redpath – Grower and NFUS
Damon Johnson – Retailer, BRC
David Kennedy – Technical Consultant
Kelly Shields – Fresh Produce Consortium
Stephen Shields – Grower
James Lee – Grower
Phil Pearson – Grower
Barbara Bray MBE – Independent Consultant
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