The Red Tractor Fresh Produce board met last week to discuss issues which are affecting Red Tractor fruit and vegetable growers.
Finding ways to reduce the audit burden for members is always at the top of our list of priorities. Earlier this year Red Tractor met with Global GAP who shared their more outcome-based approach. This may allow us more flexibility to demonstrate where Global GAP outcomes are achieved with existing Red Tractor Standards.
At the most recent Fresh Produce Board meeting, our Technical Advisory Committee shared a detailed proposal based on benchmarking Global GAP v6 against Red Tractor Fresh Produce Standards v5. This informed a valuable discussion about where the two can be equivalent. The Red Tractor team will now use the board’s feedback to inform future updates to standards that enable members to continue to benefit from better alignment with Global GAP.
The board also reflected on the increasing public scrutiny of Red Tractor members’ farming practices. While much of the criticism has been directed toward the livestock sectors, the board noted that Fresh Produce members must remain vigilant to how the national conversation is moving, particularly on environmental sustainability. The board discussed how we might set Red Tractor standards to work against this backdrop. We want to offer positive examples of where our standards can provide assurance to British consumers and offer differentiation against imported goods.
There are so many great things to say about our growers. Red Tractor is therefore looking to profile members’ produce on its social media channels this summer. This work will showcase to consumers and food service businesses the quality and variety of food produced by British growers. If you would like to get involved, just tag Red Tractor in your posts picturing your produce on Instagram or Facebook and Red Tractor will reshare it.
As ever, your Red Tractor Fresh Produce board is here to support your excellent work, and we thank you for your continued commitment to food assurance. Please feel free to contact us on memberhelp@redtractor.org.uk and 020 7630 3320 if you have any questions or concerns. We are happy to help.
Best Wishes,
Lucy MacLennan
Red Tractor Fresh Produce Chair
