Certified IP Trade Coming Soon
VANCOUVER - Aug 12/11 - SNS -- Significant changes are taking place in farming around the world as identity preserved trade moves beyond simply knowing where something was grown to knowing how it was grown, handled, processed, and transported.
Some Canadian companies will start using this kind of informal system with lentils and mustard seed this year. Lentil exporters may require growers to certify that they have not used glyphosate or as a preharvest treatment on product destined for shipment to Europe. Some mustard seed exporters may also demand similar certification for product destined for the United States. In both cases this will remain in effect until workable maximum residue limits (MRL) are established.
Ad hoc, identity preserved measures such as these are only a taste of current trends in agriculture. Some food manufacturers are looking at certification and quality control systems that start before the seed is put in the ground. This is underway in the horticulture industry for several years, with individual farmers becoming Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point or HACCP certified. It is coming to pulses and other field crops.
ADM Becomes ISCC Certified
A recent example was this month's announcement by Archer Daniels Midland Company that it has achieved the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) to supply sustainably grown soybeans to the European market.
As a result, ADM will be the first company to provide Europe with ISCC-certified sustainable soy that meets the European Union's new Renewable Energy Directive (EU-RED) requirements. Up to 250,000 metric tons (MT) of sustainable soybeans will be processed at ADM's crushing facilities in Hamburg and Mainz, Germany by autumn 2011.
"The ISCC allows ADM to maintain our leadership position in the importation of soybeans to the European market while encouraging sustainable farming practices among growers," said Jake Beaverson, general manager, ADM European Soybean Crushing.
To qualify for certification, companies must meet strict criteria for sustainable biomass and biofuels production, as well as reduced emissions of greenhouse gases over the entire production chain. As part of the certification process, ADM and select farmers in South America underwent intensive audits to evaluate the sustainability of their business practices and processes, as well as traceability within the supply chain.
ADM then worked directly with growers to implement best practices to meet certification requirements for export to the European market.
The ISCC was developed to guarantee that biofuels and biomass for biofuels are produced in compliance with recent EU legislation that requires, by January 2011, all biofuels and biomass in Germany to be certified according to the EU-RED requirements. The EU established the new RED legislation to enforce social, labor and environmental requirements for the production and importation of biofuels.
"While the demand for certified materials is driven by the biofuels market, we also anticipate a growing need for sustainable soy in the food and feed markets," adds Beaverson. "Through our sourcing operations in South America, our processing facilities in Europe and our extensive logistics network that links the two, ADM will continue to meet the evolving needs of European customers."
The Argument For Certification
The argument for certification through the grower is simple: maintaining market access.
This was clearly explained in a paper by Peter Bryar of Australia's Innovative Horticulture. He outlined four reasons why farmers need to become HACCP certified. Though focusing on horticulture, the reasoning is equally relevant to lentils, peas, or mustard seed. Bryar writes:
- Food safety concerns are causing retailers, processors, market agents, exporters and other customers handling fresh fruit and vegetables to implement HACCP based quality systems. This is having a flow-on effect with an increasing number of these strongly suggesting, if not demanding, that growing and packing operations have a HACCP based quality system in place. The reasons for implementing a quality system and even aspiring to formal certification are not unlike those in other sectors involving small businesses in Australia and overseas.
- In some cases quality systems are determining market access. No quality system - no access (or future access) to a particular market. From the other perspective, quality systems are enabling growers and packers to win and keep profitable markets.
- Quality systems are offering better control of the business throughout the scope of operations resulting in a more consistent quality of produce.
- The customer-supplier relationship is being seen as more important. Suppliers and customers are looking for longer term relationships and see the link that quality systems can provide as being a positive step towards this particularly when they work together to determine produce specifications and delivery schedules.
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