FLOWER TRACEABILITY APP
Traceability for Fresh & Processed Fruits, Vegetables and Cut Flowers
Filed Under: Certification | Tagged: 2020 Certification Program, Supply Chain Certification, Traceability, Bananas, Flowers
Marketplace 2.0, the Rainforest Alliance online traceability platform, now includes all fresh and processed fruits, vegetables and cut flowers, so it is even easier to trace Rainforest Alliance Certified products through supply chains, and to authorize trademark approvals.
Traceability matters
Our stakeholders – including consumers, brands, other NGOs, and consumer advocacy groups –regularly challenge us to demonstrate how we ensure our claims of Rainforest Alliance Certified content. Traceability helps us back up the claim that any products bearing the Rainforest Alliance seal come from Rainforest Alliance Certified sources. It means that consumers and companies can trace a product back to a Rainforest Alliance certified farm of group. This process helps us safeguard the integrity of the Rainforest Alliance seal. Enhance flower quality control.
Collecting this data centrally at the Rainforest Alliance, allows us to have visibility through the entire supply chain, from origin to final distribution, and thus can assure the integrity of the Rainforest Alliance seal.
Every stage of its journey documented, so consumers are certain of what they are buying. Companies can also benefit from traceability because it can make their supply chains more transparent, identify possible weak spots and work on further improvements. And farmers can track farm development, but also gain access to new markets.
In summary, traceability can:
Support the credibility and consistency of use of the Rainforest Alliance Certified trademark, certified claims and the seal on-pack and off-pack
maintain the credibility of claims that and products have originated from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms and the integrity of the Rainforest Alliance seal .
FLOWER TRACEABILITY SYSTEMS
UNION FLEURS - International Flower Trade Association (Belgium)
Union Fleurs is the international umbrella organisation for national associations and companies active in the floricultural trade (cut flowers and potted plants) and represents the interests of operators involved in the trade of these products (importers, exporters, wholesalers and distributors) in the EU and in 20 countries worldwide. We welcome the opportunity to provide comments on the draft Commission Implementing Regulation on types and...
10 January 2020 | Company/business organisation
LTO Nederland (Netherlands)
VBN - Flower Auctions International (Netherlands)
VBN welcomes the opportunity to give an opinion on the proposal regarding the flower traceability code for plant passports. VBN represents the flower auctions in the Netherlands that are responsible for the sales of flowers and plants from more than 5500 growers/suppliers to 2500 customers (wholesalers, florists, retailers). The past two years the ornamental sector and the responsible authorities in the Netherlands have worked very intensively...
Fresh Produce Consortium (United Kingdom)
The Fresh Produce Consortium is the UK’s trade association for the UK fresh produce, cut flower and plants industry. We welcome the opportunity to comment on the proposal for types and species of plants for planting not exempted from the traceability code requirement for plant passports. We do not support this proposal which we believe is disproportionate and which does not add any value to maintaining the European Union’s...
ENA – European Nurserystock Association npo (Belgium)
ENA feedback to the Draft Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) …/... of XXX on types and species of plants for planting not exempted from the traceability code requirement for plant passports under Regulation (EU) 2016/2031 of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Commission Directive 92/105/EEC. ENA, the European Nurserystock Association, represents the nurseries -plant growers and traders - at the European level and...
10 January 2020 | Non-governmental organisation (NGO)
Copa and Cogeca (Belgium)
Flowers Canada (Ontario) Inc. Launches Flower Traceability Marketing Initiative for Floriculture
Guelph, ON – Flowers Canada (Ontario) Inc. (FCO) is launching its “Members Only” portal, which is a secured informational website containing a unique Quick Response (QR) code for each FCO member.
The simple, unique and cost-effective QR code, when scanned, will take users directly to the grower’s information page located on the FCO website. As a result of FCO’s recent “B-Fast B-Secure Project” originally developed to create a traceability system for floriculture, QR codes were determined to be the simplest and most effective way to uniquely identify Ontario’s floriculture greenhouses and are the foundation of the trace-back system capabilities.
The Members’ Only section includes information on how to access and use the QR codes, exclusive information for Growers including an On-Farm Biosecurity Manual and a Traceability Strategy Document for Ontario floriculture as well as information on FCO’s comprehensive suite of member benefits.
Dean Shoemaker, FCO’s Executive Director commented: “With all the smartphone users in North America, we are taking the steps to utilize current technologies to promote our Growers and their products in the “new world” communication infrastructure. The scope of use for the QR codes is huge, particularly for traceability, product and brand advertising and in support of buy local initiatives like pickOntario.”
There are many ways to utilize the QR codes in a productive marketing program. In order to understand their reach, FCO will have the ability to monitor the effectiveness of the QR code marketing initiative through a website analytics program, providing valuable information on the “who, what, where and when” of consumer floriculture purchase preferences to assist growers in understanding their markets.
“Growers have the option to use these easily adaptable QR codes on their care tags, stickers, packaging, sleeves, business cards, brochures, websites, labels or signage. By incorporating the unique QR codes into their marketing plans, growers can add greater accessibility to their audience, reminding technology savvy consumers that beautiful fresh flowers, potted plants and seasonal specialty products can be purchased right in their own back yard,” cited Nikki Gomes, FCO’s Marketing Director.
FCO is the provincial trade and professional association of the Ontario floral industry serving the floriculture sector and its Members, greenhouse floriculture producers, for over 45 years. FCO’s mission is to enhance the profitability and competitiveness of Ontario’s floriculture sector by helping growers address common issues. FCO strives to help growers find solutions in trade, plant bio-security, and research & innovation, human resources, environment, marketing and risk management.
Investment in this project has been provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Adaptation Program (CAAP). In Ontario, this program is delivered by the Agricultural Adaptation Council.
Flowers and plants: Fair Trade and Traceability
Often the go-to gift to brighten someone’s day, flowers are universally admired for their beauty. Flowers are also a huge industry, with production in places as diverse as Ecuador, Kenya, the Netherlands, and Sri Lanka.
Fairtrade began certifying flowers in 2001, and they’ve grown into one of the most prominent Fairtrade products.
Choosing Fairtrade flowers and plants makes a difference
Most flowers and plants are grown on large estates. As a result, they are among the only Fairtrade products to be exclusively sourced from plantations with hired workers, rather than small-scale farms. Fairtrade’s Hired Labour Standard establishes criteria that aim to improve working conditions on plantations and gives workers a stronger voice with plantation management.
Since 2014, Fairtrade also certifies plants from propagation farms. On these farms, Fairtrade workers cultivate mother plants and harvest cuttings from them. These young plants can then be sold to Fairtrade certified traders, who continue growing them in plant nurseries and market gardens that are located closer to consumer markets.
Fairtrade flowers grow in naturally heated and lit greenhouses due to the abundant heat and sunlight in the source countries. This results in these flowers having a lighter carbon footprint on average than those grown under artificial heat and light in temperate countries, even when factoring in transport.
Fairtrade empowers flower workers in a number of ways:
While flowers and plants are one of the few Fairtrade products that do not have a Fairtrade Minimum Price, the lack of a Minimum Price is balanced with a higher Fairtrade Premium – one of the highest of all Fairtrade products. Workers can use these Premium payments to invest in education, community infrastructure, workers’ rights trainings and other projects. They can also decide to use part of it as cash payments, equally distributed among all workers.
Fairtrade works with several partners to establish regional living wage benchmarks. A tailored model to increase flower workers' wages towards these levels is being developed.
Workers at Fairtrade certified plantations have formal labour contracts as a norm, which is still a rarity on non-certified estates.
Although pesticide use is rife in the flower and plant industry, the Fairtrade Standards prohibit the use of the most hazardous pesticides. Our Standards also require that workers are provided proper protection equipment, trainings in pesticide handling, and regular medical check-ups when working with pesticides.
NATUREX LAUNCHES A COMPREHENSIVE FLOWER IDENTIFICATION & TRACEABILITY PROGRAM
South Hackensack, 29 February 2016 - It’s no secret that the supplement industry was the subject of greater scrutiny than usual in 2015. These recent challenges have done a lot to change both consumer and retailer behavior, both of whom want as much information as possible about the products they are buying. In this context of uncertainty, the industry has no choice but to foster maximal transparency. At the Engredea show, Naturex will unveil its unique approach to traceability and identification. Antoine Bily, Research & Development Director for Naturex will also deliver a speech on “Herbal & Botanical ID: Navigating New Terrain” , on March 10th from 10.30AM to 11.30AM at the Marriott, Grand Ballroom.
TRACE: the new 5-step traceability program
Traceability has always been strongly rooted in Naturex’s DNA. To stay ahead of the game and provide its customers with clear and accurate information, Naturex is launching TRACE, a complete approach to product authenticity and traceability across the supply chain. Its 5-step procedure includes local sourcing and sample testing, a product & supplier qualification process, risk assessment and sustainability performance, and is designed to ensure that each raw material has been fully cross-checked before it can be integrated into Naturex’s product offer.
This integrated quality management system even goes beyond legal requirements as Naturex has set up its own sustainability approach, known as the Pathfinder. Combining social and environmental responsibility, the Pathfinder Program ensures that both respect of ethical values and preservation of biodiversity are taken into account at all stages of the supply chain.
ID PACK, a comprehensive test report for every botanical extract
The need for clean and unadultered extracts is not new for Naturex; the company was one of the first to test botanicals using HPTLC and many other technologies, nearly 15 years ago. Today, achieving complete identification of herbal extracts requires a specific combination of expertise, processes and technology. At the Engredea fair, Naturex will unveil its ID Pack, a comprehensive document describing all the methods used to identify each botanical (micro, macro, chromatographic and DNA tests on raw material, TLC and HPLC on finished extracts). Three ready-to-use ID packs on lemon balm, passion flower and valerian will be available for consultation at the Naturex booth.
“As calls for traceability are growing louder, dietary supplement actors must regard this shift as an opportunity to differentiate themselves. This unique-on-the-market identification service will help them address this new landscape with greater confidence.” says Antoine Bily Research & Development Director for Naturex