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INFO LETTER anniversary issue
fruit, vegetables and potatoes |
February 2014
Quality Assurance.
From farm to shop.
QS WITH FRUIT, VEGETABLES, POTATOES
Facts and Figures
Impressum
QS Qualität und Sicherheit GmbH
Dr. Hermann-Josef Nienhoff (responsible)
Schedestraße 1-3, 53113 Bonn
Telefon:
+49 (0) 228 35068-0
Telefax:
+49 (0) 228 35068-10
E-Mail:
Internet:
Photo credits: QS archive, Fotolia, BVEO
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Founded ten years
ago at the Fruit
Logistica in Berlin,
the QS supply chain
fruit,
vegetables
and potatoes today
includes
almost
29,000 scheme par-
ticipants. 5,566 of
the total of 28,973
scheme participants
are from countries
outside
Germany
and this trend looks
likely to continue.
A year after the
scheme was set up, it
already had 2,466 par-
ticipants. The first foreign scheme agreements
were signed in September 2006 with the mutual
recognition of QS and Global G.A.P. for fruit and
vegetables. The 10,000 mark for German scheme
participants was breached in 2007.More than
800 partners from other countries participated in
the quality assurance scheme in 2008, a growth
rate that remains unchanged to this day. It still re-
mains to be seen when exactly we will be able to
celebrate the 30,000th scheme participant!
Gapless quality assurance with the QS Logis-
tics standard right from the beginning
QS has provided a standard for the logistics of fresh
fruit and vegetables since 1 January 2013. In this
way, freight forwarders and transport companies
are also given the opportunity to get themselves
certified in line with QS requirements. To make
participation in the QS scheme as practicable as
possible for companies of this kind and to avoid
double certification, it is also possible to register
with QS with an IFS Logistics certificate.
2013
MILESTONES
10 YEARS OF PROCESS
Inspection of working and social conditions
A new service available since January 2014 allows scheme par-
ticipants to have their social management voluntarily assessed
in line with uniform principles in an independent inspection.
The specific guideline “Voluntary QS Inspection of Working and
Social Conditions” contains the basic requirements. By doing
so, the advisory board is responding to a new trend in the mar-
ket where companies are being asked more and more often to
provide evidence of good social practices in the supply chain.
The “QS Inspection of Working and Social Conditions” can be
conducted in combination with a QS or QS-GAP audit.
2013/2014
QS WITH FRUIT, VEGETABLES,
POTATOES
FACTS AND FIGURES
210 auditors from 31 independent certifi-
cation bodies
inspect scheme participants
involved in the production of vegetables and
potatoes, wholesale or retail. They conducted
more than
12,300 audits
in 2013, with en-
couraging results for the safety of processes
and products. Almost all businesses meet the
stipulated requirements. 96.4 percent of the
audits were passed and the certificate was
not awarded in only 3.6 percent of them. The
affected companies will have to implement
subsequent correction actions.
Where residue monitoring is concerned,
77
approved laboratories
transferred data on
11,000 samples
into the QS database in
2013.
110 coordinators
ensure the smooth
participation of producers and logistic ser-
vice providers in the QS scheme.
Consistent growth: Scheme paticipants fruit, vegetables and potatoes from 2005 to 2014
Germany
Other Countries
