The Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) has reviewed the QS-GAP standard applicable to QS-certified producers of fruit and vegetables. In the course of the review, a comparison was made with the requirements of the benchmarking tool Farm Sustainability Assessment 2.0 (FSA)
, which is regarded as an acknowledged reference for the promotion of sustainable agriculture. The result: the QS-GAP standard in combination with German legislation achieves the highest FSA equivalence rating for sustainability: Gold status.
The QS-GAP guideline for fruit, vegetables and potatoes meets 100 percent of the essential requirements and basic requirements of the FSA tool and 86 percent of the advanced requirements. This means that the QS-GAP standard is fully compliant with the principles of sustainable agriculture in Germany.
Achieving gold status confirms the commitment of all producers certified according to the QS-GAP standard to sustainability in the production of fruit, vegetables and potatoes
, emphasises Wilfried Kamphausen, Deputy Managing Director of QS Fachgesellschaft Obst, Gemüse, Kartoffeln GmbH. QS-certified producers thus set an important signal for future-oriented and sustainable food production
.
The SAI platform is a global initiative of food companies. Tools and instructions are developed to support global and local sustainable procurement and agricultural practices. The FSA covers all requirements for sustainable agriculture: social, ecological, economic and general management criteria for the production of fruit and vegetables as well as other crops are assessed. FSA provides a highly effective tool for assessing, improving and communicating sustainability on farms
, explains Joe Rushton of SAI.
