Certification Body cultivates UK's first flower inspectors

Business is blooming for a Certification Body after becoming the first and only UK certification body for the EUREP GAP flowers and Horticulture global standard.

National Britannia Certification Ltd, part of the National Britannia Group, received the highest level of endorsement from the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), who have extended their EN45011 accreditation to include the EUREP GAP Flower and Ornamental Standard.

National Britannia Certification can now offer the EUREP GAP grower standard to flower growers all over the world. It can also offer inspections against both the BOPP Silver Grower and Ornamental Packhouse Standards.

Grower organisations or individual growers receive approval after a thorough inspection from a certification body such as National Britannia Certification. Once approved by inspectors the growers' products can be distributed and sold worldwide with consumers safe in the knowledge that their procedures for growing, harvesting and packaging have been tested and proved to be safe.

Steve Homer, chairman of the EUREP GAP Ornamental Technical Standards Committee offered his congratulations. He said: "National Britannia Certification is a highly respected organisation within the horticulture industry. This will help to reinforce EUREP GAP on a world-wide basis."

National Britannia Certification has already travelled to Kenya, Turkey and Spain to inspect and certify flower growers whose products are aimed at the UK market.

Leading flower expert at National Britannia, John Worth Scheme Technical Manager, who held the position of senior flower technologist at a major national supermarket chain for over 20 years, recently travelled to Kenya to make sure growers are meeting the tight EUREP GAP standards.

John Worth, said: "This is an important step for both growers and packers in the UK. National Britannia can now offer comprehensive service for the flower and ornamental sector

EUREP GAP is an organisation that responds to the consumer concerns about food safety, animal welfare, environmental protection and worker welfare. The organisation does this by promoting the use of fewer agrochemicals, developing good agricultural practice, providing guidance for continual improvement, establishing a single, recognised framework for independent verification.

To comply with the EUREP GAP protocol for flowers and ornamentals growers must provide comprehensive records of site history and management, traceability, fertilizer usage, post harvesting treatments, waste pollution management and recycling and health and safety issues.

EUREP GAP was established to reassure consumers that agricultural produce is both safe and sustainable wherever it is sourced. Food safety scares such as BSE, pesticide use and GM foods has made it necessary to establish good agricultural practices that can be monitored to avoid the cross-contamination of diseases, parasites and chemicals.

The organisation is also developing new best practice procedures for agriculture across the globe and is helping producers from all kinds of countries to improve their farming and horticulture methods.

EUREP GAP began as an initiative of fruit and vegetable growers and their retail customers and was launched in 1996. The Flowers and Ornamentals Scheme was launched in Amsterdam in November 2002. The technical steering committee consists of growers, packers and retailers.

The purpose of this organisation is to harmonise technical criteria, which, due to the input from other technical schemes and leading grower members, has been welcomed within the industry.