MPS is pleased to announce that D.S. Cole Growers, of Loudon, NH has successfully been awarded another sustainable certificate, namely MPS-GAP (Good Agricultural Practices). This certificate is based upon the criteria formulated by supermarket organizations, which require high quality products that have been cultivated in a sustainable manner. Traceability is also part of the certification scheme. Moreover, MPS-GAP has been benchmarked with the GlobalGAP flowers and plants scheme.
D.S. Cole Growers is the first MPS-GAP certified company in North America. MPS-GAP is also part of the MPS-Florimark Production, the label for sustainability combining environmental, social and quality aspects.
D.S. Cole Growers
Doug Cole, owner of D.S. Cole Growers is very proud of the work that his team put into the certificate. Doug: “Most of the requirements of MPS-GAP are satisfied by the fact that in the US, we conduct business via modern and regulated procedures which insure quality working conditions for our staff. What makes the certificate worthwhile is that many of us in the agricultural industry don't always go the extra mile on some of these steps. For example, for MPS-GAP we created an emergency evacuation plan, improved our first aid and CPR training and updated our pesticide storage facility. These examples not only made our facility safer for all of our associates, it will better cover us in case of frivolous lawsuits. We feel that the improvements made for MPS-GAP demonstrate our commitment to our associates and our customers and are good measures to take to reduce liability and increase customer satisfaction.
MPS-GAP (Good Agricultural Practices)
Today’s consumers make greater demands relating to production methods and the origins of the products they buy. The change in mentality has resulted in increased demand for certified products; after all, certification guarantees traceability, risk reduction and image protection. Important players in the British, Swedish and Swiss retail channels have already made MPS-GAP compulsory for the suppliers. The growers’ own responsibility also weighs more heavily as a consequence of social developments. The MPS-GAP certificate allows the grower to become an interesting market party for various sales channels and also contains all elements of Corporate Social Responsibility (People, Planet, Profit).
The certification scheme includes requirements, amongst others, relating to land/plot use, substrate, parental metarial, waste, safety/health/hygiene, storage locations, maintenance of equipment and resources, application/use and stock of crop protection agents etc.
MPS-Florimark, chain-wide certificate for sustainabilty
MPS-Florimark Production consists of 4 certificates, namely: MPS-A (environment), MPS-GAP (retail requirements), MPS Socially Qualified (social) and MPS-Quality (quality care). This unique combination makes MPS-Florimark the TOP certificate for sustainability! There are also MPS-Florimark certificates for traders and auctions and in the future florists.
Source: MPS