GIQS in der Obst- und Gemüsewirtschaft

Cross-border integrated quality assurance in the fruit and vegetable sector

In order to be able to continuously offer the end consumer a product of high quality, it is necessary to coordinate the different production and business processes of the trade levels involved. The quality of the product is determined by the raw materials used, the cultivation methods and conditions as well as storage and logistics. Inter-company efforts to improve process and product quality throughout the entire chain are more efficient than single-company measures at a single level.

Source: Ernesto Rodriguez/Pixabay

Tomatoes are the most eaten vegetable of all. German consumers eat an average of 17.5 kilograms a year. The apple is even more often on the menu: Around 30 kilograms are consumed per capita every year. Apples and tomatoes were selected as research objects because of their great importance for the market and the region.

Since October 2003, German and Dutch producers, supported by consulting organisations, as well as leading marketers have been cooperating with Edeka Fruchtkontor and the downstream food retail trade in the project in exemplary fashion. For the first time, a cross-chain information system was developed for the fruit and vegetable industry. As with the first GIQS Interreg III A project in meat production, quality-relevant information was obtained at all stages of production and marketing and linked to the farms of origin and delivery batches.

Through the product-accompanying and cross-border exchange of information between customers and suppliers through to the food retail trade, information is now available that must be available to improve productivity and quality. With the scientific support of the universities of Bonn and Wageningen, Chainfood, a Dutch SME based in the border region, was in charge of setting up this pre- and feedback system.

Within the project, two production chains each for apples and tomatoes were used to select the two most important fruit and vegetable species in the region for pilot applications. The pre- and feedback system is flexible and can be transferred to other products and chains after successful introduction. It is now available as a valuable tool for improved quality management and productivity.

Projectpartners

Financiers

GIQS in der Obst- und Gemüsewirtschaft is implemented as part of the INTERREG III A programme Deutschland-Nederlands and co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the economic ministries of the Netherlands and North Rhine-Westphalia and the province of Limburg. It is supported by the programme management of the euregio rhein-maas-nord.