Letter to Simon Brenman, Soil Association,
from the Managing Director, Congelow Produce Ltd
ORGANIC INTEGRITY
As a "next step" on from all the telephone
conversations we have had on the subject I thought I had better
air my concerns, about the future of organic integrity, in writing.
As I am sure you are well aware, we, along with
a few other companies, have been packing and trading organic produce
for many years. During this time we have seen the market rise
and fall. More recently we have been more optimistic that the
rising market could be a significant trend as opposed to a fashion
blip.
I fully understand that there needs to be more
than one or two packing companies fulfilling the customer's demands.
However it would appear that the (Super)markets, smoke signals
are attracting the "cowboys" into this business.
My concerns relate to the organic integrity
of a product within a packhouse that is packing the same product
both organically and conventionally.
What procedures does the Soil Association have
in place to realistically assess packhouse integrity?
I do not wish to appear to be questioning the
management of these other packers, they are my colleagues, or
even to necessarily suggest that there is deliberate cheating
going on. However I have been in the packing industry nearly all
of my working life and fully realise how easily mistakes are made,
especially when customers are demanding produce, and the less
well-trained "stand-in" crew is operating.
Organic food has been the darling of the media
for more than a few months now; it would be a shame to see all
that good work shot down. We all know how the media like to operate,
destroying that which they feel they have created. All the organic
produce industry needs is a scandal in a packhouse with undercover
reporters on site and we will all be affected.
I consider this to be the most important issue
facing us all at the present. I trust that this letter has voiced
at least a small proportion of my concerns and hope that the relevant
committees at the Soil Association will be discussing integrity
in the near future.
20 September 1999
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