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QS-report:
fruit, vegetables, potatoes l issue march/2015
Since 1 January 2015, logistics service pro-
viders must be registered in the QS data-
base for the Logistics production scope
if they regularly transport fresh fruit and
vegetables between QS scheme partici-
pants at the wholesale level. 117 logistics
service providers have already successfully
completed certification, 36 of them from Eu-
ropean countries other than Germany.
The quality and safety of fruit and vegeta-
bles needs to be ensured not only within
the individual stages of the supply chain,
but also and in particular, on their trans-
port route. This is a key result of the review
of the EHEC events of 2011. In response, QS
introduced a (then) voluntary standard for
logistics at the beginning of 2013. The focus
of this was placed primarily on the complete
traceability of products and good hygiene
practice during transport.
“With the certificate, freight carriers show
their customers that they are checked by
The Fruit Logistica 2015 confirmed its reputation as the most im-
portant industry event for the international fruit trade in Germa-
ny. Once again, QS had its own stand which was part of the joint
stand of the German Association of Fruit and Vegetable Producer
Organisations (Bundesvereinigung der Erzeugerorganisationen
Obst und Gemüse e.V.). “We are more than satisfied with how this
year’s Fruit Logistica went”, sums up Wilfried Kamphausen, who
is responsible for the Fruit, Vegetables, Potatoes supply chain at
QS. Large numbers of industry visitors obtained information at
the QS stand on the topic of quality assurance in fresh fruit and
vegetables. The QS logistics standard, which has been mandatory
since the beginning of 2015, was a popular topic of conversation.
In addition to the high visitor levels, numerous conversations with
existing and potential scheme participants contributed to the po-
sitive outcome of the trade fair. “We were able to enter into an
intensive, professional exchange and make important contacts,
QS Standard Logistics
Important contribution to complete quality assurance
QS in Dialogue
Looking back on the Fruit Logistica 2015
an independent body and that the origin of the products can be
traced, even during transport. This increases partners’ trust in the
supply chain”, explains Wilfried Kamphausen, who is responsi-
ble for the fruit, vegetables, potatoes supply chain at QS. “The
QS standard offers the highest possible degree of flexibility.
Because of the full recognition of the IFS-Logistics audit, there is no
additional workload for companies already in possession of such
a certificate”, Kamphausen continues. “At the same time, smaller
especially with industry representatives
from southern Europe,” says Kamphau-
sen. In this context, particular impor-
tance should be given to the meeting with
leading representatives of the Spanish
Unica group. Accordingly, the planned full
certification of all 1,100 Unica producers
is almost complete (see page 1). The Blue
Hour also provided time for good discus-
sion. With the slogan “Work together,
socialise together”, QS and the BVEO in-
vited co-exhibitors and business partners
from the fruit and vegetable industry to a
relaxed get-together.
A meeting of the European Network for
Standards in the Fruit, Vegetables, Po-
freight carriers in particular benefit from
the lean and practice-oriented require-
ments catalogue.”
Freight carriers can register to participate
in the QS Logistics standard via the QS da-
tabase (
www.qs-plattform.de ).
tatoes Sector (Europäische Netzwerk für
Standards im Bereich Obst, Gemüse und
Kartoffeln, A-NET) also took place during
the trade fair. During this meeting, stan-
dards owners from various countries exch-
anged information on the latest develop-
ments in quality assurance for fruit and
vegetables. On the day before the fair star-
ted, the leaders of the QS-approved labora-
tories met for their annual exchange of in-
formation. More than 60 participants, over
half of whom came from abroad, accepted
QS’s invitations to get up to date with their
activity in the QS scheme.
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