The quality apple supply chain

South Tyrol - Südtirol apples are more than just a fruit: they are the pride of an entire region. The epitome of health, their unmistakable flavour and unique pleasure are reflected in high quality standards. Their internal and external values must be safeguarded. This is why our apples undergo a comprehensive series of quality controls, starting in the orchard and ending on the shop shelf: through controlled cultivation in compliance with plant protection laws, through harvesting, delivery, storage, grading, packaging and shipping in accordance with guidelines and, last but not least, through a constant process of analysis, strict selection criteria and transparency that makes it possible to trace the origins of each of our fruits.
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VOG quality management system

To meet the needs of all our partners we are committed to constantly improving our management systems throughout the added value chain: from cultivation to harvest, storage, grading, packaging and loading.
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Cultivation
  • Compliance with AGRIOS guidelines for integrated production:
    • Selection of apple varieties suitable for the geographic area
    • Increase of food safety
    • Pesticides chosen from the list of active ingredients permitted for use in orchards
    • Recording of each use of pesticides and fertilizers
    • Control of the companies, their cultivation areas, licenses and records
  • Compliance with AGRIOS guidelines on running agricultural enterprises is the basis for participation in IGP and GLOBALG.A.P. certification
  • Competent technical advice
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Harvesting
  • Test for ripeness with evaluation of internal values:
    • Level of starch reduction into sugar
    • Sugar
    • Acid
    • Fruit flesh strength
  • Identification of optimum harvesting window based on ripeness analysis
  • Guidelines for harvesting and delivery
  • Compliance with hygiene parameters
  • Careful hand-picked harvesting
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Delivery and storage
  • Visual checks of harvest
  • Labelling of each bin to guarantee product traceability:
    • Grower
    • Orchard
    • Variety
    • Delivery date
    • Production method
    • Quality
  • Sampling for analysis of pesticide residue. Risk analysis based on the monitoring report
  • Evaluation of internal quality parameters
  • Allocation of the optimal cell (climate conditioned) for storage (short, medium or long term)
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Sorting
  • Sorting/grading program
  • Standard guidelines for product classification and labelling
  • Labelling after sorting with data taken from the delivery note to guarantee traceability
  • Sorting protocol with quality and grade classes
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Packaging and dispatch
  • Selection of quality according to the specifications of each order in conformity with the applicable standards or the customer’s specific technical requirements
  • Outgoing traceability with packaging date, batch number or reference code
  • Controls on the conformity of the internal and external quality parameters with the specifications requested
  • Final inspection of products and packaging to determine conformity with the marketing standards, with the brand usage regulations and/or the certification standard
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Traceability
  • Database with complete information on orchard cultivation
  • Batch number assigned to the delivery note
  • Labelling of all containers to guarantee identification during the processing cycle
  • Product sorting protocol
  • Connection to the results of company inspections and control of records
suedtirol-gga
SÜDTIROL G.G.A.
globalgap
GLOBALG.A.P.

GGN 8008757000009

Good Agricultural Practices

sedex
Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA)
For ethical and sustainable behaviour
tuev
DIN EN ISO 9001
Quality management system
brc
BRC
Global food safety standard
grasp
GRASP

GGN 8008757000009

Risk assessment on social practice

igp
I.G.P.
Protected geographical indication
agiros
Agrios
Integrated production
ifs
IFS Food
Standard for assessing the quality and safety of food products
garanzia-aiab
GARANZIA AIAB
eu-bio
EU - BIO
IT BIO 013
bioland
BIOLAND
naturland-e-v-002
NATURLAND
demeter-logo
DEMETER
krav-logo
KRAV
bio-suisse
BIO SUISSE