Mexico Supreme Quality set to form alliance with SQF
Mexico Supreme Quality set to form alliance with SQF
HOUSTON -- Mexico Calidad Suprema is a program that was initiated by the government of Mexico to assure that product bearing the program's logo meets rigid standards with regard to quality and safety.
Initially, certification requirements were established to include compliance with U.S. protocols for Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices.
In 2006, the Mexico Calidad Suprema program achieved equivalence with the EurepGAP (now GlobalGAP) standards, according to Lizeth Quintero, director general of Mexico Calidad Suprema A.C., a private industry association that works with producers in implementing the government program and also promotes the program to the retail trade.
In an Oct. 14 interview with The Produce News during the Produce Marketing Association expo, here, Ms. Quintero said that Mexico Calidad Suprema, also known by its initials MCS, will also soon be aligned with SQF standards. SQF, which stands for "safe quality food," was recently acquired by the Food Marketing Institute and is described on the SQF web site as "a fully integrated food-safety and quality management protocol designed specifically for the food sector. SQF certification provides an independent and external validation that a product, process or service complies with international, regulatory and other specified standard(s) and enables a food supplier to give assurances that food has been produced, prepared and handled according to the highest possible standards."
FMI is a "big, important" organization, said Ms. Quintero. It was FMI's decision to procure SQF that motivated MCS to align itself with the SQF program.
Mexican growers at PMA had been informed two days earlier that MCS would begin working with the SQF system as well as with GlobalGAP, she said. "We already have the proposal to SQF for an alliance between SQF and Calidad Suprema," she said.
That alliance will have the support of FMI as well as SAGARPA, the Mexican department of food and agriculture, and ANTAD, an association of supermarkets in Mexico.
GlobalGAP is the main food-safety and quality-certification system recognized in Europe, Ms. Quintero said. It is also recognized in Asia and "in the U.S. in some supermarkets." With FMI's acquisition of SQF, the major certification system "for the U.S., we know, is going to be SQF."
In order for growers and shippers in Mexico to export products in which customers in U.S. and global markets will have confidence, she said, those growers need to meet GlobalGap and SQF standards. By benchmarking with those standards, MCS is able to provide growers with a certification that meets both standards, rather than having to certify under several different systems.
The Mexican government pays half the cost of MCS certification for growers, or around $2,000 a year, she said.
Another major development for MCS occurred May 4 when Wal-Mart USA "recognized Calidad Suprema as its food-safety standard in global procurement," Ms. Quintero said. "That is huge. It is very important."
"We went to a meeting with Wal-Mart" at its U.S. headquarters and explained how Calidad Suprema complied with the international standards, and Wal- Mart gave its approval, she said.
The main activities of the MCS association are training, consulting and promotion. The association offers training to growers who want to certify their products and then provides consultation on-site to assist them in meeting the qualifications for MCS certification.
Significantly, the certification itself is not done by MSC but by accredited independent third-party auditors, Ms. Quintero explained. "What we want is that the buyers, the importers, the distributors feel assured ... that they can buy safe Mexican produce" when they buy products that carry the Mexico Calidad Suprema seal.
During 2006, Mexican growers shipped more than 700,000 tons of certified products, of which 40 percent went to the United States and 27 percent stayed in the Mexican national market.
Currently, there are 183 Mexican companies that have MCS certification. During the last year, "we did consultation for 133 companies," and those are expected to receive certification shortly. During the coming year, "we are going to do consultation for 120 new companies," she said.
Aldo Ruiz Salgado, who previously worked in imports and exports for the International Bank of Commerce in Mexico City, has recently been named director of promotion for MCS. He will liaison between wholesalers, distributors and importers in the United States and the certified companies in Mexico. Promotional programs for the coming season are still in the planning stage but are expected to include trade advertising, media public relations and direct contact with importers and chain buyers as well as field tours in which retailers and members of the media will have the opportunity to visit certified agricultural operations in Mexico.
The MCS program has the full support of Mexico's new secretary of food and agriculture, Alberto Cardenas Jimenez, according to Ms. Quintero.
Initially, certification requirements were established to include compliance with U.S. protocols for Good Agricultural Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices.
In 2006, the Mexico Calidad Suprema program achieved equivalence with the EurepGAP (now GlobalGAP) standards, according to Lizeth Quintero, director general of Mexico Calidad Suprema A.C., a private industry association that works with producers in implementing the government program and also promotes the program to the retail trade.
In an Oct. 14 interview with The Produce News during the Produce Marketing Association expo, here, Ms. Quintero said that Mexico Calidad Suprema, also known by its initials MCS, will also soon be aligned with SQF standards. SQF, which stands for "safe quality food," was recently acquired by the Food Marketing Institute and is described on the SQF web site as "a fully integrated food-safety and quality management protocol designed specifically for the food sector. SQF certification provides an independent and external validation that a product, process or service complies with international, regulatory and other specified standard(s) and enables a food supplier to give assurances that food has been produced, prepared and handled according to the highest possible standards."
FMI is a "big, important" organization, said Ms. Quintero. It was FMI's decision to procure SQF that motivated MCS to align itself with the SQF program.
Mexican growers at PMA had been informed two days earlier that MCS would begin working with the SQF system as well as with GlobalGAP, she said. "We already have the proposal to SQF for an alliance between SQF and Calidad Suprema," she said.
That alliance will have the support of FMI as well as SAGARPA, the Mexican department of food and agriculture, and ANTAD, an association of supermarkets in Mexico.
GlobalGAP is the main food-safety and quality-certification system recognized in Europe, Ms. Quintero said. It is also recognized in Asia and "in the U.S. in some supermarkets." With FMI's acquisition of SQF, the major certification system "for the U.S., we know, is going to be SQF."
In order for growers and shippers in Mexico to export products in which customers in U.S. and global markets will have confidence, she said, those growers need to meet GlobalGap and SQF standards. By benchmarking with those standards, MCS is able to provide growers with a certification that meets both standards, rather than having to certify under several different systems.
The Mexican government pays half the cost of MCS certification for growers, or around $2,000 a year, she said.
Another major development for MCS occurred May 4 when Wal-Mart USA "recognized Calidad Suprema as its food-safety standard in global procurement," Ms. Quintero said. "That is huge. It is very important."
"We went to a meeting with Wal-Mart" at its U.S. headquarters and explained how Calidad Suprema complied with the international standards, and Wal- Mart gave its approval, she said.
The main activities of the MCS association are training, consulting and promotion. The association offers training to growers who want to certify their products and then provides consultation on-site to assist them in meeting the qualifications for MCS certification.
Significantly, the certification itself is not done by MSC but by accredited independent third-party auditors, Ms. Quintero explained. "What we want is that the buyers, the importers, the distributors feel assured ... that they can buy safe Mexican produce" when they buy products that carry the Mexico Calidad Suprema seal.
During 2006, Mexican growers shipped more than 700,000 tons of certified products, of which 40 percent went to the United States and 27 percent stayed in the Mexican national market.
Currently, there are 183 Mexican companies that have MCS certification. During the last year, "we did consultation for 133 companies," and those are expected to receive certification shortly. During the coming year, "we are going to do consultation for 120 new companies," she said.
Aldo Ruiz Salgado, who previously worked in imports and exports for the International Bank of Commerce in Mexico City, has recently been named director of promotion for MCS. He will liaison between wholesalers, distributors and importers in the United States and the certified companies in Mexico. Promotional programs for the coming season are still in the planning stage but are expected to include trade advertising, media public relations and direct contact with importers and chain buyers as well as field tours in which retailers and members of the media will have the opportunity to visit certified agricultural operations in Mexico.
The MCS program has the full support of Mexico's new secretary of food and agriculture, Alberto Cardenas Jimenez, according to Ms. Quintero.
