Although the blueberry market has expanded throughout the world and its consumption is growing and multiplying, it has become very competitive. The high demands of consumers also increase and become more powerful, since not only is a better taste, size or appearance of the berries demanded, but also the consumers of the world are attentive to everything that good hygiene practices imply. , agricultural, handling, and even worker welfare. There is a lot of interest in social aspects and sustainability in the fruit production process, from harvest to final destination.

Later seasons plan

In this context, large companies have taken steps very quickly to meet the demands. In 2017, Jessica Mesina, food safety manager for the international company Driscoll's for South America, commented on Driscoll's commitment with its suppliers on the path of labor well-being and sustainability, initiating a supplier development program to advance issues such as management integration of pests, recycling and efficient use of phytosanitary products, also placing a strong emphasis on the area of ​​social compliance, with advice from lawyers and external and internal audits to assess the situation of producers in different areas. Compliance in all safety, regulatory and social aspects is a key aspect to gain access to the most important international markets.

"For some seasons now, all our fruit that goes to Europe has to be registered on a platform where the producer can connect with customers, so they can see the practices of each field on issues related to the well-being of workers and sustainability. mostly. It is something that our reception halls and supermarket chains demand of us," explained Jessica Messina, and advanced the idea that we have implemented to share business plans with each producer, so that they are aware of which markets their fruit will go to and in what percentage, and thus having a more accurate estimate of their returns and the demands of each one.

"Producers have to adapt to the changes we are making in the industry, to the new requirements and demands in regulatory, safety and social terms, and be enabled for all possible markets, because this is the opportunity to continue being powerful," added.

In pandemic

Then came the pandemic and the great crisis facing the world, so we talked with Jessica Messina about these and other industry issues, in such a way as to review the announced plans.

“After the pandemic, we focused on doing a powerful job with producers in terms of safety. Although at first the producers were a bit reluctant with some changes that we requested, the industry adapted and we have been implementing them, and it was thanked by our producers and growers ”, he says.

“One of the main changes we made was to emphasize good harvesting practices, complying with national regulations and what each country was demanding, with hand washing stations, hands-free, for all harvesters. We also incorporated hand washing stations in fruit stockpiles, quality control stations with movable stations, reinforcing hand washing and the number of people per washing tap so that they had enough time to perform a good hand washing and prevent contagion, thus reinforcing good hygiene practices. We did these jobs with the fields, refrigerators, packing field and exporters. It was a change that also had a conversion plan for producers and plants, which did not have this system hands-freeSo it was a work plan that we developed, which is a requirement, and it is here to stay. In addition to emphasizing and reinforcing good agricultural practices with permanent training, ”says the executive.

“Our mission is to continuously delight our consumers, while we align ourselves with our customers and producers, this is the reason for our brand and guides our objectives. That is why our activities are linked to making the health and well-being of our consumers a priority ”, says Jessica Mesina.

Work well-being

“There is also an increase in the use and care of phytosanitary products in our programs. A reduction in the use of the products and a very strong work in regulatory compliance. Another important focus is job well-being. We talk about ethical issues, fair payment, non-discrimination, that people have access to bathrooms, sinks, drinking water, basic issues, and in the latter case there has been a concern in the markets, in how they see South America in their practices ”, warns Jéssica Messina.

Safety Culture

“When we talk about a safety culture, it should mainly include all these aspects. We believe that as exporting countries we have it, but we must reinforce and emphasize each harvest season. Reinforce, for example, that the certification is a consequence of my good practices throughout the year, that is, I am not going to prepare to get the certification on the day of the inspection, this must be a consequence of the good work, of the management that I carry out. in the field, because if I manage well during the year, I am creating a culture of safety with my workers. If we maintain these good practices, not only in harvest, but all the time in the different tasks that we carry out in the field, we are creating a culture with our collaborators, which is the important thing ”, he concludes.