Veggies From Mexico’s Antonio Beltran Offers Insight on Grower Community Standards and Certifications
CULIACÁN, SINALOA, MEXICO – En ANUK, we take pride in providing an inside look at some of the operational forces within our industry, and Veggies From Mexico (VFM) is one of them. Continuing our conversation about the grower community’s dedication to upholding sustainability and social responsibility throughout its organization, I recently spoke with President of the Board Antonio Beltran.
“Veggies From Mexico is a community formed by growers of Sinaloa, Mexico, who produce high-quality vegetables,” Antonio begins. “These growers have exported tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, green beans, and eggplants from Mexico to the United States and Canada for almost a century. VFM is a community that is known for having food safety and social responsibility practices that are certified and endorsed by international organizations and buyers.”
The goal of the VFM operation is to provide customers with delicious, fresh vegetables while guaranteeing that the community of growers has a culture of full compliance with hygiene, food safety, and social responsibility standards. These standards are certified year after year and audited weekly by a group of experts.
Compliance with these high standards has been divided into two tiers: Full Compliance and Beyond. To qualify for either of the two, growers who are members of the community must have at least one safety certificate and one social responsibility certificate.
“The community’s growers have always been characterized by high standards and world-renowned certificates. The weekly audit comes to support these certifications and to be in a process of continuous improvement,” notes Antonio. “Food safety, social responsibility, and sustainability are of vital importance to the global fresh produce community. As growers, we have the responsibility to offer high-quality, safe, and responsibly grown vegetables while caring for our employees and their families, as well as the environment. It is a matter of personal beliefs that we as a grower community share.”
As it looks to the future, VFM is committed to elevating Sinaloa growers while continuing to meet these ambitious goals.
“Our goal is to continue producing healthy, high-quality, great-tasting food for the North American consumer and create more awareness of our growers, their labels, and their vegetables,” explains Antonio. “We are working toward building a community that grows year after year in volume, without neglecting the requirements to be a member of it.”
With elevated standards and a formidable community of grower partners, growth and expansion are on the horizon for this dynamic community.
Source: https://www.andnowuknow.com
