Interview to Jordi Cambray, technician of the Technical Service of Poscosecha of the Irta of Lleida
10 October 2011
To measure that the news on alimentary crises begin to copar the media, increases also the restlessness about the origin and the state of the foods that consume. In general, the society is conscious of the procedures of trazabilidad and security that carry out in the alimentary sector? To what has to that the public interest in these fields give only when it produces a sanitary alert?
Formulated like this this question, am of the opinion that the population, in general, is not conscious of the procedures of trazabilidad and alimentary security. Of what himself is conscious is that they exist some controls and mechanisms to detect and look for the origin of the problem in the products of consumption.
After the crisis of the 'And. Coli', what himself has changed is the fact that the media have begun to speak of the concept of trazabilidad, because of the fact that the sector hortofrutícola, the authorities and the distribution know and use this finish. Another different subject is how manages a case of alimentary crisis when east trascends to the public opinion. In this regard, all the parts involved –entes public, media and professionals of the sector– would have to reflexionar and cause a debate that allowed to facilitate information without causing unnecessary alarms./p>
Five months ago it appeared in the means what in a principle knew like ‘crisis of the cucumber' and later crisis of the 'And.Coli'. Basically, in what differentiates the trazabilidad that effects in the chain of supply hortofrutícola of which is still in other cool foods?
In the last years, the sector hortofrutícola has realised/realized a big effort to implant, in the first place, the systems of trazabilidad, with helps of the Administration, and second, the back improvement of the same, once implanted. The introduction and improvement of the systems of trazabilidad has allowed that the products hortofrutícolas are to the same level of the others cool products that can find in the supermarket. However, some establishments still have some blackheads in what to products hortofrutícolas refers . We speak of the presentations to granel, where the product comes from of different origins and finally mixes , presenting like this to the user. In these cases, the solution is difficult: no longer it is in the hand of the sector hortofrutícola but in the one of the chain of distribution. And of course, in the last resort, of those consumers that consider the products to granel of better quality or more economic.
Which are the most usual technologies in the follow-up and trazabilidad of the products hortofrutícolas, from the farm until the table, inside and out of Spain?
The most used technology in the sector is the system of bar code. Even so, it is a system with limitations since it does not achieve that the transmission of the information between the different agents of the chain of distribution was fast and transparent, with the consequent loss of confidence in the final consumer when it declares an alimentary crisis. That's why the big chains of European distribution and some producers of our country are interested in developing and implement in his new products technologies like the RFID, that would allow to facilitate to all the chain of distribution and finally to the final consumer a truthful and fast information of the products hortofrutícolas that sell or consume.
Nine years ago, and after the publication of the regulation comunitario 178/2002, more than 60% of the exporters hortofrutícolas Andalusians already adopted processes of trazabilidad. In spite of the unfair indictments poured by the German authorities against the Andalusian cucumbers, can conclude that the trazabilidad works and that the effort realised/realized by the sector has been worthwhile?
Definitively, think so. In fact, in the crisis of the 'And.coli' The answer of the exporters hortofrutícolas to the German authorities was fast and clear. And it is that, in few time communicated the fincas of origin of the cucumbers that considered could be bearers of the same, the trucks in which they transported and the place of destination. Another thing is that the German authorities did a correct use of the information./p>
The European rule does not establish the system of trazabilidad to implant, an appearance that decide the own companies, although the more employee is the bar code. Besides, neither they exist international protocols in this field, by what each chain of distribution demands his to his providers. To what owes this so diffuse legislation? How could unify criteria for like this trace some common practices of production and manipulated of horticultural products, from his crop until his export?
The origin of the European rule wanted to give answer to a very concrete need to the famous encephalopathy espongiforme bovine (EEB) or 'illness of the crazy cows', a very directed rule to the control of the piensos that supplied to the animals. At the same time, when trying conjugar the interests of the different countries members with his legislation this does that the European rule are diffuse, by force. Likewise, the producers hortofrutícolas of our country carry immersed years in the processes of voluntary certification like GLOBALGAP, BRC or IFS, that mark some guidelines of how have to be the protocols of trazabilidad and of performance in case of claim or alimentary crisis. These companies have some common mechanisms of performance, many times strangers by the following steps of the chain of distribution or by the administration. The big challenge of all the chain of distribution is to achieve some channels of fast and transparent communication. In this aim, can help technologies like the sensorización or system RFID, as well as the unification of the criteria demanded by the different certifications of quality (GLOBALGAP, IFS, BRC, Nurture, Leaf, etc.)./p>
After the incident of the fall of the box of cucumbers in Hamburg, the agriculturalists complain that it does not have the same care in the destination, where manipulate and place the products that in the field. It agrees with this affirmation? In which appearances would have to work more?
In my opinion, the system of trazabilidad implanted by part of the producing companies have a reliability and reasonable consistency, especially the companies that devote to the export and have of certificates like GLOBALGAP, IFS, for quoting some. The problems appear when the product begins to commercialise/commercialize. That is to say, during this long way to the final consumer (logistical platforms, reprocesados in different points of the chain of distribution) and where the producer does not have control on them./p>
And already to finish, until which point improves the competitiveness of the chain hortofrutícola Mediterranean, given the globalisation/globalization of the current distribution, the adoption of ‘best practices' and his processes, by part of the sector?
Although it is not a simple way, create firmly that the competitiveness of the production hortofrutícola of our country depends on that we know to give fast answers, transparent and truthful of our products, no only in front of an alimentary crisis, but in any situation. In feeding, the confidence is main and the loss of her costs a lot to recover./p>
