Quality, with
the evidence to match.
Fruit condition, food hygiene and traceability belong in the same programme, with a clear distinction between buyer specifications, operating records and verified certification.
Inspection and product handling
Agree the condition, size, maturity and defect tolerances for each programme. Set out when inspection takes place, how results are recorded and how non-conforming fruit is managed. Ask which tests and quality checks are available for the particular order.
Food safety and hygiene
Food safety belongs in the service discussion alongside quality. Ask for the relevant hygiene, cleaning, water quality, pest management and staff handling procedures to be confirmed. Specific procedures should be supported by records appropriate to the agreed activity.
Traceability from source to pack
Define the lot identity used at receiving and how it will connect to packing, packaging labels and dispatch. Where several growers contribute fruit, agree how lots are separated or reconciled. Traceability is useful only if the records can actually connect the stages.
Buyer standards and export requirements
A buyer specification, a voluntary certification and a phytosanitary document address different questions. Confirm what your destination and buyer require, who supplies the evidence and when it is needed. A document for one scope or market should not be treated as approval for every shipment.
Certification information
No Ken Fresh Growers certification has been verified for publication. We do not display certification logos or claim accreditation. Verified certificates can be added with their issuer, scope, validity and supporting evidence once supplied. Request current documentation for your programme.
Build a quality plan around decisions
For each stage, identify the check, the acceptance criterion, the person making the decision and the record produced. Define what happens when the criterion is not met. A plan is more useful when it explains release and hold decisions than when it lists tests without saying how the findings are used. Confirm the checks that are actually available for your service.
Test the traceability connection
Choose a finished pack reference and ask how it connects to the source lot, the packing period and the dispatched quantity. Then consider the reverse question: which packs contain fruit from a particular intake lot? These practical questions reveal whether the records can support the programme. The required detail, separation and reconciliation should be part of the initial brief.
Keep commercial quality and plant health distinct
A fruit can meet a buyer’s appearance specification while still requiring separate plant-health checks for the destination. Similarly, a phytosanitary document does not establish every customer quality requirement. Put the relevant evidence in separate parts of the order file, with a responsible party and required date for each. Ask the importer and authorities to confirm the current destination requirements.
Handle exceptions before release
Agree how a lot is identified if held, who receives the inspection information and who can authorise the next step. The record should explain the issue and the eventual decision. Do not allow a different packing format or label to obscure an unresolved acceptance question. A release decision should refer to the same specification the customer approved.
More about your programme.
Is Ken Fresh Growers GLOBALG.A.P. or ISO certified?
No certification has been verified for publication. We do not display certification logos or claim accredited status. Request current evidence relevant to your proposed programme.
Which quality documents should a buyer request?
Start with the agreed product specification, inspection and lot records, packing reconciliation and the documents required for the destination. Certification requests should identify the exact entity, activity and scope needed.
Standards, with context.
These are industry reference frameworks, not claims that Ken Fresh Growers holds certification.
GLOBALG.A.P.
Farm assurance for fruit and vegetables. Check the relevant producer, product and scope in current evidence.
HACCP
A hazard analysis and control approach described in Codex food hygiene guidance. A reference to HACCP is not a company certificate.
ISO 22000
A food safety management system standard. Verify the entity, activities, scope and validity of any certificate requested.
Separate a product decision from a food-safety decision
A pack can meet an agreed visual presentation while still requiring separate food-safety and plant-health evidence. Conversely, a sound fruit may fall outside a buyer’s preferred size grouping. Keep the questions separate so that an attractive photograph, a grade description or a certificate title is not used to answer something it does not establish.
For a quality review, define the product characteristic, inspection stage, sampling approach and decision rule. For a food-safety review, ask the responsible party to explain relevant controls and evidence for the activity. Codex’s food-hygiene framework includes HACCP guidance; mentioning that framework does not mean a company holds a certification.
Turn an exception into a traceable decision
If a sample does not match the agreed condition, record which lot is affected and whether the finding applies only to the sample or to a wider portion pending assessment. Identify who can place the fruit on hold and who may authorize release. Keep the decision, supporting observations and any revised instruction together.
A later reviewer should be able to distinguish the original specification from the action taken after the concern arose. Use the food-safety and traceability article for a record exercise, and the export process guidance to connect those records to the shipment handover.
Let’s talk fruit.
Sourcing Kenyan fruit or preparing your own harvest? Tell us what your programme needs.