Regulatory changes in both food safety and sustainability are increasingly impacting organizations across the supply chain from fruit and vegetable farmers to distributors and retailers.
On the food safety front, the US FDA traceability records rule takes effect in January 2026. Meanwhile, new sustainability regulations are emerging in regions including Europe and North America. Agribusiness experts shared the stage at the International Fresh Produce Association (IFPA) conference last fall to talk about their leading-edge preparations for compliance.
Technology helps every member of the farm-to-consume food chain modernize systems with connected data automation that reduces costs and improves results for sustainable business resilience.
gettyAgribusiness has metric-based strengths for sustainability
Enacted to improve the FDA’s ability to rapidly track and trace food, the new US regulations raise the bar on traceability up and down the food supply chain. Leaders during the event drew parallels between the upcoming food safety rules and rising policymaker and consumer interest in sustainable business. The good news is that agribusiness has significant experience with the kind of metrics that sustainability-related reporting will increasingly require.
“As food safety professionals, we have a good eye on and understanding of what’s happening in the supply chain,” said Jennifer Pulcipher, director of food safety and compliance at North Bay Produce. “We’re plugged into different growing practices and have assessed their risks. Sustainability looks at different standards and reporting, and we’re already familiar with food safety audits.”
Food safety benchmarks align with sustainable value chains
Other panelists agreed that there’s significant overlap between food safety and sustainability tracking as regulations change for the latter from periodic certification to transaction-specific data and regular reporting.
Roberta Anderson, president of GLOBALG.A.P. North America, said that benchmarking was central to her organization’s mission. Best known for designing and operationalizing food safety standards, the company has widened its reach into areas including environmental sustainability, worker well-being, animal welfare, and supply chain transparency.
“We have customers in various markets that may want different comparisons and benchmarks. We participate in alignment activities to help them harmonize with other standards, which streamlines auditing and reduces duplication,” Anderson said.
Farmers provide sustainability expertise
Janis McIntosh, director of marketing innovation and sustainability at Naturipe Farms, said that farmers have been largely uncredited as the boots on the ground implementing sustainable farming practices for years. A farmer-owned producer and marketer of berries and avocados, Naturipe Farms created a task force with team leads by region that provide monthly sustainability updates and action items.
“We’re trying to capture, measure, and quantify everything that farmers are doing and articulate it, so retailers understand,” she said. “We’re spread out globally and get different questions from various types of retailers and consumers. We have an accounting firm, and we’re trying to figure out the best way to capture and report the data.”
Food safety lessons learned can conquer audit fatigue
Just as IFPA has played an active role in industry food safety groups like the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI), the association is collaborating in the same way through its Sustainable Supply Chain Initiative (SSCI). The group is developing a proposal for harmonized sustainability certifications across the fruit and vegetable farming supply chain.
“Audit fatigue is running high and it’s a huge challenge,” said Dr. Emily Moyer, vice president of regulatory compliance and global food safety standards at IFPA. “If you’re going to develop a sustainability standard, we need to agree on what those standard components should include.”
One major learning from food safety efforts is the importance of giving everyone along the sustainability supply chain a seat at the table.
“Food producers were often left out of the conversation when it came to food safety,” McIntosh said. “We need to bring everyone together, from retailer down to producers so we are on the same page, achieving something together to ensure the industry successfully moves forward.”
Technology is critical for sustainable business
After the event, I talked with Gary Decker, SAP’s North American industry advisor for agribusiness, who said there’s growing demand for technology that provides data transparency across the food chain.
“We see a broad need to operationalize the capture and generation data that supports auditability and reporting mandates,” Decker said. “Technology helps every member of the ‘grower-to-consumer’ food chain modernize systems with connected data automation that reduces costs and improves results for sustainable business resilience.”
How to protect consumers and the environment
Fresh fruits and vegetables are healthy for us until they’re not. Growers, packers, processors, and retailers have always been focused on regulatory compliance along with protecting consumers and the environment. As food safety regulations evolve, the entire value chain will work even closer together connecting data from fields to retailers to deliver food with the healthiest nutritional and sustainable business value.
Find out more about the data-driven future for fresh produce, from farmer to grocer.
