Cereal Docks Spa, with its plant located in Portogruaro (Venice), obtained the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) at Silver level for the corn (waxy) product thanks to a project that involved a supply chain consisting of 147 farms.
Cereal Docks Spa is the first Farm Management Group verified by CSQA in Italy for the FSA Standard. The standard Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) was developed by SAI Platform (Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform), an international non-profit organization whose mission consists in the development of sustainable agricultural practices through the collaboration of all the parts involved in the agri-food supply chain.
FSA consists of 112 verifiable requirements for sustainable agriculture that cover social, environmental, economic and management aspects and it is applicable to all cultivated plant products. The standard is aimed at individual farms of all sizes but also at groups of producers (Farm Management Group).
Companies or Farm Management Groups that implement the FSA standard must define, as part of their self-control process, the Bronze, Silver or Gold performance level. The third-party verification aims to verify the performance level achieved by the organization and to confirm the performance level claim which, after the release of the FSA certificate by CSQA (valid for three years), can be communicated externally by the 'organization.
The FSA standard was designed with a business-to-business approach to ensure that agricultural commodities are produced in accordance with certain requirements. The Claim cannot be used on the finished product intended for the final consumer, nonetheless it can be communicated through websites and social media channels or communicated to the customer who requests FSA verified raw materials.
“We are very proud of this result - comments Antonio Canzian, manager of the Cereal Docks plant in Portogruaro - which confirms our ten-year commitment. Since 2012, Cereal Docks has focused on the creation of 100% Italian certified and sustainable supply chains of cereals and oilseeds (soy, rapeseed, white corn and sunflower). The company has a function dedicated to sustainability which has the task of implementing a certification system that is verified and guaranteed through internal audits and third party audits. In this way, Cereal Docks interprets the needs of the national and international market, which requires more and more products that are tracked, sustainable at 360 ° and of high quality ”.
Environmental, economic and social sustainability
Cereal Docks has developed the SISTEMA GREEN® brand to identify its system of certified food supply chains for soy, sunflower, white corn, rapeseed and derivatives. By involving all the players in the supply chain, from the farmer to the head of the supply chain, from the collection, drying, storage and analysis centers to the end user, SISTEMA GREEN® ensures not only the environmental sustainability of the products, but also the social and economic aspects.
The system guarantees the nationality of the product, the absence of GMOs, the control of greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring the certainty of the placement of agricultural raw materials, compliance with health and safety obligations in the workplace and salaries in line with national contracts.
The participating farms are identified in the Sustainability Portal, where all the documents certifying the sustainability of crops, land and the farm are inserted.
Enhancing Italian agriculture
To ensure the quality, safety and traceability of supply chains and above all to enhance the products of sustainable supply chains in the eyes of customer industry and consumers, Cereal Docks has also created the Alimento Italia® brand. The basis of the ALIMENTO ITALIA® project is to raise awareness that ingredients from short, controlled and certified supply chains are essential for the quality of the foods that are brought to the consumer's table.
The brand was created not only to guarantee the quality of food, but also to safeguard the heritage of skills and traditions of Italian agriculture, to protect national productions and to create value for all the players in the food chain, from the farmer to the processing industry up to the final consumer.
