29 may 2018
Hygiene is becoming more and more important in horticulture. Customers ask for a clean substrate. And also during the export of substrates there is strict control of organisms such as nematodes. Companies that produce products with the RHP quality mark are alright when it comes to hygiene. But there is always room for improvement!
One of the strengths of the RHP quality mark is the attention to hygiene in the whole production chain of substrates: from the extraction of raw materials up until delivery at the grower. Risks and diseases or plagues in the culture are thus minimalised as much as possible. The RHP certified companies are thus already very successful when it comes to hygiene. And in order to keep it that way and where possible even improve, RHP considers hygiene a subject that is worthy of attention.
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That is why the product group End Products Horticulture has now drawn up a hygiene protocol. This includes several points of notice to monitor (phyto)hygiene at certified companies even better. For example, from now on during the visit of a technical advisor of RHP to a company, a checklist concerning hygiene in the company is filled in together with the company. Hygiene relating to plant and humane pathogens is looked at. If wanted, workers of certified
For the RHP quality mark, samples are taken in order to check for plant diseases and human pathogens.
companies can receive extra training by RHP concerning clean working. All RHP production locations are visited this year with extra attention paid to hygiene. The first company visits took place this month.
