Message from Veryan Bliss, Fresh Produce Sector Chair, Red Tractor
Dear Members,
The Fresh Produce Sector Board met on 19th February 2026 for a productive and wide-ranging discussion covering standards development, water pollution regulation and opportunities to support members through upcoming changes. Growers continue to face ever mounting pressure due to challenging market conditions and increasingly unpredictable weather, underscoring the importance of this work. It was highlighted that the potato sector is facing severe financial and production pressures driven by low prices, reduced contracts, poor weather impacts, limited diversification opportunities, and declining market demand.
Standards review and stakeholder feedback
The Fresh Produce Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) continues to make good progress in its review of the Red Tractor Fresh Produce Standards. The TAC has been meeting regularly and is now moving towards completing its review of the core requirements. The Committee is taking a thorough, line by line approach and remains committed to reducing duplication and developing smarter, outcomes focused standards that reflect current legislation, new evidence, and real-world compliance data. The Board welcomed the constructive way all parts of the supply chain are contributing to the process and outlined progress on the standards review, development of a leafy salads bolt-on, and audit burden research. The Sector Board also continues to provide input on risk segmentation, scheme design, and clearer communication.
The new leafy salads bolt‑on has been drafted to address industry concerns around STEC contamination and will be launched in 2026, before potential integration into core standards as part of the standards review.
The review covers 179 standards and 480 audit points, assessed through ongoing workshops, shared documentation, and engagement with stakeholders to ensure consistency with the other schemes.
The TAC will share draft sections of the updated standards with the Fresh Produce Sector Board for comment as they are completed. As part of this process, we also considered stakeholder feedback on the scheme’s proposed priorities. Although the number of responses was low, the feedback generally supported the overall direction, and key insights will be passed to the TAC to help inform the review.
Audit burden research
We were pleased to welcome Lucy Jellicoe from Grounded Research who presented the feedback following the survey of fresh produce members. The research shows that perceived burden is driven by crop risk level rather than number of schemes, with strong support for earned recognition and segmentation to reduce duplication. As a result, the TAC is exploring options for more tailored standards according to risk level.
Water and air quality
The Board discussed future expectations around water quality following a request from the Red Tractor Board of Directors for each Sector Board to explore these issues at a high level. This was a forward-looking exercise, not a proposal for change.
A recent Red Tractor online briefing from NFU helped clarify the current regulatory context including Defra’s ongoing review of water quality legislation.
Board members highlighted key environmental risks – such as nutrient runoff, soil erosion and reputational impacts from visible pollution – and noted the importance of grants and monitoring. Some overlap between Red Tractor and LEAF was acknowledged, while recognising each scheme’s distinct focus.
The Board recognised that Red Tractor may have a role in an industry-led approach, but noted the complexity of the issues, differences across crop type, devolved nations, and the need for further exploration. This will remain on the agenda.
Updates to the Member Portal
We heard about the significant improvements being made to the Red Tractor Member Portal. These enhancements are designed to streamline assessments and give members more user-friendly digital tools.
Assessors have been trained on the new system and will use the Portal when members choose to adopt it. Recognising the significant efficiencies for using the Portal to share records and reduce audit lengths for seed potato growers, Safe Haven members now need to use the Portal to upload records ahead of their assessment. Using the Portal remains optional for all other members.
Thank you to all Board members and contributors for their insight and commitment. As always, our focus remains on supporting fresh produce farmers and growers, strengthening trust in the Red Tractor scheme and ensuring our standards remain proportionate, practical and future ready.
Veryan Bliss
Chair, Red Tractor Fresh Produce Board
Fresh Produce Sector Board Members:
- Veryan Bliss – Chair
- Tim Casey – Grower and NFU
- Jan Redpath – Grower and NFUS
- Damon Johnson – Retailer, BRC
- James Lee – Agronomist
- Phil Pearson – Grower
- Kelly Shields – Fresh Produce Consortium
- Stephen Shields – Grower and NFU
- Barbara Bray MBE – TAC Chair
- Andrew McHardy – Retailer
- Jenny Heath – Grower
- John Walgate – BGA