Fresh Produce Standards

Fruit and vegetables are the backbone of a healthy diet. Because they are often eaten raw, it’s very important that they are produced in a strictly controlled and hygienic way. Our strict criteria look to reduce the risk at every key stage of the process.

“Our Red Tractor accreditation helps us to get the message across to the consumer that our food is probably the safest in the world as it is farmed to Red Tractor standards. These are higher than food standards in other countries and this is really important to the UK public.”

Joe
Red Tractor salad grower

Our fresh produce standards include:

There must be clear
identification of the product throughout the supply chain to ensure full traceability back to farms.

Soil must be managed
in a manner that helps maintain soil condition.

Growers must meet rigorous hygiene standards and manage operations in a way that maintains food safety and minimises risk.

Practices must be adopted
to minimise the impact
of the farm on features
of biodiversity and conservation value on
or around the farm.

Read our Fresh Produce Standards in detail

Interested in learning more about our farms to pack story?

You can learn more about Red Tractor’s role by watching our “How Do They?” series of films that explores the journeys that farm produce takes before it reaches the consumer.

How do they grow delicious berries in Britain that meet world-leading standards?

Berry Gardens Growers, are a grower-owned co-operative that grow, and through Driscoll’s, pack around 60 million punnets of soft fruit each year that supply our supermarkets, food service and convenience outlets.

But the question is, how do they ensure that their blackberries, raspberries, and strawberries are grown, picked, transported, and packaged in a way that meets Red Tractor’s world-leading standards?

Follow their journey from farm to packhouse and learn all about the delicious Driscoll’s Victoria Blackberries, and how every drupelet (bumpy bit) is packed full of delicious juiciness.