ACERTA participated actively on the development of AH protocol and on the training and qualification of the auditors who may assess it.

Suppliers, Service Providers and Albert Heijn are responsible and liable for meeting the legal requirements for residues of crop protection chemicals on fresh produce. For many chemicals, a European Union Maximum Residue Level (MRL) is defined. If no MRL is set for a chemical substance, the Level Of Detection (LOD) is applicable (usually 0,01mg/kg).

Since Albert Heijn is sourcing fresh produce, it has to create purchasing conditions which guarantee full implementation of the EU legislation on MRL for fresh produce.

Therefore Albert Heijn has developed a protocol to control the residue levels at the source: the farm sites and the packing houses of the suppliers.

The objectives of this protocol are:

1. Full transparency on traceability and the use of crop protection chemicals;
2. Systematic verification of the quality system of the traders and the related growers, assuring save products without MRL-incidents and
3. A sampling system which proves that the EU MRL-limits are met. The sampling system is based on statistical principles.There are different sampling plans for: Annual crops, Perennial cultives, Top fruit, Greenhouses and covered crops, Potatoes and Mushrooms

AH protocol is based on a Risk Analysis study for each plot and defines specific control measures and number of samples according to the identified risks.

The service providers are responsible for the implementation of this protocol by their suppliers.
Farm sites and packing houses are yearly verified by a qualified auditor.
The information from suppliers and plots will be uploaded on a web-based portal.

ACERTA operates on this protocol from its very beginning and we have qualified auditors in Europe, America, Africa and Asia.