Nogales, AZ, March 17, 2010 The annual awards program to recognize North American retailers and importers who excel in Mexico produce procurement and promotion has been scheduled during an already-popular event.
The Sonora Spring Grape Summit to be held on April 15-16 in Hermosillo, Sonora will feature the usual trend speakers, industry panels and grower crop updates. This year it will also host an awards ceremony for Mexicos premier food safety certification agency, Mexico Supreme Quality (MSQ)/Mexico Calidad Suprema (MCS). MCS is a non-profit public/private partnership between the Mexico Secretary of Agriculture (SAGARPA) and export banks.
Last year, retail chain Safeway, Inc, was on hand to receive the Masters of MCS award, along with three U.S. distributors: The Giumarra Cos, Farmers Best and Bay Area Produce.
We decided to hold the event there this year to directly support our table grape exporters, 100% of which are MSQ-certified noted MSQ General Manager Liz Quintero: This is also a popular event because of its high-quality presentations and, of course, the crop updates which everyone eagerly anticipates. Now we will have our Oscars ceremony during the same event.
Recipients for the 2010 Masters of MCS awards are now being selected and contacted, and is slated to remain a secret until the actual event. Retailers, wholesalers and U.S.-based distributors will be honored. Juan Alberto Laborin, director of the Sonora Grape Association (AALPUM) and host of the Sonora Summit, explains:
A large appeal of the Summit event held before the spring grape harvest is that only a few know what the fruit count will be. We find out right there as the different growers report on the crop. The awards will add to the overall anticipation the event generates.
MSQ/MCS has already certified almost 300 Mexico farms and ranches in food safety, sanitation and export practices since 1995. These operations undergo stringent, multi-steps inspection and third-party audits by independent labs and certification agencies. Although the program has already achieved good traction in markets like Tokyo, the U.K. and Europe, it is relatively new in the North America.
The MSQ/MCS program in the U.S. and Canada is on its fourth season, and this year it will focus primarily on reaching out to the many retail chain food safety personnel to ensure they understand the program, which is benchmarked with GlobalGAP. U.S.-based agency VIVA Global Marketing, LLC is heading this effort. Principal Veronica Kraushaar notes:
There is a plenty of misconception about Mexico produce certification. Fact is, the steps these growers need to take to be export-ready are very stringent. Few U.S. growers are required to do all this to be able to export. Then, there is confusion about the different systems and standards, and the fact that all auditing is done by respected third-party labs, not by the Mexican government, as some believe Our goal is to help dispel these myths. Some of the education for U.S. receivers is being undertaken through the agencys new site: www.msqinfo.wordpress.com. Most of it is being done through meetings at distributor and retail headquarters.
Laborin, who is also Chairman of MSQ, adds: The Masters of MCS awards is such a relevant initiative for this program. It recognizes those industry members who have already taken great strides in understanding the certification system and using it to their benefit in the marketplace. This help inspire others to succeed also.
The 2010 Sonora Spring Grape Summit is open to all interested industry members and media. For more information about how to resister for the event, please contact Juan Laborin at AALPUM (520-829-4295) or your U.S.-based grape distributors.
Source: Mexico Supreme Quality/Mexico Calidad Suprema
