FYFFES INC.
POMPANO BEACH, FLORIDA

Fyffes was the first company in the world to use a fruit brand (you can check with your Great Grandparents!) In 1929, we created our blue label as a sign of confidence in our quality. Over 85 years later the blue label is kept for our very best fruit. They say that age doesn’t matter, but with over 125 years of experience in tropical fruit we like to think we know a bit about it. We use proven systems that help us to question, control and improve the way we do everything from first planting, to loading and shipping the fruit around the world, right through until it finally leaves our warehouses to go to your local store. Many of the processes that are now standard in the industry were developed by us. But in the end it’s really about our people, many of whom have worked for Fyffes for decades. Their passion (obsession even) for fruit is at the heart of our approach to quality. It’s easy for us to tell you that we’re committed to producing great fruit in the right way, but it’s more important that we actually do it. ALL our farms and those of our partners follow a very rigorous set of standards to help us to deliver fruit produced sustainably under safe working conditions, following fair labour practices, and with minimum environmental impact. It’s not optional, it’s how we work every day, week in week out. And if something isn’t working, we change the way we do it. For example, as part of our day-to-day operations we do regular on-site checks to ensure that all the farms meet the necessary internal and external working/ labour standards. Doing it right is also about quality. We know that better farms produce better fruit, so as part of developing long term partnerships with our growers - often small family run farms - we support them with training and assistance on a wide range of issues. For example, we help the farmers to meet the standards for organic or Fairtrade fruit. It all helps to improve their businesses, to secure their livelihoods and it supports our passion for great fruit. Growing bananas & pineapples demands a long term approach (like wine). Bananas have been grown for decades in places like Belize and Colombia. It’s often the main source of employment. So, for the farmers to have a sustainable livelihood and for all of us to be able to enjoy great fruit for years to come, it’s important that the land is looked after. Here are some projects that we are currently supporting: Innovating to help the environment Carbon Emissions Our work to reduce carbon usage has been recognised by The Carbon Trust. As an example of what we’re doing, our ripening rooms now use a chilled water system which reduces environmental impact (and ripens the bananas beautifully!) We’ve said it already, but partnership is key to our business, both parties must benefit. We know that if we have strong relationships with growers and growing communities then together we’ll produce better fruit, that’s good for business and good for the growers. The lives of farm workers in the tropics can be hard, but by working closely with our growers and their communities (people who understand the local situation) Fyffes can make a real difference. Community programs improve living standards for workers and the way we work means that people can expect safe and fair working conditions. To be credible, what we do needs the endorsement of respected, independent organisations. We are members of the ETI (Ethical Trading Initiative) and our suppliers are expected to follow the ETI Base Code which is itself based on ILO Conventions (International Labour Organisation) which contains detailed provisions on labour standards, working hours etc. External audit teams and Fyffes own auditors regularly visit farms to ensure that these standards are met. Through a philanthropic partnership with UNICEF Ireland, Fyffes is supporting a programme to reduce childhood mortality and helping to save the lives of thousands of children in Africa. This is called the “Freddy’s Fyffes Bananas” programme and hundreds of thousands of children have been inoculated against polio. The programme has recently been expanded from Nigeria into South Sudan. GlobalG.A.P.  is an international standard establishing the minimum requirements to be met by growers of fruit and vegetables to ensure safe, sustainable agricultural production worldwide. Fyffes has more GlobalG.A.P. certified production partners than any other banana company. We also comply with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) food safety standards.  Sorry, we know that sounds like typical business-speak, a brand just telling you how great they are, but we hope it gives you confidence that we are working to recognised standards and constantly tracking the way we do things. It’s part of our commitment to give you great fruit produced in the right way. Making the right things happen Some of our partners have small, family-run, farms and our people in the tropics can help them achieve the right standards and to get the relevant certification. It’s not a one-off, it’s an on-going commitment to work closely with them – it’s good for both of us! Fyffes and all our partner companies use certified laboratories in Europe and North America to monitor food safety. They test our fruit to ensure it meets all the relevant safety standards. To minimise our impact on the environment we only use EU and US approved plant protection products as part of integrated crop production. Corporate social responsibility and care for the environment define the way we work.  We know it’s the least you’d expect. So, in line with our policy for transparency and compliance,  we invite independent external organisations to monitor what we do to ensure we keep the highest quality, environmental and ethical standards across all our products, whether conventional, organic or Fairtrade.