The path that leads Osvaldo Pizzi & C. to choose the companies with which to collaborate to offer the best organic product is long and complex. Above all, it is a dynamic process that extends beyond supplier accreditation, persisting through ongoing monitoring and analysis. The end result is a process based on the principles of quality, legality and assurance that allows us to offer our customers and consumers continuity, quality and price.
The first step is always document acquisition: the certificates that guarantee that the producer - or any supplier who resells their product - is actually accredited and certified. Each company that operates in organic agriculture is in fact accredited by a body that issues the certificate of compliance, which certifies organic production; that of business suitability, which explains what their lands are, and an inspection report, following the inspection. Getting these documents is a prerequisite for any further action. The company is required to provide additional documents, with the most crucial being the annual production plan. This plan outlines the active fruit and vegetable productions and the corresponding surface areas.
Next, we send our technician to ensure compliance with our guidelines by inspecting all production methods on-site, including the phytopharmaceutical warehouse. They also assess any potential risks at the borders with conventional crops that could lead to contamination. The warehouses where products are stored, the machines used for calibration, and cold storage rooms are also inspected. If any issues arise, they must be fixed before the supply begins. It is also essential that the producer respects the seasonality and typicality of the products. It is important to know that - since it is precisely organic products - they grow and thrive where they can be adequately defended: in the typical areas of origin. It is unthinkable to grow oranges near Milan or apples near Catania. We also control crop rotations: another critical element for soil health.
Within the analysis we carry out there are also those on the soil - which must have completed at least a three-year cycle to clean up from everything that was used before its conversion - and irrigation water, which is potentially another major source of contamination, both chemical, microbiological, and physical. Only at the end of this process the individual producer is accredited and its product accepted. However, at the beginning of the supply a multiresidual analysis is made on each product to further guarantee the full organic quality of the product.
But it’s not over yet. Even those who buy the product from us carry out their own checks. At MMR, our products undergo daily tastings and evaluations at each delivery, and every three months we are also subject to testing by the certification body. This includes documentary checks and analysis.