Imports from third countries - whether of organic or conventional goods - are always a challenge for the fruit trade. New requirements for quality assurance will be in place from mid October 2017, when the electronic EU-system TRACES will have to be used for organic goods. TRACES is short for "Trade Control & Expert System." After the introduction of TRACES for bio certificates it will be used for the phytosanitary certificates as well in the long run.
The FrischeSeminar, the educational platform of the German Fruit Trade Association, is offering a class for specialists, called "Safe Import of Organic Goods from Third Countries" in Bonn on the 12th of October. The class offers practice-oriented background information in regards to using traces: What is changing for the import of organic goods to the EU? Which problems need to be dealt with after the introduction of TRACES for organic products? How does TRACES work?
The instructors, Dr. Jochen Neuendorff, Gesellschaft für Ressourcenschutz, and Johanna Stumpner from the office of Food Science & Quality are known experts in the field of TRACES. Together with the participants they will practice using the program and show which mistakes can happen during the import management.
The class is mostly for managers and executive position in quality management and procurement in fruit trading businesses. The official registration deadline is on September 25th, 2017. All participants will receive a certificate of the IHK Bonn/Rhein-Sieg. You can find more information on www.frischeseminar.de, where you can also register.