Birds Eye pea harvest verified as first Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) Gold Level supply chain in the UK
5th October 2020
Parent company Nomad Foods awarded Gold for sustainable food production in its pea harvest farm management group
Nomad Foods has achieved the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI Platform), Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) Gold Level for its pea farm management group (FMG). It is the first UK farm management group and the first globally in frozen food, to be awarded the FSA Gold Level.
The achievement marks the end of this year’s Birds Eye pea harvest and solidifies Nomad Foods’ commitment to promoting sustainable food production across its supply chain.
Stéfan Descheemaeker, Chief Executive Officer at Nomad Foods, said: “This is a major milestone for our agriculture team in the UK and I’m immensely proud of all the hard work that has gone into ensuring we are the first frozen food farm management group to reach the Gold Level of sustainable sourcing. Sustainable and resilient agriculture is essential for our business and we are committed to sourcing 100% of our vegetables and potatoes through sustainable farming practices by the end of 2025. Our purpose as a company is to serve the world with better food and this is a great example of how we are doing that and making a difference to every mealtime.”
Sven Sielhorst, Systems Director at SAI Platform said: “To achieve Gold Level is testament to Nomad Foods commitment and dedication to performing at a high level. It’s so rare that a whole FMG is awarded this Level, anywhere in the world, so we must congratulate the team on their outstanding achievement.”
The FSA is a comprehensive assessment tool covering 17 fundamental components of sustainable agriculture. It enables farmers to assess on-farm sustainability performance, share that information with customers, and identify practical areas for improvement. In turn, this helps drive progress in the sector and ensure practices continuously evolve.
Assessments are independently audited, and a bronze, silver or gold rating is given to help businesses source more sustainably and give credibility to in-house company standards that may not be widely recognised. The tool is currently used in 35 countries and translated into 20 languages.
