May 2, 2022U.S. pecan industry’s quality assurance program open for comment
The American Pecan Council (APC) has released the draft of the Quality Assurance Program (QAP) for the U.S. pecan industry for public comment and will be collecting feedback through our QAP survey (link below).
The public comment period for the Quality Assurance Program will run from Thursday April 28, 2022, through Tuesday, May 31, 2022. The survey, including the submission instructions and QAP reference document, is available at https://kcoe.formstack.com/forms/american_pecan_council_qap_feedback.
The American Pecan Council developed the Quality Assurance Program in response to the U.S. pecan industry’s commitment to improving transparency across its supply chain by acknowledging and enhancing current industry practices and initiatives. The program includes the following key areas:
The U.S. pecan industry engaged stakeholders to ensure the program is applicable and implementable throughout the industry while also meeting the needs and concerns of pecan buyers. Programmatic focus areas were identified through our industry-wide materiality assessment and ongoing industry feedback. The stakeholder groups included in our assessment or otherwise engaged throughout the Quality Assurance Program development process include:
• Nonprofit organizations focused on sustainable agriculture
• Pecan industry organizations and community members
• Industry members, including improved and native pecan growers, accumulators, and shellers
“This program provides an opportunity for U.S. pecan growers and shellers to get credit for their current sustainable practices,” said Alex Ott, Executive Director of APC. “And it is also a tool to help the industry continue to achieve sustainable outcomes and to communicate the steps taken to bring a safe and quality product to their tables.”
“This program is a huge step for the U.S. pecan industry, supporting our industry’s diverse sustainable production and processing practices and giving U.S. pecan growers, accumulators, and shellers a unified voice. The QAP provides the industry an avenue to communicate to consumers the high quality of the U.S. pecan product,” said Emma Garner, director of industry relations for APC.
