FRUITS AND VEG CERTIFICATIONS

When you choose WHAT’sIN, you are not only making a choice of fruits that are fresh and tasty, but also making a choice of safer fruits, as they are a result of sustainable agricultural practices. We carefully selected trusted farmers who worked hard to obtain reliable certifications in France and other West European countries.

From sustainable agriculture farm certifications (AR and HVE), encouraging biodiversity, to French and European organic certifications (AB and Euro label), avoiding chemical usage, each of our fruits reflects the commitment of people engaged in the long and noble path of preserving our environment.  

Here are some information on the certifications associated with WHAT’sIN fruits universe:

SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

‘’Agriculture Raisonnée’’ (AR) or Sustainable Agriculture is the second level (out of three levels) of systematic approach towards quality of farms in France. It focuses on the overall management of the farm and takes into account the environmental, social and economic aspects. The certification, legally framed by the French law, ensures:

HIGH ENVIRONMENTAL VALUE

''Haute Valeur Environnementale'' (HVE) or High Environmental Value corresponds to the highest level of certification in France for farms and establishments that are meeting the highest environmental standards of production. The farm environmental certification is a voluntary approach which aims to identify and promote particularly environmentally-friendly practices applied by farmers. HEV covers four key areas:

• Biodiversity conservation,
• Plant protection strategy,
• Management of fertiliser use,
• Management of water.

ORGANIC CERTIFIED

French ‘’Agriculture Biologique’’ (AB) and organic Euro label have identical specifications and indicate that the fruits are 100% organic and result from organic farming.

Organic farming is the most stringent cultivation method which respects the environment. It aims to sustain the health of soil and ecosystems by using sustainable agricultural techniques as an alternative to conventional agriculture. It includes requirements such as recycling of natural organic matter, crop rotation, integrated biological control, manual weeding, and the balancing of living organisms that inhabit the soil. A healthy soil is an utmost priority of organic farmers. The approach is to enhance the soil fertility to ultimately provide the plant with the minerals and nutrients that will promote its growth and resilience.

Organic Farming is a comprehensive approach based on a set of principles:

• Using specific production practices to ensure balanced growth of the plant,
• Preserving soil fertility,
• Avoiding environmental pollution and waste of resources,
• Preserving the fauna and flora,
• Using "non-chemical" products aiming at fertilizing, processing, storing and preserving,
• Produce quality food.

BIODYNAMIC CERTIFIED

The Demeter certification is the international mark for the biodynamic agriculture. It has stricter requirements than organic, and farms have to be organic to be eligible to be biodynamic. Biodynamic practices mean that the whole system in place is the most independent possible from external input and that it is sufficient to itself, thanks to the complementarity of the productions. To achieve this, the farm should be the most diversified possible.

One of the main specificities of biodynamic practices is the respect of planets and lunar rhythms in the crop production.

The objectives are:

• To increase the biodiversity of the soil (use of culture rotations, production of green fertilizers by the livestock)
• To maintain and form a balanced landscape
• To preserve the ecosystem by keeping the most natural environment.

To be biodynamic, a farm has to follow targeted specifications but also controls regularly performed by an international certifier.  

For more details, you can read individual descriptions of our fruits. The environmental logos associated with our fruits guarantee that their production process was compliant with the stringent environmental requirements.