Good Practices

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HUMAN RESOURCES AND CLIENTS FOCUSED PRACTICES HUMAN RESOURCES TRAINING

We are aware that human resource is the most important part in any production process, this is why we offer ongoing training to our employees on subjects about food safety, quality, hygiene and safety, health and motivation. These trainings are conducted by internal but also external instructors who are experts on these subjects.

AUDITS / CLIENTS VISITS

Transparency is a common practice of our business, our customers have open doors for at any time or date they wish to visit our facilities to audit our operations.

Throughout our careers as farmers we have received visits from our customers in every season with which we reinforce our commitment to safety and the standards they require.

CODE OF CONDUCT REQUIRED BY OUR CLIENTS

Along with social responsible certifications as Fairtrade and Fair Trade Certified USA we receive third party audits from approved organisms by our clients. These audits evaluate the accomplishment of our company to Mexican labor law and environmental laws.

GRUPO ALTA IS A MEMBER OF SEDEX

Sedex has one of the largest collaboration platforms in the world in which buyers, suppliers and auditors can store and share information, and prepare reports quickly and efficiently. The platform is used by more than 40,000 members in more than 140 countries, and allows companies to manage their performance in terms of labor rights, health and safety, environment and business ethics.

Sedex is not a regulatory body that does not approve or certify our policies and standards. Instead, the Sedex membership denotes Grupo Alta’s clear commitment to share information and use this information to manage and improve supply chain standards.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND ORGANIC / SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES WASTE MANAGEMENT

We actively participate in various environmental initiatives and we carry waste management practices such as:  

- Management and Collection of Empty Pesticide Containers Plan.

This plan is coordinated through the CESAVESON (short name for Committee of Plant Health of Sonora State in English) ensuring that participants have a good handling and disposal of containers of chemicals (in our case relates to containers of sustainable products), avoiding contamination of the environment and the prevention of health risks.

- Plastic Waste Collection and Disposal Program.

This program is intent to dispose plastic waste in the right way through Mexican government-registered and approved companies which use our plastic waste to recycle it.

- Hazardous Waste Disposal.

This program is intent to dispose of hazardous waste generated in our farms (oil and filters) from maintenance activities through Mexican government-authorized companies for these purposes.

- Disposal of organic waste of crops.

Organic wastes such as wood (from the result of pruning practices of peach, pecan and table grape) and pecan husk leaves are used to enrich our compost because they are rich in carbon, a key element in the production of compost.

- Recycling water.

We have water treatment plants to recycle the waste of water from our production operations and we use it to irrigate our landscaping.

- Compost

The compost made in our facilities is produced under strict controlled conditions, the critic points are monitored and registered appropriately and we have internationally recognized external consultants to give advice regularly on our process. This way we ensure that our product complies with the government restrictions as well as with the norms and regulations established by other entities. Compost is a mixture of decaying organic matter used to enrich the soil.

The process of making compost consists in reusing solid waste as fertilizer by being condensed and degraded through the action of aerobic microorganisms. During the process it’s necessary to add nitrogen-rich materials such as manure as result  of  an organic production of holistic cattle and green material to generate heat, the temperature reached during composting eases the process and destroys undesirable microorganisms. Compost helps in several ways:

  • Increases aeration and retention water capacity. 

  • Increase the availability of nutrients for the plant.

  • Beneficial organisms in compost act as natural enemies of fungi or bacteria that cause plant diseases.

  • Increase of the organic materials in the soils. 

  • Eroded soil resistance.

- Production of Beneficial Microorganisms.

The production of beneficial microorganisms help prevent disease pathogens, while helping the plant to secrete hormones which help it to develop faster getting the fruit earlier, also helps to prevent pest insects and bacteria.  

These organisms are made under strict quality controls for batch production to ensure the viability and effectiveness of these. As another quality control testing food safety indicators are tested such as total coliforms, fecal coliforms, E. coli and Salmonella.

These beneficial microorganisms are approved and authorized by CCOF to be used in organic production.

- Sustainable Production Practices

We are engaged with sustainable production this is why more than 55% of production of all our products are certified organic for USA, Canada and European Union markets. The rest of the production is managed in a sustainable manner.