Two companies from San Carlos, which are engaged in the production and export of pineapples to the United States and the European Union, are being investigated. The State Phytosanitary Service (SFE) is looking into the Congelados del Valle Verde and Del Valle Verde Corp. SA companies.
Some of the aspects being investigated include how they achieved the organic certification for export, their change of legal status, and possible sales in just one week.
Marco Vinicio Jimenez, director of the SFE, told DIARIO EXTRA that they were about to open an investigation, and that there already was an ongoing investigation which they needed to continue. "The investigation continues. There needs to be an ex post investigation. There are several ongoing proceedings. Currently, there is another proposed proceeding regarding fresh fruit," he stated (via email, as he is on a tour).
He acknowledged that he was aware of a report that analyzes the alleged irregularities, which both companies reject.
Congelados del Valle Verde has even stated that they have the documents that prove the case had been concluded in their favor.
Last week, the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Ivannia Quesada, spoke about the second investigation at the National Chamber of Producers and Exporters of Pineapple (Canapep), and pledged to continue giving them updates about the issue.
The audit's relevant factors
The DSFE19-2016 final report of June 23, 2016, indicates that there was an inspection where several events were reported and that the certifier didn't provide any material to credit them as producers of organic pineapples.
It states that the organic farmer had been a producer for three years, but didn't state or provide any evidence of them being an organic producer.
He added that there was no way of knowing the size and location where the organic production was developed.
"It's surprising that both letters, which were signed in Pital de San Carlos on February 9, 2015, indicate that the Valle Verde Corp. SA company is dedicated to the production of organic pineapple. It's an affirmation for which we have found no support throughout the investigation, what we've discovered is that the company appears in a transition file until May 21, 2015. In fact, on May 20, 2015, the SFE issued a certificate of registration for the property as a transition estate on behalf of L & L projects
MMV SA," the document states.
The investigator believes that one of the companies changed names, and that this change of name had not been reported previously, or added to the record.
They also found no evidence of an updated management plan for 2015-2016. In addition, there are organic inputs purchases until March 2015.
The document states that 97.86 hectares of organic pineapples had been certified, in seven farms, but found no permissions on soil analysis.
The company is also accused of obtaining the certifications in less than three years after having transitioned to organic agriculture.
This establishes that there were farms transitioning without the proper authorization.
The document also states that there might have been a start of production in parallel to the transition period. The report establishes an alleged relationship to national and US standards.
"They inspected us and there was no problem"
"I have no knowledge about any other process, but it would help us put an end to all these false rumors," said Andres di Palma, general manager of Congelados del Valle Verde.
He said the certifier had visited their plant last year because someone was saying that they were selling conventional pineapples as if they were organic pineapples, which the certifier found out was not true.
"The investigation of the the Health service proves that this is false," he said.
He also said the Registration Accreditation of Organic Agriculture (ARAO) had audited their fields, farms, and plant and found no problem in their production processes.
In May 2016, he said, they were suspended as organic exporters without the due process. "The suspension doesn't allow us to make sales to Europe, but it doesn't affect our sales to the United States. However, we were unaware about this and stopped all our sales," he added.
He stated that this situation had affected the company's image and that they had suffered significant losses, but that the SFE had concluded that everything was in order on December 23.
"I can only speak about the documents and requirements we have received. I've wanted to meet with the deputy minister (Quesada), but haven't received a response from her or from Don Luis Felipe Arauz (Minister of Agriculture). We publicly asked them for a meeting. Perhaps they have only heard one side of this story and it would be good that they heard from both sides," he said.
Regarding the accusations, he said that they had bought some land that hadn't been sprayed with chemicals before and could be used for organic production, which is why they could be used quickly. "The ARAO certified it."
It seems, he said, that the authorities do not agree. "We were audited and they found no problems. We have several farms and the ones that are in transition ... are in transition," he said.
DIARIO EXTRA also contacted Luis Barrantes, the owner of Del Valle Corp., who said he stood by Di Palma's declarations.
Source: diarioextra.com