Compliance Management for Horticulture
Handle Red Tractor Fresh Produce, plant passports, and food safety with digital tools built for fruit and vegetable production.
The Challenge
Horticulture growers operate in the most demanding fresh produce market where rejection of one consignment can cost thousands and delisting from a major retailer can end your business. Red Tractor Fresh Produce and retailer-specific standards require meticulous spray records with MRL compliance; LEAF Marque environmental standards demand detailed field management documentation; plant passports and phytosanitary certificates are mandatory for regulated material; food safety protocols cover field hygiene, harvest procedures, and packhouse operations; and seasonal labour compliance spans right-to-work checks, hygiene training, and working condition standards. Paper spray books become mud-smeared in polytunnels, harvest batch records are scattered across pickers' notebooks, and MRL calculations rely on spreadsheet errors waiting to happen. When your strawberries test positive for residues or a retailer tech manager arrives unannounced, you need instant traceability from application to packed punnet - not a weekend reconstructing records from memory before Monday's delisting meeting.
How Assistant Manager Solves Horticulture Compliance
Each module is designed to address the specific challenges horticulture businesses face every day.
Checklist Management
Horticulture operations need crop-level traceability for MRL compliance and packhouse hygiene documentation for food safety standards, with digital records critical for retailer audits and product recalls
The Problems
Why This Matters for Horticulture
- Spray applications and harvest operations are recorded on paper in the field, with illegible handwriting, missing dates, and unclear field references making traceability impossible
MRL queries cannot be answered accurately, retailer audits reveal incomplete records, and you cannot prove harvest intervals were observed
- Packhouse hygiene checks and equipment sanitisation are rushed during busy harvest periods, with cleaning schedules completed from memory at the end of each day
Foreign body incidents occur, hygiene standards slip, and you cannot demonstrate systematic food safety compliance to BRC or retailer auditors
The Solution
How Checklist Management Helps
Digital field operation checklists with crop and variety tracking, packhouse hygiene schedules with photo evidence, and real-time completion tracking accessible from mobile devices
Every spray application is recorded with GPS location and timestamp, packhouse hygiene is documented with photographic evidence, and complete traceability records are generated automatically for retailer queries
Use Cases:
- • Field-by-field spray application recording with product and rate details
- • Harvest batch tracking with picker, crop, and time documentation
- • Packhouse equipment cleaning and sanitisation checklists
- • Pre-harvest interval checking and harvest clearance
- • Crop scouting and pest/disease monitoring records
- • Irrigation water quality testing schedules
- • Cold store temperature monitoring and verification
- • Vehicle and equipment cleanliness checks
Feature Screenshot
Checklist Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Spray applications and harvest operations are recorded on paper in the field, with illegible handwriting, missing dates, and unclear field references making traceability impossible
Real Scenario
"A supermarket lab test finds elevated pesticide residues in your salad leaves. They demand complete spray records for the affected field. Your spray book has three applications but the field reference is unclear, one product name is illegible, and none have specific application times. Without proof of compliance, they reject the entire week's production."
Example 2: Packhouse hygiene checks and equipment sanitisation are rushed during busy harvest periods, with cleaning schedules completed from memory at the end of each day
Real Scenario
"During a peak harvest week, a customer finds a piece of packaging tape in a punnet. The retailer audit reveals your packhouse cleaning checklists have no completion times, several days show retrospective entries, and equipment sanitisation records do not match production runs. You receive a major non-conformance."
COSHH Management
Horticulture must maintain COSHH compliance for BASIS/pesticide regulations while managing complex MRL requirements and retailer-specific restrictions that vary by crop and buyer
The Problems
Why This Matters for Horticulture
- Pesticide stores contain dozens of products with complex MRL requirements and changing approvals, but paper registers provide no MRL checking or harvest interval calculations
MRL breaches occur because you do not realize products have incompatible harvest intervals, products with revoked approvals remain in use, and retailer audits identify non-compliant product use
- Seasonal workers apply pesticides without immediate access to safety data sheets, and pack house staff handle cleaning chemicals without proper safety information
Chemical exposure incidents occur without access to emergency procedures, products are mixed incorrectly creating hazards, and HSE or retailer audits find COSHH non-compliances
The Solution
How COSHH Management Helps
Pesticide register with automated MRL and harvest interval tracking, mobile access to safety data sheets, and retailer-specific requirement alerts
Every product has instant SDS access from the field, MRL compliance is verified automatically before harvest, and buyer-specific restrictions are flagged at point of use
Use Cases:
- • Pesticide product register with MRL and approval status tracking
- • Automated harvest interval calculator by crop and product
- • Retailer-specific restriction alerts (Tesco, Waitrose, M&S protocols)
- • Mobile SDS access for field workers and packhouse staff
- • Tank mix compatibility checking before application
- • Cleaning chemical safety documentation for packhouse
- • Waste product disposal records and environmental compliance
- • Product storage temperature and security verification
Feature Screenshot
COSHH Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Pesticide stores contain dozens of products with complex MRL requirements and changing approvals, but paper registers provide no MRL checking or harvest interval calculations
Real Scenario
"You apply a fungicide to your brassicas. The harvest interval is 14 days, but your buyer specifies 21 days for this product. Your paper records show the application but do not flag the buyer-specific requirement. You harvest at 15 days. Residue testing catches the breach and the buyer rejects the load."
Example 2: Seasonal workers apply pesticides without immediate access to safety data sheets, and pack house staff handle cleaning chemicals without proper safety information
Real Scenario
"A seasonal picker shows signs of pesticide exposure after working in a recently sprayed polytunnel. Your supervisor cannot access the SDS because it is in a binder in the locked office. Emergency services request the safety sheet. By the time you locate it, they have already transported the worker to hospital."
Training & Development
Horticulture relies on seasonal labor that needs systematic food safety induction, while permanent staff require training in retailer protocols that paper-based systems cannot deliver consistently
The Problems
Why This Matters for Horticulture
- Seasonal harvest workers arrive with no documented food hygiene training, and verbal briefings on hand washing and jewelry policies are not verified or recorded
Foreign body incidents occur, hygiene practices are poor, and you cannot demonstrate to BRC or retail auditors that workers received food safety training
- Sprayer operators have PA certificates but no documented training on retailer-specific requirements, MRL compliance, or buffer zone management
Applications breach retailer protocols, environmental incidents occur from improper buffer zone management, and Red Tractor audits reveal competence gaps
The Solution
How Training & Development Helps
Food hygiene training modules for seasonal workers, retailer protocol training for permanent staff, and certificate tracking with automatic renewal alerts
Every harvest worker completes documented hygiene training before handling produce, spray operators are trained on buyer-specific requirements, and certificate expiry is tracked automatically
Use Cases:
- • Seasonal worker food hygiene induction with sign-off verification
- • Packhouse hygiene and allergen awareness training
- • Spray operator training on MRL and retailer protocol compliance
- • BASIS PA1, PA2 certificate tracking with renewal reminders
- • Right-to-work and eligibility documentation training
- • Foreign body prevention and reporting training
- • Cold chain management training for produce handling
- • Emergency response training (chemical spills, food safety incidents)
Feature Screenshot
Training & Development
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Seasonal harvest workers arrive with no documented food hygiene training, and verbal briefings on hand washing and jewelry policies are not verified or recorded
Real Scenario
"During a retailer audit of your packhouse, the auditor observes three workers wearing jewelry while handling fresh produce. When asked for training records, you have verbal confirmation of briefings but no documented sign-off. The auditor issues a critical non-conformance affecting your approval status."
Example 2: Sprayer operators have PA certificates but no documented training on retailer-specific requirements, MRL compliance, or buffer zone management
Real Scenario
"Your sprayer operator has a current PA2 certificate but applies a product within 24 hours of harvest because he was not trained that your main buyer requires 48-hour minimum intervals for all fungicides. The residue breach costs you a month of sales while the buyer investigates your competence management."
HR Management
Horticulture relies heavily on seasonal migrant labor requiring rigorous right-to-work compliance and ethical standards that paper systems cannot manage effectively across dispersed growing sites
The Problems
Why This Matters for Horticulture
- Right-to-work checks for seasonal migrant workers are done on paper during busy recruitment periods, with photocopies in filing cabinets and no systematic expiry tracking
Workers with expired visas continue employment, immigration enforcement finds non-compliance, and retailer ethical audits identify right-to-work failures
- Seasonal worker emergency contact information is collected on paper forms that are filed away, making it impossible to quickly locate details during harvest period incidents
When workers are injured or become ill in remote growing sites, you cannot immediately contact family or access medical information needed for emergency response
The Solution
How HR Management Helps
Digital HR records with right-to-work document capture, automatic visa expiry alerts, mobile access to emergency contacts, and ethical audit compliance tracking
Every worker's right-to-work status is tracked with 30-day expiry alerts, emergency contact details are accessible from mobile devices in the field, and ethical audit compliance is automatically verified
Use Cases:
- • Right-to-work document verification with expiry tracking
- • Visa and work permit renewal alerts for seasonal workers
- • Emergency contact mobile access for field supervisors
- • Medical information storage for first aid situations
- • Accommodation standard verification for ethical audits
- • Working time compliance monitoring for seasonal staff
- • Pay rate and deduction documentation for GLAA compliance
- • Ethical audit preparation and evidence compilation
Feature Screenshot
HR Management
Real-World Examples
Example 1: Right-to-work checks for seasonal migrant workers are done on paper during busy recruitment periods, with photocopies in filing cabinets and no systematic expiry tracking
Real Scenario
"During a routine immigration enforcement visit, officers find three seasonal workers whose agricultural worker visas expired 2-6 weeks ago. You had photocopies of original documents but no system to track expiry dates. You face civil penalties of £20,000 per worker plus ethical audit failure."
Example 2: Seasonal worker emergency contact information is collected on paper forms that are filed away, making it impossible to quickly locate details during harvest period incidents
Real Scenario
"A seasonal worker collapses while harvesting in a remote field on a hot day. Your supervisor needs to call emergency contact and check for relevant medical conditions. The paperwork is in a filing cabinet in the office 15 minutes away. Critical time is lost while the ambulance waits."
Results Horticulture Businesses Achieve
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