Tokyo: AEON, one of the top three retailers in Japan and with an expanding presence in China and SE Asia, has joined EurepGAP as a retail member.

Since 2002, AEON has been operating its own company standard „AEON A-Q“, which stands for ‚AEON Produce Suppliers-Quality Management Standards’ and is based on Good Agricultural Practice (GAP). This standard is the foundation for their TOP VALUE GREEN EYE brand.

By joining EurepGAP, AEON seeks to upgrade AEON A-Q to include EurepGAP Fruit and Vegetables, since they recognize that EurepGAP has become established as a global standard.

“The crisis in consumer confidence happened in Europe 5-10 years before that in Japan” says Chiyuki Uehara of AEON`s Green Eye Department. “The management standards in Europe are also more advanced compared to those in Japan. We want to participate in EurepGAP to share information in new trends and risks to develop food safety standards. We are happy also if we can harmonise our own standards.”

AEON intends not only to shift their demand to include EurepGAP certified products, but also to participate actively in EurepGAP committees to exchange their knowledge for standard setting with experts from other areas of the world.

International harmonisation is progressing strongly with EurepGAP’s benchmarking and recognition of National GAP Schemes in both China and Japan.

Kristian Moeller, Director EurepGAP, now expects the demand for EurepGAP production to get a further boost “We warmly welcome AEON to the Global Partnership for Safe and Sustainable Agriculture; since AEON is strongly committed to move agricultural production under GAP standards the demand for these products will increase significantly in the region and beyond.”