Hirst Partnership

A Progressive Partnership

We believe in everyone doing their part for the environment and are proud of the high standards of our practices. Here at Hirst we are progressive and are members of organisations that ensure the quality of our product is always at the highest standard.

We employ SGS and AsureQuality to carry out independent inspections and tests on our orchard to assure quality. They ensure that our practices meet Health and Safety regulations, that we comply with Acts such as the Food Safety Act and monitor our environment emissions (www.nz.sgs.com).

We are also certified by GLOBALGAP, an international standard setting body for the certification of agricultural products. They are there to reassure consumers about how their food is produced. They do this by ensuring minimum impact on the environment, high health and safety standards with employees and a minimal use of chemicals (www.globalgap.orgTio).

We have also attained compliance and registration with CMi certification for Tesco’s Nurture.

We work with HITO (Horticultural Industry Training Organisation) as a registered industry workplace assessor. HITO is responsible for the training and education of staff within the horticultural industry. We work together with them to raise the level of skills within our team http://www.hortito.org.nz

Jonathan Newby, a graduate of the programme and and valued member of our managment team was awarded the 2010 NZ Young Fruitgrower of the Year title.