AUSTRIA JUICE focuses on transparency and traceability in its agricultural supply chain. For this purpose, the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative (SAI) is used, providing a standardised framework for assessing and verifying agricultural practices.
The focus is on sourcing raw materials, fruit juice concentrates and purées that meet the sustainability criteria of the Sustainable Juice Covenant through FSA verification or accordingly recognised standards such as Global GAP or Rainforest Alliance. In addition, fruit production and storage facilities must undergo a social audit. AUSTRIA JUICE primarily uses the Sedex SMETA audit for social audits at its sites and the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) to verify its contract farmers.
Verification under the FSA
AGRANA, of which AUSTRIA JUICE is a part, has been a proud member of the Sustainable Agriculture Initiative Platform (SAI) since 2014. SAI is a global initiative focused on sustainable agriculture. One of the key tools of the SAI Platform is the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA). It enables companies to systematically record, assess and verify agricultural practices based on defined criteria. It covers environmental, social and economic aspects.
The assessment process takes place every three years and begins with a self-assessment by farmers, followed by external audits on a sample basis. At the end of the process, suppliers are classified as Gold, Silver, Bronze or “Not Yet Bronze”, with Bronze being the minimum expected level.
Addressing Sustainability Criteria and Customer Expectations
The FSA provides a framework for systematically assessing environmental and social aspects in agriculture and helps companies address customer expectations regarding agricultural practices. Implementing the FSA enables AUSTRIA JUICE to enhance transparency across its supply chains and better identify potential sustainability risks.
Demand for fruit juice concentrates, that meet the sustainability criteria of the Sustainable Juice Covenant, is steadily increasing. The implementation of the FSA helps ensure that our products meet these expectations. From financial year 2018/19 to the end of 2022/23, the share of FSA-verified farmers increased from 16 % to 40 %, reflecting the continuous expansion of the group of participating contract farmers.
Our FSA verification covers around 3.000 direct suppliers in the key growing regions of Hungary and Poland. These suppliers are reassessed every three years, with the latest reassessment process in Poland recently completed. The following table shows the current results:
Hungary
Product categories: Apple, Sour Cherry, Elderberry
- Gold: 12 %
- Silber: 88 %
Poland
Product categories: Apples, Black Current, Cherry, Aronia, Strawberry, Raspberry, Elderberry, Pear, Red Current, Plum
- Gold 1 %
- Silber 98 %
- Bronze 1 %
Insights from Poland’s FSA 3.0 Audit
In August 2024, we conducted a re-verification of the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) in Poland following the end of the three-year verification period. For this audit, all participating farmers in Poland were grouped into a Farm Management Group. A random sample of 40 farmers from this group completed a Self-Assessment Questionnaire (SAQ) comprising more than 100 questions. These questions cover various aspects of agricultural practices, including:
- Plant Material
- Soil Management
- Crop Protection
- Nutrient Management
- Waste Management
- Water Management
- Biodiversity
- Air Quality and Emissions
- Labour Conditions
From these completed questionnaires, another random sample of 9 out of the previous 40 was selected for on-site audits, which were conducted both internally and externally.
FSA Audit Poland, August 2024
At the end of the verification process, suppliers were assigned to the “Not Yet Bronze”, Bronze, Silver, or Gold level based on their percentage score. In addition, a continuous improvement plan was developed, which the Farm Management Group must follow to further improve agricultural practices.
These comprehensive assessments enable us to increase transparency regarding the agricultural practices of our contract farmers, better identify potential sustainability risks, and gain deeper insights into our supply chain.
Conclusion:
AUSTRIA JUICE uses verification and audit processes to systematically assess agricultural practices within its supply chains. For this purpose, the Farm Sustainability Assessment (FSA) is applied as a framework for evaluating environmental and social aspects in agriculture. The FSA process includes farmer self-assessments, sample-based audits, and classification into the respective FSA performance levels. These processes provide greater transparency regarding agricultural practices and help identify potential sustainability risks and opportunities for improvement. Regular reviews support the continuous development of agricultural practices.
Christiane HörmannAuthor
Sustainability Analyst
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