Authored by Connor White and Catherine Maher
Introduction to Food Certifications in the Netherlands
Food policy is an integral part of the urban system as it is deeply interlinked with other urban matters. Throughout the world, certifications take place at all of the below points in the food chain in an attempt to regulate and guarantee legislatively decided standards on safety, product origin, production process, etc. at each facet of the food system.
Grow > Process > Distribute > Market > Cook > Surplus/Waste
Throughout this brief analysis we explore the Dutch, specifically Amsterdam, ways of unpacking and approaching certifications of food growers, processors, and distributors. As we encountered professionals in these facets of the food system, we remained mindful of our below meta-questions regarding both food certifications in Amsterdam as well as the people they impact.
- What are the goals of food certifications?
- How are these certifications implemented?
- How do certifications impact people (both the chain of producers, as well as the consumers)?
- What are the benefits and deficits of current certifications?
- What are the benefits and deficits regarding the paths people have to go through in order to create or adapt food related certifications?
- How can certifications/ certification systems be adapted to best benefit the collective Amsterdam community?
Types of Certifications in the Market
Throughout our time in Amsterdam our group encountered a number of certification categories in the markets. Largely these certifications can be divided into two categories: environmentally focused, and ethically focused.
Environmental: Biologische (Organic)/Naturel/ GMO-Free
The environmental certifications are most commonly seen as primarily beneficial to global health, however are often seen as secondarily beneficial to personal bodily health as well. These types of labels include (but are not limited to) biologische (organic), naturel, and GMO-free.
Ethical Labor: Fair Trade
Ethically focused labeling is focused around the idea that food can and should be produced in a manner that is not harmful to any person or being involved in the production process. Perhaps most commonly, ethical labeling can be seen in fair trade goods. These goods are placed at a higher in price than traditional goods due to the higher payment by the production company toward the fair treatment of production laborers.
Growers/Farmers Impacted by Certifications
Voedseltuin IJplein – with Annemarie Verschoor and Arnold van de Valk
Urban and community gardens are growing in popularity all across Amsterdam due to a movement towards fresh, organic and home grown produce. This has led to the foundation of the Voedseltion Ijplein community garden in Noordwal, Amsterdam. Run by Annemarie Voorscher, this is where a group of locals gather in a community garden and grow a range of fruits and vegetables as a hobby. They combine this with the ambition of bringing the surrounding communities together through the art of gardening.
In terms of certifications there is not much regulation involved in the growing of the food in this garden as the produce is not being sold to the general public. All of the harvest is divided amongst the volunteers or donated to the local food bank; a place which is severely lacking in a source of fresh fruit and vegetables. Because of this relaxed method of distributing the produce there are no quality control measures; simply trust and peace of mind that the growing methods and systems in place are safe and secure.
The workers themselves ensure that all produce is 100% organic. They do this by not treating the land or crops with any chemicals, they also do not allow any domestic food waste be added into their composing system. They work in such a way to ensure that no contaminants enter the cycle of their production. Having seen this in action I can believe that all of their produce is organic, whereas other consumers who rely on packaging and labelling may not be as easily convinced. This is why their produce is not sold publicly; this is a hobby for this community, not a career.
There are some regulations in place in relation to the running of the community garden. This land cannot be classified as a green space, therefore there is nothing protecting it from being developed into apartments or houses. The workers on the plot do not own the land and they are working off of a three-month rolling lease on the land. This creates a risk for them and the work that they are doing as they could lose the land at any moment.
Keuken van het Ongewenst Dier (Kitchen of the Unwanted Animal)
Keuken van het Ongewenst Dier has shown us their multi step process of ensuring the safety and quality of their wild game through licensing and certifications with the hunters themselves. This means that hunters who work with Kuken van het Ongewenst Dier are required to be fully certified with both regulation agencies, as well as the business itself. These hunters are also held accountable for ensuring the meat safety/edibility, as well as releasing full details on the hunt of each animal. In practice, hunters don’t often open the animal before passing it on to Kuken van het Ongewenst Dier, leaving a margin for sick/inedible game to be passed from hunter to seller. Because of this reality, Kuken van het Ongewenst Dier carefully inspects their game before deeming it safe for consumption. Such a discrepancy between hunter and seller could be a point of error if Kuken van het Ongewenst Dier failed to intercept the inedible product. Some people remain skeptical of the food safety of Kuken van het Ongewenst Dier, but still support their underlying message of reducing food waste and maximizing local resources. In this sense, traditional practices are being swept away by societal notions of cleanliness and edibility, which is in part due to living amidst a food system so firmly set in its ideas that “edible” foods must be produced in a highly-certified system, rather than sourced from nature and regulated with their own set of certifications.
Food Producers and Suppliers Impacted by Certifications
Beyond the value-added certifications we now utilize case studies of food providers to dive deeper into the certification requirements enacted on the producers themselves by the Amsterdam, Dutch, and European regulatory agencies.
Het Ciderhuis
Among many fully certified ciders and brews, Het Ciderhuis also sells certain small-batch home brews that are uncertified products. Since they are being produced in a home system, the company has not yet moved to certify these products for largely financial reasons (among others). Until the company works to fully certify their products, they are selling somewhat “under the table goods” (however, not very discreetly). This example specifically brings up questions regarding food and beverage safety, and whether or not the products meet the required standards for production methods. Furthermore, since these uncertified products were being so casually sold out in the open at Pure Markt in Amstelpark, we question the certification regulatory agencies’ ability/priority to regulate the market itself for the purpose of consumer safety.
For Your Taste Only/Marqt/Ekoplaza
Value-added foods can be seen on high display at these popular grocery chains in Amsterdam. For Your Taste Only, Marqt, and Ekoplaza alike have a greater focus on value-added certified products as one way to target a higher end customer than the more standard Albert Heijn shopper. Throughout the aisles of these stores products are labeled with certifications such as biologische (organic), naturel, and GMO-free. By having such certified products, these boutique grocery chains are able to charge higher costs for their supposedly superior product offering. The sign below is painted on the outside of an Ekoplaza we visited in Amsterdam.
The Future of Certifications in Amsterdam
Today in Amsterdam, a new and progressive government is in power. There now is much hope for the city’s possible opportunity to introduce new food (systems) certifications as a means to positively influence Amsterdam as a healthy city and community. One of the most promising programs is the Amsterdam Healthy Weight Program which sets policy restrictions to increase practices of healthy parenting, healthy schools, healthy neighborhoods, designing a “moving city”, care for children who are already overweight/obese, and further lobbying for the food industry’s betterment. Furthermore, under the Amsterdam Healthy Weight Program the city places marketing bans toward children in the hopes to become a healthier city for them. Using food related certifications to make steps like these, the municipality is able to help Amsterdam’s food system evolve and emerge as more reflective of all of the best the city has to offer.
Goose Rillette with Cherry Compote, Summer Salad, and Garlic Toasts:
During the final experimental meal of our group’s UvA Urban Food Experience program, we created this dish as a way to analyze certifications in the Amsterdam food system. Specifically, we worked to utilize food as a vehicle to introduce the various classifications of food-related certifications that we found popular with the locals, as well as to discuss the various players working with certifications amidst the food system of Amsterdam. For our final dinner, our group highlighted food certifications by sourcing a majority of our ingredients from the producers and suppliers discussed previously. Ingredients such as biologische cherries and baguette, GMO-free summer lettuces, heirloom tomatoes, and guaranteed traditional specialty sugar were featured in our dish.
Ingredients:
Goose rillette prepared at For Your Taste Only and made with goose from Keuken van het Ongewenst Dier
Fresh Cherry Compote
1 ½ lbs. Biologische cherries, pitted
1 c. Light brown sugar (guaranteed traditional specialty)
1 tsp. Kosher salt
3 sprigs Thyme
1 Star anise
1 Cinnamon Stick
½ Lemon, juiced
Summer Salad:
Large bowl of GMO-free summer lettuces
2 Heirloom tomatoes, sliced
1 Shallot, thinly sliced
½ Sweet white onion, thinly sliced
½ c. Extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. Champagne vinegar
t.t. Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Garlic Toasts:
2 Biologische baguettes, cut on a bias 1 inch thick
½ c. Extra virgin olive oil
3 Fresh garlic cloves
1 tsp. Kosher salt
¼ c. Fresh parsley, torn
Method:
- Begin by pitting the cherries and setting the seeded cherries into a medium sauce pot. (Pro-tip: make your friends join you and this task will go by a lot quicker with teamwork)
- Add sugar to the pot and pace it over medium heat. Slightly begin to macerate the cherries with the sugar using a wooden spoon.
- Add in all remaining ingredients except for the lemon juice, let reduce until syrupy (about 15 minutes). Add in lemon juice and let reduce another 10 minutes.
- Remove the thyme stems, star anise, and cinnamon stick. Pour compote into serving dish and let cool.
- Wash all vegetables for summer salad and combine the first three ingredients and set aside.
- In a saute pan add the onion with the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté until crispy. Remove onions and place over paper towels. Lightly season with salt. Save onion-oil for salad dressing.
- Once the oil is fully cooled down, add Champagne vinegar, and season with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste. Use the dressing to toss the summer salad. Serve cold.
- Toast slices of baguette brushed with oil on grill or in an oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius) until golden brown. As soon as you are able to handle the heat of the toasts, rub the tops of them with peeled garlic cloves. Top with fresh parsley and serve warm.
- All components come together to be enjoyed collectively: Goose rillette prepared at For Your Taste Only and made with goose from Keuken van het Ongewenst Dier over garlic toasts, with fresh cherry compote, and a summer salad. Enjoy with a Carlo’s Vioeibare Appeltaart Spritz for the full experience!
Carlo’s Vioeibare Appeltaart Spritz:
The Carlo’s Vioeibare Appeltaart is an uncertified product that we sourced from Pure Markt. It was sold as an uncertified product amongst several other certified alcoholic beverages made by larger-scale producers. To us this product sparks questions of small-scale artisans and their struggles to obtain proper certifications with their limitations even though they are in fact culturally or traditionally much more proper. Paired with Champagne, a highly-certified and regulated beverage, this cocktail is the perfect dichotomy of uncertified artisanal and highly-certified/more industrialized products.
Ingredients:
1 part Carlo’s Vioeibare Appeltaart from Het Ciderhuis
1 part Champagne, of your own preference
Method:
- Combine equal parts of Carlo’s Vioeibare Appeltaart and your favorite Champagne for a sweet but balanced apple sensation.
- Top with a cinnamon stick and apple slices, and enjoy!
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