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News Seed Potato Fraud

Perpetrators of cheating seed caught by NAK

30 April 2019 - Niels van der Boom - 22 comments

Inspection Service NAK and Breeders Trust have found the perpetrators who sold uncertified seed potatoes of the Fontane variety with forged certificates. In total, this involved more than 250 tons of the French fries variety. The starting material was sold to Belgian companies.

The NAK and the Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA) made known that they had discovered falsified seed certificates. Illegal seed potatoes with a counterfeit label were found at 3 companies in Belgium. In all cases it concerns the popular Fontane variety.

Dutch companies
About 2 weeks after the discovery, watchdog Breeders Trust and NAK found 2 companies that are responsible for the cheating seed potatoes. It concerns 1 Dutch seed potato company and 1 trader. They admitted to labeling and selling illegal seed potatoes, writes the inspection service.

The NAK first visited the NVWA, but this did not yield any results. The investigation was then continued with Breeders Trust, after which the 2 parties were found. Falsifying the labels immediately results in a fine of €25.000.

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Last November, another case involving cheated seed potatoes came to light and in March Breeders Trust also warned against illegal seed trade. However, these matters are separate from the violation. Both companies are continuing to investigate the trade of illegal seed potatoes.

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Niels van der Boom

Niels van der Boom is a senior market specialist for arable crops at DCA Market Intelligence. He mainly makes analyses and market updates about the potato market. In columns he shares his sharp view on the arable sector and technology.
Comments
22 comments
buyer 30 April 2019
This is in response to it Boerenbusiness article:
[url=http://www.boerenbusiness.nl/akkerbouw/aardappelen/ artikel/10882277/daders-sjoemelpootgoed-betrapt-door-nak]Daders sjoemelpootgoed caught by NAK[/url]
According to the information I have, the trader is a Belgian with a company in the Netherlands.
Sjoemel seed potatoes were also said to have been sold to Dutch companies.
Let them muck out this stable with monster fines.
Leo 30 April 2019
Also hear these rumors and if this is true then this person has been trained in potato processing and has already made more mistakes!
Belgian 2 May 2019
buyer wrote:
This is in response to it Boerenbusiness article:
[url=http://www.boerenbusiness.nl/akkerbouw/aardappelen/ artikel/10882277/daders-sjoemelpootgoed-betrapt-door-nak]Daders sjoemelpootgoed caught by NAK[/url]
According to the information I have, the trader is a Belgian with a company in the Netherlands.
Sjoemel seed potatoes were also said to have been sold to Dutch companies.
Let them muck out this stable with monster fines.
from breskens?
buyer 2 May 2019
No, not from Breskens.
Subscriber
detective 2 May 2019
buyer wrote:
No, not from Breskens.
From Zeelandic Flanders?
special 2 May 2019
from Bird Value
buyer 3 May 2019
According to the latest reports that I have heard, the seed potatoes concerned should apparently be destroyed, including the plots that have already been planted.
Will be an expensive joke.
Unfortunately, it is no joke for the growers involved.
Affected growers should hire a lawyer and if I were in their shoes, I would already declare the supplier of the cheated seed potatoes to be in default.
Subscriber
Andre 5 May 2019
250 tons, this is say 50 ha, if it is 5 tons per ha, the balance of 1 ha, say 5000 euros times 50 is at least 250000, this is a nice amount, let's hope they get a whole lot have good legal assistance insurance, because otherwise?
Frog 6 May 2019
I'm sorry, but the quality of officially inspected seed potatoes with a nak certificate is often a cry for joy, you might as well hang that rag in the toilet. Perhaps the sjoemel seed potatoes found here are of better quality???
croak 6 May 2019
frog wrote:
I'm sorry, but the quality of officially inspected seed potatoes with a nak certificate is often a cry for joy, you might as well hang that rag in the toilet. Perhaps the sjoemel seed potatoes found here are of better quality???
I also had sjoemelpootgoed.maar an sjoemel van de nak!
Subscriber
Andre 6 May 2019
If consumption growers think that they are not getting good starting material, they must first check before unloading the seed potatoes from the truck, and if it is not okay, do not unload the truck.
Released is accepted.
Subscriber
seagull 6 May 2019
cold-stored seed potatoes only show their problems a few weeks after unloading
Subscriber
potato connoisseur 13 May 2019
The grower from which the cheating seed potatoes come has not become the largest grower for nothing, and not by looking from the sidelines.

I have been getting my seed potatoes from this company for years. The guys work extremely hard and you can load there day and night on any day of the week even on Sundays or public holidays.

more seed potatoes are not inspected such as oversized ones..
and who says that this seed potato is of poor quality, the people have accepted it anyway? When you receive the freight or load, you can also assess yourself and choose to return the seed potatoes.

this farmer just got off very badly with a trader like van Zeeland trade. After all, this man is already involved in chicory. And that's probably not the only thing...

If I were this grower I would put my entire mts in the name of my wife/girlfriend of one of them. If he made it an administrator and had him do the certification with the nak, etc., then the problem is solved. can they grow again

We would be mad as a grower to face these penalties. They have the most knowledge and skills than many a farmer/grower from the surrounding area.

Some farmers and others have a clear opinion about this . but they themselves don't get much further than a few small acres to farm and still comment on others.

In short, I fully support this grower. never had a bad seed, good service, fast delivery and a good price.



Gijs 13 May 2019
nicely written potato expert. Totally agree with you.
Piet 13 May 2019
The chance that the cheaters are of poor quality is very small. It would be very stupid to run that risk if you are going to commit fraud. You do not want complaints and investigation.

Furthermore, they are also certified seed potatoes. If they have been withdrawn from the pool, they have simply had a field inspection and follow-up check. Only with delivery "forget" to have it looked at.
top farmer 13 May 2019
@potato connoisseur.

Read your first sentence again.

The seed potato grower does not adhere to the rules. He thus disadvantages other seed potato growers who play the game fairly.
I think your response is short sighted.
worrier 13 May 2019
disadvantaged other growers. Come on man. what planet are you from? the licensees disadvantage the market with their exclusive sales transactions. and nothing else
seed farmer 14 May 2019
This grower is a top grower
These know more about potatoes than the whole nak itself.
These seed potatoes are not untested at all. Yes, the very last inspection has not happened, but they have been inspected in the field and with the harvest. So it's really nonsense that it should be destroyed. It's just normal seed potatoes.
And other fellow farmers and growers should not complain so much about this grower, this grower is a super hard-working organization. Always keeps to his agreements , you always know where to go . Many farmers already have a weekend where they will do a good round.


Every farmer and grower has done this or is still doing it.
Do you think this grower will ever think of this again? Of course not. This violation also suffices with a heavy fine and a hard warning instead of the measures taken by the nak. And Agrico did put this grower out . I wish Agrico success in looking for another good grower and his big one. Agrico can probably find another one, but that quality will certainly not come close to that of this grower. They have built up a lot of knowledge, they can arrange their own sales without agrico. Don't need agri at all.

It's a great company that's now headed for destruction. They are working on it with the whole family now everyone thinks this is what she wanted ? After years of working day and night?
And yes @aardappeljager I would also transfer my company to my wife if the nak continues to be so difficult.


But nak you did not notice it yourself before so not only shifting the blame to others also applies to agrico . First think about your own organization and then punish less harshly, this one will never do it again, you can now know for sure after this razia media circus. Almost even more written about it than the last murder

Dear grower, my trust in you just keeps going
potato freak 14 May 2019
@tobboer exactly
@topboer you clearly have no idea how this issue works

@ grower
Don't worry, just keep going, those talks will pass. Just stay proud of your company and, if necessary, continue under a different name. I wouldn't accept those punishments anyway, they were just inspected in the spring in the country and so challenge that trade with grubbing.

Subscriber
Futures 14 May 2019
The pool is also disadvantaged. So all growers.
Subscriber
Glass 14 May 2019
Futures wrote:
The pool is also disadvantaged. So all growers.
How so? Fewer kilos mean a higher price, which in turn is an advantage for the grower?
Subscriber
Agrico grower NOP 14 May 2019
Klaas wrote:
Futures wrote:
The pool is also disadvantaged. So all growers.
How so? Fewer kilos mean a higher price, which in turn is an advantage for the grower?
Fewer kilos to sell, but also fewer customers (because they already have them). So definitely disadvantage other growers.
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