Marketing and Sales Statement Rijk Zwaan*

• Rijk Zwaan makes a continuous effort to fulfil the wishes of its customers and other parties concerned.
  
• Rijk Zwaan complies – at least – with the statutory requirements arising from legislation regarding the marketing of vegetable standard seed of vegetable crops.
  
• Rijk Zwaan, as any other Dutch vegetable seed company, is responsible itself for the quality of its seeds. In order to check the quality of the seeds, Rijk Zwaan operates a continuous, extensive testing programme in the field and in the laboratory. The execution of Rijk Zwaan’s quality system is controlled by the official Dutch inspection service for vegetable and flower seeds, Naktuinbouw.
  
• In order to supply top quality seeds and top service, Rijk Zwaan works according to a wide range of quality systems to manage and control its activities:
  • A system for controlling and improving the quality of all our processes from breeding to marketing and (after) sales, comparable to ISO 9001.
  • A quality system to comply with environmental (national) legislation in order to minimize burdening of the environment, comparable to ISO 14001.
  • NAL (Naktuinbouw Accredited Laboratory), for accreditation by Naktuinbouw of laboratory tests carried out by Rijk Zwaan, such as germination tests, physical seed purity tests, specific (seed born) disease tests.
  • IKZ (Integrale Keten Zorg) for chain-related activities from breeder towards customer, to meet the needs from the market. In co-operation with ECAS (Europese Certificatie instelling voor de Agrarische Sector (European Certification body for Agriculture), Rijk Zwaan has developed the IKZ certification system. ECAS, controlled by the Dutch Council of Accreditation, has granted a certificate to Rijk Zwaan and can grant certificates to growers who meet the demands of the system. Within IKZ certification, there are possibilities for growers to integrate other quality systems, e.g. Eurep/GAP.
  • Furthermore, Rijk Zwaan is allowed by Skal, the inspection body for organic production in the Netherlands, to market organically produced seeds under the EKO-Quality label.
  
  All the abovementioned quality systems are audited on a regular basis.
  
  
• All varieties in Rijk Zwaan’s present range are obtained without making use of genetic modification techniques which lead to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) to which Directive 2001/18 of the European Parliament and of the Council of the European Communities of 12 March 2001 on the deliberate release into the environment of GMOs applies. This statement applies to Rijk Zwaan varieties which have been or will be marketed in the year 2008. After expiration of this period Rijk Zwaan shall update this statement.
  
• Rijk Zwaan considers the risk of there being any GMOs present in the propagating material of its varieties very small. When developing the propagating material of Rijk Zwaan varieties the greatest possible care is exercised based on existing legal requirements relating to the marketing of varieties. Moreover, the methods used in the development and production of this propagating material include procedures whose purpose is to prevent the presence of GMOs.
  
• Much of Rijk Zwaan’s research is focussed on resistances. The resistance coding applied by Rijk Zwaan is based on guidelines for resistance coding that are set up by the International Seed Federation. It is important, in general, to stress that the specificity of pests or pathogens may vary over time and space, depends on environmental factors, and that new pest biotypes or new pathogen races capable of overcoming resistance may emerge.
  
• Seed treatment is only applied by Rijk Zwaan in case it considers this the most effective method to control a possible disease and/or pest, and/or to realise a reduction in crop spraying; Rijk Zwaan acts hereby in conformity with the applicable statutory regulations.
  
• Further information on Rijk Zwaan and its products is available through our regular marketing statements, e.g. catalogues, price lists and leaflets.
  
  * This statement applies to all varieties marketed under the Rijk Zwaan brand.
  
  January 2008