"Polish blueberries are considered to be exceptionally tasty. This is the result of experience and cooperation skills; however, from the moment the fruit is harvested, its quality starts deteriorating. You can slow this down but you need to be aware that this is a one-way process and that the sooner you consume the product, the better," explain experts of the Polish Berry Cooperative.

A new harvesting standard has been presented by Jaroslaw Bien and Mateusz Pilch, of the Polish Berry Cooperative (PBC), Europes largest blueberry producer, which resulted from the cooperation of 3 leading producer groups in Poland: Polish Berry of Lublin, the Wielkopolska BerryGroup and the Carpathian Blueberry Producers Group ELLIOT.

"We are promoting a new, higher standard. The blueberries are cooled almost immediately after the harvest, within no more than 30 minutes. This is a higher standard than is required by the worlds most demanding certifications. Thanks to this practice, the fruits freshness is preserved for longer," affirms Jaroslaw Bien, a member of the GPO "Polish Berries".

"Aiming for such high standards allows us to export to more than 25 countries on 4 continents. The key to this success is to be constantly training on and supervising the enforcement of our 7 Principles of Good Harvesting. The idea is that all employees know how to harvest the fruit to prevent any quality loss," adds Dorota Zegota, president of the Carpathian Blueberry Producers Group ELLIOT.

The Polish Berry Cooperative is currently the largest producer of blueberries in Europe.