Monitoring of the implementation of principles of good practice in vertical relationship in the food supply chain : final report, revisited version

The objective of this study was to evaluate retrospectively the effectiveness of the EU-level "Supply Chain Initiative" (SCI) and of three national voluntary initiatives set up in Belgium, Finland and the Netherlands in tackling UTPs. The study also called for a preliminary assessment of the national initiative set up in Germany, which is still in its inception phase. For each initiative, the study assessed the level of participation, internal governance and monitoring systems, effectiveness in tackling UTPs, transparency, confidentiality, awareness and trust, and implementation costs for SMEs. In relation to the national initiatives, the influence of the "Principles of Good Practice" (PGP) adopted in November 2011 as a result of the multi-stakeholder dialogue within the "High Level Forum for a better functioning food supply chain", as well as the influence of the "Supply Chain Initiative", were also assessed. The study was carried out between January 2015 and January 2016; besides the case studies on the SCI and on the four national initiatives, it also featured an investigation on exposure to UTPs in the EU28 Member States. The assessment covered all the stages of the food supply chain: farming, food and beverage production, wholesaling and retailing.