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Westfalia Fruit

Avocado cultivation, packaging, and distribution

Health Safety and Environment Technician

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/21/2026
No salary listed
Mid
Rungis, France
In Person
Facilities OperationsEnvironmental Health & Safety

About the job

Requirements
  • Knowledge of Health, Safety, and Environment and corporate social responsibility regulations, including ICPE and the Environmental Code.
  • Knowledge of the ISO 45001 standard.
  • Knowledge of general prevention principles.
  • Knowledge of the content of a Single Risk Assessment Document (DUERP).
  • Project management skills.
  • Fluency in English and French.
  • Proficiency in office software for designing, consolidating, and analyzing dashboards.
Responsibilities
  • Implement and promote Health, Safety, Environmental, and corporate social responsibility policies across the site, ensuring compliance with company standards and legal requirements.
  • Deliver training and awareness initiatives to improve employee understanding of health and safety, environmental responsibilities, and best practices.
  • Conduct regular site inspections, audits, and compliance checks, ensuring corrective actions are identified and implemented.
  • Monitor accidents, near misses, safety observations, and key HSE metrics, providing analysis and recommendations for improvement.
  • Manage health and safety action plans, risk assessments, personal protective equipment availability, and the maintenance of mandatory records and documentation.
  • Collect, maintain, and report environmental and corporate social responsibility data, including energy, water, waste, and greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Support environmental compliance activities, including waste management, regulatory reporting, and carbon footprint assessments.
  • Coordinate external service providers, inspections, and audits, ensuring effective delivery of HSE and environmental requirements.
  • Prepare and maintain policies, procedures, committee documentation, audit materials, and compliance records.
  • Promote a strong culture of food safety, quality, environmental responsibility, and continuous improvement across the site.

About the company

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Westfalia Fruit

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Website

Westfalia Fruit grows, packs, and distributes avocados and other fresh fruits and vegetables for customers such as suppliers, grocers, and growers, mainly in the UK. It runs nurseries that supply high-quality rootstocks and cultivars to support strong harvests. Avocados are grown on their own farms, harvested, packed, and shipped to markets where they are sold as fresh fruit. The company emphasizes sustainability, earning Carbon Measured certification for its products in South Africa and the UK, and developing sustainable packaging solutions. This makes them one of the largest avocado producers with a global footprint and a focus on reducing environmental impact. Their goal includes increasing vegetable consumption and meeting customer demand with reliable, sustainable produce from a global network.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

Debt Financing

Total Funding

$300M

Headquarters

Johannesburg, South Africa

Founded

1949

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • June 19, 2026 appointment of Tommy Padilla strengthens North America execution and retailer relationships.
  • March 2026 Winston-Salem distribution center shortens Mid-Atlantic delivery times and improves ripening control.
  • September 14, 2026 India ripeness technology and Asia expansion unlock new consumer adoption markets.

What critics are saying

  • May 2026 U.S. avocado shortages forced Westfalia to declare force majeure on Mexican supply.
  • Colombia reported 19% fewer exports in week 19, exposing Westfalia to volatile origin yields.
  • Climate volatility and water stress threaten Westfalia's orchards; a severe drought becomes existential.

What makes Westfalia Fruit unique

  • Westfalia Fruit spans breeding, farming, ripening, logistics, and processing across 17 countries.
  • Its 2026 Whole Tree model monetizes every grade through fresh, oil, guacamole, and packaging.
  • GEM avocado premiumization delivered 50-60% price premiums and 80% incremental sales in 2026.

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Benefits

  • Paid Vacation
  • Life Insurance
  • Meal Benefits
  • Profit Sharing
  • Gym Membership

Growth & Insights and Company News

Headcount

6 month growth

12%

1 year growth

12%

2 year growth

12%
FoodTechBiz
Oct 12th, 2026
Westfalia Fruit launches updated Sustainability Strategy, building on 58% renewable electricity.

Westfalia Fruit launches updated Sustainability Strategy, building on 58% renewable electricity. Published on: 12 Oct 2026, 9:10 pm Westfalia Fruit, a global leader in the avocado industry, has launched an updated global Sustainability Strategy built around four priorities: efficient water use, carbon management, waste reduction, and biodiversity protection. The strategy is already visible across the business. The share of renewable electricity in the company's operations has risen from 18% in 2021 to 58% in 2025 and the company is working with growers and other international fresh produce companies on water in Chile's Aconcagua Valley. Westfalia Fruit's story began in South Africa more than 77 years ago, founded on environmental and social principles rooted in the legacy of Dr Hans Merensky. Since then, the company has grown into one of the most diverse avocado growers in the world, farming across the Americas and Africa, with a long legacy of farming in harmony with nature that still shapes how it farms, researches and invests today. The updated strategy reflects where Westfalia Fruit wants to go as a business. As the company sharpens its focus on avocados, it wants to lead on the issues that matter most for the future of the category, from water and climate to biodiversity, and give customers credible evidence of its progress. Developed with specialist support from NewForesight, the strategy is shaped by where the business has the greatest impact and by what customers, retailers and regulators expect. Each business unit has its own roadmap for water, carbon, waste and biodiversity, based on the risks and opportunities in its region, with carbon linked to the Group's long-term target of Net Zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2049. Renewable electricity In 2025, Westfalia Fruit's renewable electricity consumption reached 34,653 MWh, supported by both on-site solar generation and certified renewable electricity purchased through instruments such as I-RECs and Guarantees of Origin. The share of renewable electricity across its operations increased from 18% in 2021 to 58% in 2025. This transition has contributed to a ~50% reduction in Scope 2 emissions over the same period. Several packhouses across the UK, Peru, Chile, the US and France now operate on 100% renewable electricity, demonstrating the progress made in transitioning its operations away from non-renewable electricity sources. Carbon in trees and soil On its farms, Westfalia Fruit has partnered with One Carbon World to measure how much carbon is stored in its trees and soil. Baselines have been established on eight farms in Chile, Peru and South Africa, giving the company a clearer picture of the role its orchards play in its overall carbon balance. Water in the Aconcagua Valley In Chile's Aconcagua Valley, one of the country's important fruit-growing regions, Westfalia Fruit is a partner in the WAVE Aconcagua Collective Action Project. Since 2021, the project has brought together 15 producers, international fresh produce companies, government and technical partners to tackle risks that no single farm can solve on its own, such as water scarcity, soil health and biodiversity loss. The project has developed farm-level roadmaps and joined the Mesa Hídrica del Valle del Aconcagua, the main forum for water management in the valley. "Sustainability has been part of how we farm from the very beginning," says Johnathan Sutton, Chief R&D and Sustainability Officer at Westfalia Fruit. "What is different now is that we measure it site by site and act on what we find. Going from 18% to 58% of renewable electricity shows what that approach can do. We want to bring the same discipline to water, carbon, waste and biodiversity, working closely with growers, customers and partners as we go." The same roadmaps cover waste and biodiversity. In South Africa, for example, customer fulfilment centres in Midrand are moving to 100% recyclable packaging for avocado and mango products by the end of 2026. On biodiversity, reforestation and pollination work in Peru is helping to restore natural ecosystems in the regions where the company grows. For customers, the strategy means clearer information on how their fruit is produced: what has already been achieved, what is still being built and where working together can speed up progress. The same long-term thinking shapes how Westfalia Fruit works with growers and their communities, from its own orchards to partnerships with smallholder growers.

NewForesight
Sep 28th, 2026
EDEKA joins the Aconcagua Partnership.

EDEKA joins the Aconcagua Partnership. NewForesight is pleased to welcome EDEKA as a new partner, joining Dole, Nature's Pride, Salling Group, and Westfalia Fruit. EDEKA brings substantial experience in water stewardship: for more than a decade, the retailer has worked to understand and address water risks in agricultural supply chains, including through its partnership with WWF and its involvement in collective action initiatives in sourcing regions around the world. That experience matters in Aconcagua. The challenges facing the basin cannot be addressed by individual growers or companies working on their own. They require the organisations that depend on the region to work alongside growers, public institutions and local stakeholders around shared priorities. The supply chain partners work alongside the Aconcagua Network, which brings together 15 growers managing approximately 5,000 hectares of cultivated land and significant areas dedicated to conservation. Together, the Partnership is advancing water stewardship, biodiversity and regenerative agriculture across the basin. The Partnership is supported by Partners for Water and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Chile, with NewForesight serving as its secretariat. EDEKA joining is an important step for the Partnership. They bring valuable expertise and market reach to the coalition and strengthen the group as it moves from shared ambition towards practical action. Bringing the right organisations together is one part of a transition. Keeping them aligned, dealing with resistance and maintaining momentum is another. That is exactly the challenge NewForesight explored with 300 transition leaders at Nyenrode last week.

FreshPlaza
Jun 11th, 2026
Westfalia Fruit appoints new president for North America.

Westfalia Fruit appoints new president for North America. Westfalia Fruit has appointed Tommy Padilla as president, North America. Padilla joined the business on June 1. Padilla brings more than two decades in the global food industry, the majority of it dedicated to avocados, along with a track record of building international sales, shaping export strategy and developing high-performing commercial teams. He arrives at a pivotal moment for Westfalia Fruit as the company accelerates its growth across North America. Padilla began his career in the food industry within the spice sector before moving into fresh produce with Mission Produce, where for over more than a decade, he helped build and grow the company's international avocado export business. During that time, he developed the commercial team, expanded sales channels across multiple international markets and was instrumental in the company's early push into Europe. [Tommy Padilla] After 12 years at Mission Produce, he joined Calavo in 2022 to grow its international avocado business, before moving to Del Monte in 2024 as vice president of avocado, the role he held immediately before joining Westfalia Fruit. Padilla has also played a significant role in opening the South American growing origins to multiple export countries. His firsthand knowledge of avocado origins around the world, and how each one performs through the season, positions him to deliver even greater consistency, quality and choice for the company's retail and foodservice customers. "Tommy's extensive knowledge of the avocado and his proven ability to foster growth across international markets make him a tremendous asset to the team. His appointment is a clear signal of our commitment to the North American market and our ambition to lead the global avocado category," said Chris Bush, group CEO at Westfalia Fruit. "The company's diversity of origin, depth of expertise and clear sense of purpose are second to none in this industry. I am excited to join a team with the ambition to be the world's leading avocado company, and to help our customers across North America win with avocados," said Padilla.

FreshPlaza
Jun 3rd, 2026
"Avocados from many origins are arriving at the same time, and this has led to high supply and falling prices"

"Avocados from many origins are arriving at the same time, and this has led to high supply and falling prices" Colombia's secondary Hass avocado harvest (the "traviesa) is turning out to be significantly shorter than expected. "Data for week 19 reveals a 19% drop in exported volumes compared to the same period in 2025: 2,337 containers against 2,877 FCL in the previous year. We were already expecting lower volumes, but in some municipalities we are seeing 50 to 70% less volume than last year," says Luis Carlos Maya, Operations Manager at Westfalia Fruit Colombia. All the main producing departments (Antioquia, Caldas, Risaralda, and Valle del Cauca) without exception are affected by this. Paradoxically, the tighter supply has served as a buffer against an international market facing unusual pressure due to the simultaneous arrival of fruit from multiple origins: Peru, South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, and Brazil. "We are seeing the production from many countries arriving at the same time, and this has led to high avocado supply and falling prices. In some cases, it is more profitable to sell in the domestic market than to export," says Luis. That said, the outlook for the coming weeks is more encouraging. The North American market is already showing clear signs of recovery now that the Mexican campaign is coming to an end. "The picture has shifted somewhat. There is stronger interest in shipping Colombian fruit to the United States," says Luis, highlighting the logistical advantage of the shorter transit times compared with European destinations. In Europe, the Peruvian supply is also expected to start declining in around three weeks, which should create opportunities for Colombian fruit in that market. The supply shortage has also given a boost to the domestic market, where processors and food manufacturers are actively competing for available fruit. According to Luis, the outlook for the main harvest is positive in production terms. "Favorable weather conditions in the first half of the year led to an abundant flowering, laying the groundwork for potentially strong production toward the end of the year. It will still be necessary to keep a close eye on the possibility of an El Niño event, as fruit sizes and volumes could be affected if it came to pass." "Westfalia Fruit Colombia still expects 825 containers this year and continues to invest in further growth, expanding its own acreage from 330 to 800 hectares with new plantings in Caicedonia (Valle del Cauca) and Salamina (Caldas)," says Luis.

FreshPlaza
May 25th, 2026
Wim Destoop to leave Westfalia Fruit after three years.

Wim Destoop to leave Westfalia Fruit after three years. After almost three years in the avocado industry, first as President Europe and later as Global Chief Customer Officer at Westfalia Fruit, Wim Destoop has decided to step down and begin a new chapter in his career. Following more than 35 years in global and international business and leadership roles, he will now focus on board positions, consultancy projects, and leadership assignments within Belgian-based companies. Destoop expressed gratitude for his time at Westfalia Fruit and thanked colleagues across the business for their support, partnership, and commitment during his tenure. He also noted that the avocado category and avocado-based products continue to show strong global growth potential, supported by ongoing consumer demand and expanding opportunities across regions. He said he remains confident in the future of both the industry and Westfalia Fruit. Reflecting on his time with the company, Destoop highlighted the achievements made together with the global customer team and thanked colleagues for their focus on customers, shoppers, and consumers. He added that he leaves the business with many strong professional relationships and memories, and said details regarding his next professional step will be shared in due course.