“Quality control” shows up in almost every exporter’s marketing copy. It rarely comes with specifics. Here’s what it actually means at KATUNA, product by product — not as a slogan, but as a checklist that happens before a container leaves Ecuador.
Cacao: moisture and fermentation
Every cacao lot is tested against Ecuador’s official grading standard, NTE INEN 176 — moisture content (capped at 7% across all grades), and fermentation quality via the “cut test,” which sorts beans into well-fermented, lightly fermented, violet, or slaty categories. The full grading breakdown by tier is on our cacao page if you want the underlying numbers.
Banana: Brix and caliber
Banana quality control centers on two measurements: Brix, which measures sugar content and indicates ripeness stage, and caliber, the diameter measurement that determines size grading for export packing. Getting both right before shipment is what keeps a box of bananas ripening on a predictable timeline instead of arriving under- or over-ripe at destination.
Shrimp: count and size verification
For shrimp, quality control means confirming the count-per-pound classification actually matches what was quoted — and on the correct basis, since head-on, headless, and peeled shrimp count differently for the same physical animal. It also means checking for melanosis (black spot) before shipment, since that’s a cosmetic issue that’s far easier to catch and address at origin than to explain to a customer after arrival.
Why this happens before the sample stage, not after
The sequence matters. Quality control isn’t a final check right before loading a container — it starts at producer verification, continues through the sample a buyer evaluates, and gets re-confirmed on the actual export lot before it ships. That last step matters more than it sounds: the sample that gets approved and the lot that actually ships should be verified as the same quality, not just assumed to be.
Certifications that back this up
Quality control claims mean more with documentation behind them. KATUNA coordinates AGROCALIDAD phytosanitary certification as standard, along with BASC-certified logistics for shipment security, and organic or Fair Trade certification when a specific buyer requires it. None of these are optional add-ons applied only when asked — the phytosanitary and logistics certifications are part of how every shipment moves, regardless of whether a buyer specifically requested them.
What to ask for as a buyer
If quality documentation matters for your own import requirements — and increasingly, for markets like the EU, it does — ask your supplier directly what’s tested, when, and whether you can see the documentation for your specific lot rather than a generic company certificate. That’s a reasonable question for any exporter, and it’s one KATUNA answers as a standard part of the sourcing process, not as a special request.