New Zealand’s Fresh Produce Safety Centre has launched two landmark research projects aimed at improving the safety of Australian and New Zealand fresh produce.
The two projects are namely:
- Understanding the Gaps – a Food Safety Literature Review; and
- The Guidelines for Fresh Produce Food Safety.
The projects have been financially supported by industry and government, demonstrating the broad support across Australia and New Zealand for this work.
“The generous support of the fresh produce industry and food safety organisations has been the catalyst to get these vital projects up and running,” said the center’s chairman Michael Worthington.
“The companies and industry organisations supporting these projects know that food safety is paramount: they are tangibly demonstrating their support for fresh produce safety in Australia and New Zealand.”
The aim of the Guidelines project is to review and update the Guidelines for On-Farm Food Safety for Fresh Produce, to expand the scope to include new topics and post-farm activities and to contain the most up-to-date information available.
Industry stakeholders have long sought a revision of the Guidelines, as the last review came in 2004.
This project has been generously supported by Woolworths, the NSW Food Authority, Freshcare, N2N Global, Fresh Select and AUS-QUAL.
The Understanding the Gaps project will engage a research provider to review the contemporary literature surrounding microbial contamination of fresh produce and the interaction of sanitizers and fungicides when used postharvest.
This review will provide the fresh produce industry in Australia and New Zealand with information to improve food safety best practice and reduce the opportunity for foodborne illness.
The Understanding the Gaps project has been supported by Pipfruit NZ and the NSW Food Authority (Full Research Partners), Fresh Select and GSF Australasia/Snap Fresh Foods (Associate Research Partners).
The Understanding the Gaps report will be released mid-year, while the revised Guidelines will be launched in the third quarter of 2015.
“The Fresh Produce Safety Centre has been established by industry to enhance fresh produce safety throughout Australia and New Zealand: with these projects, we will deliver the resources that industry has identified as top priorities,” said Worthington.
