Marc Barnes

ISO 22000 (food safety) certification sets out the internationally recognised requirements for a food safety management system, benefitting producers, manufacturers, regulators, retailers and consumers with food people can trust. #Ecowize #FoodSafety #InnovationInCleaning #AustralianFoodIndustry

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FREE Webinar: Australian Food Safety Week The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology - AIFST is holding a free webinar on 13th November, from 1:30 - 2:30pm (AEDT). 'How consumers read the food safety information on food labels' Lydia Buchtmann - CEO Food Safety Information Council, shares the latest consumer research into how consumers read the food safety information on food labels. It will discuss: 👩🏽‍🍳 Cooking and storage instructions 🗓️ Use By and Best Before dates, and 🔬 Compare improvements since the previous research in 2013. Also included are the findings about popularity and usage of air fryers - (you’ll be surprised), and if people are finding and following cooking instructions for them. Register below: https://lnkd.in/ghinF7aJ

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Food Control Plans and National Programme holders: Do you understand what your scope of operations allows you to do? 🟩 National Programmes (NP) A set of food safety rules for medium and low-risk businesses. There are 3 levels of NP. The type of business that operate each level is determined by the food safety risk and the processes used. 🟩 Food Control Plans (FCP) Are used by higher risk businesses. An FCP tells a business operator what needs to be done, and when to manage the associated food safety risks, but only for the processes listed in the scope of operations. Templates are available for most businesses to use, which document the controls needed for the processes used. If you use a template Food Control Plan, MPI has developed the HACCP plan for you. More complex business, with higher risk processes, need to develop a Custom FCP. A HACCP plan must be written for each of the processes used in your business. ⚠️ Before making changes in your business, you need to make sure that your current FCP or NP covers the new activity. For example, a café has registered a template Food Control Plan for selling ready-to-eat food directly to customers. They reheat meals from the cold cabinet and serve to dine-in customers. They have been asked to sell meals in takeaway containers for customers to re-heat at home. These may be classified as ready-meals, but are not ready-to-eat, as they must be stored at the correct temperature and re-heated properly to manage the food safety risks. Depending on how these are sold, the ready-meals may also require a full label that complies with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards code. The Food Control Plan in this case will need to be amended to include this new, higher risk process. If you want to introduce something new to your food business, or make sure you are operating within your scope, we can help. The MPI My Food Rules tool is a great starting point, giving you the rules and conditions for growing, manufacturing, storing, transporting, importing, exporting, or selling food and beverage products for consumption by humans or animals...

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R&D is often about testing ideas and laying the foundations through experimentation. It often means being ahead of the curve … but the anticipation of increased global interest and buy-side demand for traceability has proven to be prescient. 👇🏽👇🏽👇🏽 is a great case in point. The team at Smart Trade Networks pioneered some core technology and design approaches to meeting anticipated Chinese red meat supply chain traceability demands, building on the decades of work done by industry giants. The time is rapidly coming when traceability won’t be a “nice to have” but a “must have”. #beef #china #traceability #blockchain #supplychains

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Our risk consultant Dipon Sarkar, Ph.D. will be sharing his expertise in the upcoming The Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology - AIFST workshops in Melbourne. If you're looking to gain some practical insights in the areas of food risk assessment and food recall, check out these workshops. #riskassessment #AIFST #foodrecall #foodregulation

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Education around good allergen management is so important when keeping consumers safe. So why is it still not being proritised in some areas of the food industry? With Food Standards Australia New Zealand reporting that the top reason for food recalls in the region is undeclared allergens caused by packaging errors, we sit down with Allergen Bureau president Jasmine Lacis-Lee to chat accurate allergen labelling and discover what more can be done to protect consumers. https://lnkd.in/duM5F4k6 #allergenmanagement #foodsafetyeducationmonth

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The majority of consumers want to know where their food has come from. Unfortunately, current labelling of meat and dairy products is often unclear and misleading and doesn’t always provide customers with the information they need to avoid factory farmed products. Method of production labelling is already compulsory on shell eggs, so customers can easily see the system used to produce them - whether it be caged, barn, free range, or organic. In turn, this has increased demand for higher welfare eggs, helping to drive welfare improvements for millions of egg-laying hens. Labelling works! It is so important mandatory method of production labelling is extended to meat and dairy. Join us in responding to the Government consultation via the link below.

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Embrace sustainable & innovative ESG principles to enhance efficiency in Abattoirs 🌱🥩 ESG considerations in the meat industry are now emerging as a key strategic advantage. Adopting sustainable practices, improving social responsibility, and ensuring good governance, ultimately lead to a more resilient and responsible business model. Did you know NZ farmers are among the most efficient in the world, producing sustainable food for 40 million people each year? It’s crucial for abattoirs and meat processing facilities to innovate and operate sustainably and efficiently. In our latest blog, we explore how smarter consumables purchasing can help these facilities achieve cost savings while ensuring quality at every stage of their operations. Learn how to reduce operating costs in your meat processing facility here >> https://hubs.ly/Q02LnpWY0

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📊 New Zealand Consumer-Level Food Recalls New Zealand Food Safety have recently released their Consumer-level Food Recalls annual report for 2023. NZFS supported food businesses in the initiation of 70 consumer-level recalls in the 2023 calendar year. This was a 16.7% increase when compared with 2022. An increase in the number of consumer-level recalls initiated does not correlate with the actions taken by food businesses to manage food safety risks. Food businesses can manage food safety risks through other actions, such as trade-level recalls. For this reason, the number of consumer-level recalls initiated is not an accurate indicator of the level of risk to consumers. ↪️ You can check out the report at https://vist.ly/352af #FoodRecall #NewZealand #AnnualReport #FoodSafety

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Modern slavery exists in New Zealand. Businesses need to evaluate whether the actions of their suppliers align with their own values and practices. Supply chain transparency is a critical component of the social pillar of ESG. This is best achieved by engaging suppliers with a Supplier Code of Conduct who also meet standards laid out in ISO, HACCP and FSSC 22000. Walk Free provides depth of insight into modern slavery risk. Learn more…https://www.walkfree.org/

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Want to know more about the AADX? Sign up for next weeks webinar!

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New FSANZ report highlights how rigorous food standards and certifications like Freshcare boost consumer confidence by ensuring food safety and quality! 🥬 Read more: https://lnkd.in/gMQy-B53 #FoodSafety #ConsumerTrust #FSANZ #Freshcare #FreshProduce #AussieFruitandVeg Food Standards Australia New Zealand

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✴ WIN A $250 GIFT CARD ✴ The Fresh Insights on Food Safety: A Research Survey of Fresh Produce Stakeholders in Australia and New Zealand survey is now live and participants have the chance to win a gift card to the value of $250* 🔎 This research is aimed at improving food safety standards within the Australian and New Zealand Fresh Produce Industry. Your participation will help us to better understand Industry needs, gather insights, and identify opportunities for outreach, support and further research. By sharing your experiences and perspectives, you can help us in tailoring food safety engagement strategies to meet the specific needs of growers, food safety managers, supply chain stakeholders, researchers, and experts. 🤝 Together, we can strengthen collaboration, elevate industry standards, and ensure the safety and quality of fresh produce for consumers. 💻 The online survey includes 25 questions and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. We appreciate your participation BEFORE FRIDAY 10 MAY 2024 🔗 https://lnkd.in/gmEn-6cP *See Terms & Conditions of entry within the survey for more information. #fpscanz #freshproducesafety #foodsafety #research #survey #hortfrontiers #hortinnovation The Horticulture Food Safety Initiative is funded through the Hort Frontiers strategic partnership initiative developed by Hort Innovation, with co-investment from FPSC-ANZ; University of Sydney; NSW Department of Primary Industries; Agriculture Victoria; South Australia Health; Coles Group; Zespri International; New Zealand Food Safety Science & Research Centre (NZFSSRC); Vegetable Research and Innovation Board; Hort NZ and in-kind contributions from University of Sydney; Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ); Centre for Produce Safety (USA); NZFSSRC; Agriculture Victoria; NZ Food Safety (Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI)); Zespri International; NZ Vegetable Industry Research Board; AUSVEG; and Berries Australia.

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In case you missed it, BRCGS have released a newsletter on allergen-free foods, a sector that has grown from an estimated $121bn in sales in 2021, and is predicted to grow more than double to over $270bn by 2029. The newsletter looks at what "free from" can mean, the potential for the internet to provide early warning signals to food safety risks, as well as the risk of cross-contamination for those who are allergic to animal-based ingredients who rely on "vegan" products. Click on the link below to read the newsletter. #ScienceforaSaferWorld #FoodSafety https://lnkd.in/e2JjBdMH

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https://lnkd.in/gf3e5Yxg If you were hoping for the Government to signal urgent reform of chemical assessment and drive transparency to make it safer for public and environmental health- prepare for disappointment. They agreed that apparently the "purpose of the agvet chemicals regulatory framework is to protect and ensure the safety of Australia’s people, animals and environment." "However, the government does not believe that legislative amendments to the vision statement or related objectives and principles would provide benefits greater than associated costs." Nor does it propose changing risk assessment nor adding transparency to it. So the broken regulatory process, underpinned by the archaic legislation will remain. The outcomes can only continue to propagate harm. The Govt note whilst there is no coherent monitoring of humans, air, water, soil or produce which could allow the APVMA to check if its assumptions around risk mitigation are sound, they then go straight to low-ball mode talking about a long process to design a "minimum viable product". The rising rates of parkinsons, MND, cancers, neurodiverse disorders of children, disability, deformity of genitalia, infertility, are all apparently invisible to this Government. What harm? Could someone please let them know? Perhaps you'll be reassured that "The APVMA already considers levels of acceptable off-target risk."  Your poor health from unsafe exposure might just be an "acceptable off-target risk". Whoops!

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Mitigating the risks for foodborne disease – free white paper Recent foodborne disease outbreaks in Australia and New Zealand underscore the critical need for stringent food safety measures.  How can food producers prevent contamination and protect their brand? Find out by downloading and reading this free industry paper: https://lnkd.in/gXpMJjZ7 The paper covers essential knowledge and tips such as: - Recent outbreaks and recalls in ANZ - Proactive testing methods like PCR for microbial detection - Real-life case studies of foodborne disease outbreaks and their impacts - Insights on streamlining your food safety workflow for improved efficiency Protect your consumers, your brand, and your business. #foodpoisoning #Foodbornedisease #foodsafety #foodborneoutbreak #foodcontamination #PCRtesting #Salmonella #Ecoli #Listeria #campylobacter #gastro #ThermoFisherScientific #SureTect

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Did you know that only 25% of Australian households own a meat thermometer—and of those, less than half use it? A meat thermometer doesn't help much if it's left in the drawer! During our recent Food Safety Week webinar, hosted with the Food Safety Information Council, Lydia Buchtmann delivered a thought-provoking presentation followed by an engaging 20-minute discussion. Here are just a few key takeaways: 🔹 Air Fryers, Ovens & Microorganisms: The discussion tackled the balancing act between speed, crispness, and two step heating and cooking processes. 🔹 Food Labeling Challenges: The opportunities to review heating and cooking instructions for products suitable for air-fryers. 🔹 Misconceptions about Ready-to-Eat Foods: Some consumers believe breaded products are ready to eat—highlighting the critical need for clear cooking instructions. 🔹 Thermometers for Food Safety: With the low adoption of meat thermometers, there’s a clear opportunity to educate households on their importance in ensuring safe cooking. Thanks to everyone who so actively participated. If you missed it, catch the full webinar here - https://lnkd.in/gH6ZCcsp AIFST hosts webinars like this regularly, tackling key industry issues and bringing expert insights to the forefront. Keep an eye on our website for our 2025 program—there’s so much more to come! #AIFST #FoodScience Fiona Fleming Lydia Buchtmann Food Safety Information Council Michael Depalo Deon Mahoney Emma Kent MAIFST Sarah Crisp Melissa Garland Anna Barlow GAICD Angeline Achariya FTSE GAICD FAIFST Marc Barnes Gregory Harper Heather Haines Emma Norgrove

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