Top Export Businesses
The 49th Export Awards were recently held in Brisbane to recognise those businesses that have excelled in the export area.
The Awards are one of the oldest award programs in Australia and are jointly presented by Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Two food companies were recognised in the 2011 Awards.
The Agribusiness Award went to Longwarry Food Park as recognition of it’s 60percent increase in exports to Asia, Africa and the Middle Eastover the last 12 months. Longwarry produces milk powders and dairy-based products.
The Regional Export Award was presented to Almondco for achieving A$38 million in exports for the 2010 almond season. The company is supplied by more than 80percent of the Australian almond growers and exports to at least 35 countries. Almonco supplies both natural and value added almond products.
The awards were presented to the overall winners from the successful75finalists from competitions throughout all Australian states and territories
The Federal Trade Minister, Craig Emerson, said, “Australia is a vibrant, competitive economy which owes its good reputation in the world to its entrepreneurs, business people and investors. With the high Australian dollar making life difficult for most of our exporters, these finalists and so many more have excelled in finding new ways of successfully marketing their products and services in tough global markets.”
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Buy Australian Made.
Manufacturing in Australia is recognised as struggling. Food businesses make up the largest part of this sector and are having a very hard time.
Imported product is well known as being cheaper than Australian made goods due to reduced labour and material costs. The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) believes that this difference may be as much as 25 percent less.
With the economic situation that we have all been through, and most likely will continue to over the next 12 months, price is definitely a determining factor in the purchase decision. Although environmental issues are starting to have an impact, it is still price that is king.
The sales of Australian made goods are suffering as a result. A strong Australian dollar is also having a poor effect.
The competitiveness and profitability of food businesses across the country are being strongly affected. With higher process for water, electricity and raw materials, as well as increased labour costs, food businesses are having major trouble. There is only so much in terms of costs that can be reduced while maintaining quality, food safety and people safety.
The two large supermarket chains are now selling more of their own branded products, and due to costs savings, many of these are being made overseas. This is reduces shelf space available for the Australian made brands. This is also reducing the sales of Australian made food products.
In December, the AFGC launched a campaign to encourage Australians to buy product made here. Australians are well known as being strong supporters of Australian made product and now is definitely the time to step up.
AFGC Chief Executive Kate Carnell said “To encourage investment in Australia, government needs to provide tax incentives to enable busine
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New Recall – bone fragments
Coles Chicken and Vegetable Pies 4 pack- frozen (Foreign matter- bone fragments)
Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd is recalling Coles Chicken and Vegetable Pies (frozen) from Coles, BI-LO and Pick n’ Pay stores nationally due to presence of foreign matter (bone fragments). Customers should not eat this product and should return to place of purchase for a full refund.
Date notified to FSANZ -03 January 2012
Food type -Mixed and/or processed foods
Product names – Coles Chicken and Vegetable Pies 4 pack (700g)
Package description & size – Plastic tray with plastic over wrapper
Date marking – Best Before 18 MAR 13 and 19 MAR 13
Country of origin -Australia
Reason for recall -Presence of foreign matter (bone fragments)
Distribution -Nationally available in Coles, BI-LO and Pick n’ Pay stores
Consumer advice -Consumers should not eat the product and should return to place of purchase for a full refund.
Contact – Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd 1800 061 562
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Trolley wars continue
An average shopping trolley coasts around $150, and some can climb as high as $600 when modifications or additions are made.
So beside being an increasing cost issue, shopping trolleys, when abandoned, are also a safety problem and an environmental hazard.
The problem is increasing and there is a dilemma as to how to stop it.
Many supermarkets have introduced the token or coin system to encourage people to return the trolleys and get their coin / token back. These are reasonably effective but the problem is still increasing.
A council in New South Wales has joined other councils around the country, by introducing a bylaw which allows Council Officers to impose an on the spot fine of $110 to a person if they abandon a trolley in the street.
The government of the Australian Capital Territory recently enacted a law that allows local councils to have “Trolley Collection Days” and inform the retailers in their area that they will pay a fine, of $190 per trolley, if any of their trolleys are not collected within 24 hours of that day.
This law also allows councils to fine large retailers for not keeping their trolleys within their property unless it can be shown that the business is taking steps to do so. It goes further and lets Councils impose a fine of $60 on any person not following a Council Officer direction to return a trolley to a shop.
It is not only penalties and fines that are being used to encourage people to do the right thing, The large retailers have also introduced schemes that will reward people for informing them of any abandoned trolleys.
It is estimated that trolley maintenance, replacement and retrieval costs around $50million a year. This is a cost that is passed directly back to all of us in food and other product prices. It is not difficult to take that little extra time to just do the right thing and to ensure that we teach our children to do it as well.
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GM Submissions requested
Food Standards Australia New Zealand today invited comments on an application for food derived from a corn line genetically modified to be tolerant to the herbicide glyphosate.
FSANZ acting Chief Executive Officer Melanie Fisher said that the application was received from Monsanto Australia Limited and seeks to vary Standard 1.5.2 – Food produced using Gene Technology, in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.”
“Approval of GM foods under this Standard is contingent upon completion of a comprehensive pre-market safety assessment.The safety assessment finds that there are no potential public health and safety concerns and that the corn is safe for human consumption. FSANZ welcomes comments from government agencies, public health professionals, industry and the community on issues raised in the report,” Ms Fisher said
The period for submissions closes on 27 February 2012.
More information
Application A1066 – Food derived from Herbicide-tolerant Corn MON87427
Information on how to make a submission
Media contact: 0401 714 265 (Australia), +61 401 714 265 (from New Zealand) or email media@foodstandards.gov.au
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Packed lunches need to be kept cool
The following is a media release from the Food safety Information Council and is included here with it’s permission.
The Australian Food Safety Information Council today released a national survey that shows on warm days 8% of workers who take a packed lunch make no attempt to keep their packed lunches cool. Of even more concern, 20% of those with children who take a packed lunch to school don’t provide their children with a frozen drink or ice brick to help keep their packed lunch cool.
Council Chairman, Dr Michael Eyles, says that this could be a major food poisoning risk as 79% of adult Australian workers say they take a packed lunch and almost all of households with children say their children have a packed lunch.
‘Packing a lunch for yourself or your child is a healthy and cost effective option. However food poisoning bacteria can grow quickly during hot weather and in the healthier foods, such as salad and cold meat, that we pack for lunch these days,’ Dr Eyles says.
‘You can reduce your risk of food poisoning by simply packing a frozen juice box, water bottle or commercial ice pack with the lunch. Place perishable foods such as cheeses and sandwiches between the frozen items. Leave food refrigerated until just before you leave home.
‘Children’s lunchboxes kept inside the school bag will keep cooler longer especially if the bag is kept away from heat sources such as direct sunlight. There is no need to refrigerate school lunches if they are stored with a frozen drink.
‘Adults should store their lunches in a workplace fridge or cooler bag or esky. Remember to continue to do this in cooler weather as heating in buildings can also raise the temperature.
‘Employers can assist by making refrigerators and coolers available and ensuring a workplace roster for keeping fridges and kitchens clean. They can also supply pens and labels for people to label their food with name and date. Handwashing and drying facilities should be made available in kitchens and handwashing posters put up. This could lead to a reduction in sick leave, not just from food poisoning but also viruses such as colds and flu.
‘Other key lunchbox tips are to ensure you prepare food with well washed hands and utensils and always wash your hands before eating lunch. If you are reheating leftovers ensure they are heated all the way through until steaming hot. Lunchboxes and reusable drink bottles must be thoroughly washed and dried daily. If cracked, split or crazed, replace as bugs will grow in any cracks.
‘Throw out any leftovers that haven’t been refrigerated. If you or your child has food poisoning don’t go to work or school, and avoid handling food for others for 48 hours after symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhoea stop. If food poisoning symptoms persist, visit a doctor,’ Dr Eyles concludes.
The national survey by Newspoll found:
• Four in every five Australian workers (79%) say they have a packed lunch, with skews toward females, those aged under 50, and those with a college education or an apprenticeship.
• Among those that do take a packed lunch to work a large majority of 77% say that on warm days they store their lunch in a refrigerator at work, and around half say they their lunch is stored in cooler bag or esky.
• There is some overlap between the two – suggesting that some of those who are putting their lunch in a fridge are using other methods to keep their lunch cool on the way to or from work, or when they are out of the office.
• Overall more than 9 in 10 who have a packed lunch (92%) use one of these approaches to keep their lunches cool on warm days. Men and those living outside of Queensland / NT are the most likely to fall down in this area.
• Almost all of those with children in their household say those children have a packed lunch. While most say that on warm days their children have a frozen drink or ice brick to help keep their packed lunch cool, 1 in 5 say this is not the case.
• Those living in the major capital cities appear to be the worst offenders when it comes to keeping children’s lunches cool, with 24% in these areas saying they don’t do this compared with 12% in the regional and rural areas.
Food poisoning results, on average, in 120 deaths, 1.2 million visits to doctors, 300,000 prescriptions for antibiotics, and 2.1 million days of lost work each year. The estimated annual cost of food poisoning in Australia is $1.25 billion.
CONTACT: Juliana Madden, Food Safety Information Council Executive Officer: 0407 626 688 www.foodsafety.asn.au
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Export certification changes will make things easier
It is not easy to export food from Australia. This is because we have some of the toughest food regulations in the world. It is the maintenance of these regulations that has given Australia a well earned reputation as one of the best food producers globally.
There are however a lot of regulations that businesses must meet to be able send and sell their food overseas and this can stop some from pursuing this potential; source of profit.
Recently the Federal Government’s Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) announced significant changes to these regulations to try make it easier for food exporters. However, it is a fine line that is being walked – trying to encourage business without impacting on our reputation and food safety. The changes will be for both food and agricultural exports.
The service models have been developed for all food export commodities, including meat, fish, dairy, grain, horticulture and live animal, and have taken two years of consultation with all stakeholders.
The models will be phased in over 2012 for all the industries.
Greg Read, DAFF’s Food Division secretary said, “These reforms will enhance Australia’s already world-class export certification system. Overall, agricultural export reform will secure and improve market access and position Australia’s inspection and certification processes at the forefront of export industries worldwide.”
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Live export delegation to Middle East
During 2011, as the result of footage seen on national television, the Australian Government banned live cattle exports to Indonesia for about two months.
The footage showed cattle being very badly treated and, in fact, abused. It also showed inhumane conditions in abattoirs in that country. There was an immediate and widespread public outcry. Talkback shows on radio went into overdrive as people rang to share their opinions about what they had seen. The Federal Government reacted swiftly by stopping all live cattle exports in the short term.
This cost an important industry, in Northern Australia, an enormous amount of money in lost sales and the expenses of keeping animals that had been set for transport. There were even reports of farmers not being able to sustain the expense of holding the cattle and planning toward slaughtering them.
There were very loud demands by certain groups to stop the live export permanently.
Unfortunately, this is not a viable option as this market needs to have the animals slaughtered in the country rather than meat sent over. Indonesia is predominantly a Moslem country and this requires that slaughter be done according to Halal practices. The Halal method used in Australia does not meet the standard expected in that country, as our slaughter process includes stunning, which is not done in Indonesia.
A further reason for requiring freshly killed meat is that there is much less refrigeration in Indonesia and therefore there is limited capacity to store meat.
Unfortunately, to get the live animals to Indonesia involves loading them onto ships and transporting across the ocean. This does cause the animals stress. However, the farmers and transport companies have the care of the animals as their absolute priority, as they lose money for each animal that arrive dead or in poor condition.
After a review by the Australian Government and the establishment of specific requirements that must be met by the importers of the live export animals, the ban was lifted in October 2011.
In early February, the Agricultural Minister, Senator Joe Ludwig, will lead a delegation to the Middle East to set up a set of regulations that meet international standards for livestock exported to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar. Like Indonesia, these countries are very important to the live export industry and setting up regulations that all agree with, is vital to the future of this important trade.
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Labelling claims must be true and permitted
Chapter One of the Food Standards Code contains the labelling requirements for food in Australia and New Zealand. It allows for specific claims and businesses are not permitted to make claims unless stated in the Code.
There has recently been a review of the labelling requirements and as part of this there will be changes made to what claims are allowed and how they may be written.
Alongside these requirements are those allowed according to our Trade Practices Act. This Act has a variety of parts but the fundamental principle throughout is that businesses can only make claims on their labelling that is true and can be substantiated.
Recently, one of the country’s largest poultry producers has been ordered to pay AU$ 100,000 penalty for making a misleading claim.
In this case the misleading claim on the packaging was that the birds in the producer’s sites in New South Wales and Victoria were “free to roam” This was found through an investigation by the Australian Consumer and Competition Commission to be incorrect and the Melbourne Federal Court heard that in fact, each bird had only the space equivalent of an A4 piece of paper.
This case and the resulting penalty, including the national advertisement that the producer had to do in newspapers, shows that making claims that are not true to get more sales or improve reputation is not acceptable and that businesses that do so will be caught and punished.
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Chocolate Master Competition
This May will see Australia’s best chocolatiers and pastry chefs busy at work creating amazing things at the Food Service Expo in Sydney. They will be competing for an envied and cherished spot in the World Chocolate Masters competition, which will be held at the 2012 Expo.
The competition is the Australian Qualifier for this premier culinary event, dedicated to only chocolate and the art created from it. It is an initiative by Cacao Barry and Callebaut Chocolate.
The pieces created must be completely chocolate and the next Masters Competition will be held in Paris in 2013. Australia did well in 2011 with Seung Yun Lee gaining fourth spot in a year that had an Aztec theme.
For pictures of the 2011 winners and their incredible creations, including the amazing necklaces, go to http://www.foodserviceaustralia.com.au/Content/World-Chocolate-Masters
The Expo will, for the first time, give people attending it to the opportunity to see this amazing competition and the beautiful creations as they are being made. It happens on 27 May 2012.
There will be six finalists competing at the Expo for the right to represent Australia in Paris and the chance to win $100,000 and wear the coveted title of World Chocolate Master.
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