WA Food Industry Awards

The Westpac Food and Beverage Industry Awards for 2009 have been presented and there are some very interesting award winners. The Awards are an initiative run by the, Food Industry Association of WA (FIA).

Challenge Australia has done exceptionally well by taking the award for “Best Business of the Year” and picked up the prize for “Excellence in the Supply Chain”. This is quite a new business to Western Australia and is a joint venture between Challenge Dairy Cooperative (WA’s only Dairy Farmer Cooperative) and QAF Ltd Singapore.

The FIA Chief Executive Officer, Andrea Berteit, said that there had been an overwhelming number of businesses nominating for the awards, as well as the very high standard of the those nominations. “We received over 100 entries from almost 50 companies operating in WA ranging from large multinationals to regional companies supplying niche products and services,” she advised. “The nominations demonstrated the industry’s increasing integration from farm to market and its ability to innovate and compete on a national and international level. The achievements of these companies are indicative of just what our WA industry can offer to consumers and the WA community, and the importance of creating value beyond the farm gate.”
The winners of the other awards were;

Harvest fresh Cuts - “Best Retail Product” - for their ready-to-heat baby potatoes with parsley and butter.
The Chia Company - “Innovation Prize’ - for establishing Chia seed in WA. The Chia Company has become the world’s largest producer of Chia.

The Village Kitchen - “Best Food Service Category” - for their contribution in the area of portion controlled desserts to major hospitals across WA.

Alba Edible Oils - “Environment and Sustainability” award - for their outstanding commitment to sustainability and environmental practices without sacrificing profitability and long term viability.

WR Carpenter - “Export” award - for their achievements in exporting Wagyu beef to markets in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and Singapore

TSW Analytical - “Best Service to Industry” award - for their contribution to the WA pork industry in achieving full traceability.

IGA - “Best Marketing Campaign” award - for their campaign to encourage the sale of WA products