AUSTRALIA'S major supermarkets will adopt a standardised food safety audit system.
Aldi, Coles, Costco, Metcash (IGA) and Woolworths have all signed on to the Harmonised Australian Retailer Produce Scheme (HARPS).
Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Senator Anne Ruston announced the scheme while officially opening the Produce Marketing Association Australia New Zealand's Fresh Connections in Brisbane this month.
In what is considered to be a global first, the five leading grocery retailers have agreed to one single standard for food safety in fresh produce.
A pilot launch of the new program will take place in the coming months, with the full standardised food safety initiative expected to begin by the end of the year.
According to PMA A-NZ, growers will benefit by having a single system to maintain and audit, while the industry will benefit from lower costs of doing business, greater efficiencies in quality assurance and improved food safety outcomes across the entire fresh produce supply chain.
Horticulture Innovation Australia (HIA) has funded the scheme.
HIA CEO John Lloyd said the model was being collaboratively driven by the horticulture sector using cross-industry levy funds.
“Currently, Australia’s leading grocery retailers all have varying food safety requirements that whole fruit and vegetable growers adhere to as part of the supermarket supply process,” he said.
Mr Lloyd said this new measure will bring down the number of audit elements required to supply the nation’s major grocery retailers from more than 200 combined, to around 60, while strengthening food quality standards through the acceptance of internationally benchmarked auditing programs.
“This new streamlined food safety audit initiative is a win for an estimated 14,000 growers across Australia who currently supply the nation’s leading fresh produce retailers,” he said.
“It will lower the cost of doing business for the industry, which is estimated to save growers and producers around $40 million per year through more efficient auditing processes,” he said.
Mr Lloyd thanked the supermarkets for their commitment to the scheme
Metcash CEO Supermarkets (IGA) Steven Cain said food health, safety and the well-being of its customers was a key priority within the stores.
"This initiative is another step in building onto our existing process to ensure our customers that the produce we stock meets the new harmonised standards,” Mr Cain said.
Ashley Walmsley
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
Ashley Walmsley is the editor of ACM's only national, fresh produce magazine, Good Fruit & Vegetables, while also covering horticulture stories for the agricultural papers and websites. He also writes the weekly, The Ringer, column in the Qld Country Life.
