CHANGES are on the way for melon growers to improve food safety, following this month’s listeria outbreak linked to rockmelons.
The industry is reviewing the farming and processing practices of Qld farmers and is working with all rockmelon growers throughout Australia.
The Australian Melon Association has implemented new safety guidelines for farmers, invested in development to bolster practices and partnered with State health authorities to drive compliance to ensure consumer safety.
It’s estimated the industry has lost $15 million since the news of the contamination, with losses up to $60m if confidence is not restored.
The NSW Food Authority is confident all affected produce has been removed from the market and the rockmelons currently for sale and export are not contaminated.
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Australian Melon industry development manager, Dianne Fullelove, announced the safety initiatives today in a bid to restore consumer confidence in the industry.
“Safety is our priority. As an industry we are dedicated to regaining the confidence of our consumers,” Ms Fullelove said.
“We are partnering with farmers and State health authorities to ensure all melons on the market are safe to eat.
“The future of the industry is reliant on consumer confidence that rockmelons in Australia are grown and processed to the highest safety standards internationally.”
Safe food guidelines for all melon farmers focus on stringent safety practices in the growing and processing stages, including:
- Sanitisation;
- Hygiene and cleaning;
- Tracing and record keeping.
Ms Fullelove said the industry were anticipating the NSW Food Authority’s report on investigations into the farm which has been identified as responsible for producing the contaminated melons.
“Understanding how the contamination occurred is fundamental to ensuring that it never happens again,” she said.
“We have been in touch with all our farmers – and they are committed to ensure they employ the very best processes.
“Our farmers have been impacted substantially by this incident. We are working closely with our farmers and retailers to ensure rockmelons are back on the supermarket shelves and consumers understand they are safe to eat.”
Growers to meet
THE Melon Association is helping coordinate a series of meetings to better inform growers of the situation.
Grower meetings in the northern region which is the next area to commence supply will happen at:
- Ayr Research Station: Tuesday March 27, 3 – 5pm;
- Katherine Research Station: Wednesday, April 11.
A meeting will also be held in Bundaberg and Chinchilla in April with dates to be confirmed.
There will also be short-term individual sessions with current supplying WA growers, funded by the WA state government.
Mareeba District Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association president, Joe Moro, said while there were only a handful of melon growers in his region, the deadly outbreak highlighted the seriousness around food security.
“The listeria outbreak has been devastating for those families impacted and our condolences go out to these people,” Mr Moro said.
“As growers of high quality fresh produce, food security is extremely important and we are committed to ensuring our produce complies with national food standards by implementing stringent on-farm protocols.”
Mr Moro said rockmelons were grown on a small scale in Lakeland and on several farms near Mareeba.
The northern harvest will start mid-year.
He said melon growers would be facing extreme financial hardship in wake of the devastating outbreak, and support for the industry was critical.
He encouraged consumers to follow advice and warnings from health organisations such as Qld Health if they had any concerns about eating rockmelons.