The Fresh Produce Safety Centre celebrates its first anniversary today.

On 26 May 2014 the Fresh Produce Safety Centre was registered with ASIC as a not for profit company limited by guarantee; and it officially opened its doors on 27 May 2014.

The FPSC was established by the PMA A-NZ and the University of Sydney with support from Horticulture Innovation Australia and a broad range of founding supporters. Its aim is to enhance fresh produce safety across Australia and New Zealand through research, outreach and education.

“We are delighted that the FPSC has reached this significant milestone and we look forward to consolidating and expanding our work around fresh produce safety in Australia and New Zealand,” said FPSC Chairman and CEO of PMA A-NZ, Michael Worthington.

“The fresh produce industry can be proud of the collaborative approach taken in forming the Fresh Produce Safety Centre: we thank all those industry organisations, stakeholders and individuals who have engaged with the work of the FPSC,” Mr Worthington said.

Significant milestones to benefit the fresh produce industries of Australia and New Zealand have been achieved in the FPSC’s first year of operations, including:

  • Establishment of the FPSC as a legal entity registered with ASIC on 26 May 2014
  • The role and scope of FPSC defined and communicated to industry
  • Affiliation with the Center for Produce Safety
  • Funds raised for and initiation of two R&D projects: the Guidelines for Fresh Produce Food Safety and Understanding the Gaps – a Food Safety Literature Review
  • Request for Proposals (RFP) launched and awarded for Understanding the Gaps.
  • Comprehensive outreach program delivered during the project term, including:
    • Successful launch conference delivered in 11 August 2014
    • Industry roundtable in New Zealand on 24 February 2015
    • Balanced and informed commentary provided around food safety incidents
    • 31 e-Newsletters prepared and distributed to industry contacts
    • 21 blog posts and 229 news updates provided on the Fresh Produce Safety Centre website
    • 19 presentations made to industry and regulatory bodies
    • 21 meetings with key stakeholder groups
    • 34 articles appearing in the media about the Fresh Produce Safety Centre.

The Fresh Produce Safety Centre has released an outreach summary encompassing its first year of operation. The summary can be found here.

We thank all of our supporters and partners over our first year of operations, as listed below.

In addition to the establishment funding provided by Horticulture Innovation Australia, the Fresh Produce Safety Centre’s supporters are:

Platinum supporters: Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd | PMA Australia-New Zealand Limited | University of Sydney | Woolworths Ltd

Silver supporters: Freshcare Limited | Harris Farm Markets Pty Ltd | Horticulture New Zealand | Perfection Fresh Australia Pty Ltd | Primo Moraitis Fresh Pty Limited | Zespri Group Limited

Bronze supporters: Australian Mango Industry Association (AMIA) | Chamber of Fruit & Vegetable Industries in Western Australia (Inc)  | Fresh Markets Australia | GS1 Australia Ltd | Kalfresh Pty Ltd | Living Foods NZ | MG Marketing Limited and LaManna Limited | Mulgowie Farming Company | Nufarm Australia Limited | OneHarvest Pty Ltd | Premier Fruits Group Pty Ltd | Sci Qual International Pty Ltd | TQA Australia

Sponsors of FPSC R&D projects, conferences and events over the past year have included:
Arrow Scientific |AUS-QUAL |Coles Supermarkets Australia Pty Ltd | Fresh Select |Freshcare Limited | FreshTest Australia | Food Innovation Australia Ltd | GSF Australasia and Snap Fresh Foods |
Heat and Control |Houston’s Farm | N2N Global |NSW Food Authority |NSW Trade and Investment | Perfection Fresh Australia Pty Ltd | Pipfruit New Zealand |Sci Qual International Pty Ltd | Woolworths Ltd | Zespri Group Limited

The Fresh Produce Safety Conference 2015, the next major outreach event of the FPSC, will be held on 12 August 2015. Visit fpsc2015.com

Further information about the Fresh Produce Safety Centre is available at freshproducesafety-anz.com or please contact FPSC Executive Director Emma Walters on +61 2 8627 1058 or FPSC Technology Manager Richard Bennett on +61 429 329 731.

Click here to download this FPSC media release (PDF, 343 KB)