From the Desk of the CEO

? Welcome to Fresh & Safe News – Volume 6

Greetings to our members and partners! As we stride into another dynamic period of progress, we’re thrilled to share the latest developments and initiatives shaping the landscape of fresh produce safety. Here are the key highlights from the vibrant world of FPSC-ANZ:

• Horticulture Food Safety Initiative (HFSI): The momentum behind our HFSI continues to build, as we forge ahead in elevating safety standards across the industry.
• Building Our Fresh Produce Safety Community of Practice: Our community is growing stronger each day, as passionate professionals come together to share insights, best practices, and resources to ensure the safety and quality of fresh produce.
• New Citrus Microbial Food Safety Guide: We’re excited to share the recent work from the NSW Department of Primary Industries—a comprehensive guide to citrus microbial food safety, enriching our collective knowledge and practices.
• FSANZ Resources for Food Safety in Horticulture: Access valuable resources and guidance from FSANZ to improve food safety practices within the horticulture sector.
• International Fresh Produce Safety Symposium (IFPSS): Programme development is almost finalised and we will soon be sharing details of our engaging speakers and programme content. Register now to take advantage of early bird ticket prices and join us for this enriching symposium where experts from around the globe will converge to CONNECT, COLLABORATE and CULTIVATE fresh produce safety.
• Fresh Insights on Food Safety Research Survey: Please participate and share widely to support our food safety research survey.
•  New Silver and Gold Pledgers: A warm welcome to our new Silver Pledger, T&G Global Limited, and heartfelt congratulations to Costa Group and IFPA A-NZ for their elevation to Gold Pledgers—a testament to their unwavering commitment to fresh produce safety.

Congratulations to NZGAP on 25 Years of Excellence: As we celebrate milestones within the fresh produce industry, we extend our heartfelt congratulations to NZGAP on reaching its remarkable 25-year anniversary. Over the past quarter-century, NZGAP has played a pivotal role in promoting sustainability, quality, and safety standards within New Zealand’s horticulture sector. We applaud NZGAP’s dedication to fostering excellence and innovation, and we look forward to continued collaboration in the years ahead.

These past months have been nothing short of bustling, filled with collaborative efforts and milestones. We extend our gratitude to each member of our community for their dedication and enthusiasm. Let’s continue to champion excellence in fresh produce safety together!

Warm regards,

Farzana Adams

Horticulture Food Safety Initiative Update
with Susannah Roelofsz

The Horticulture Food Safety Initiative (HFSI) aims to elevate Food Safety Standards in the ANZ Fresh Produce Industry with an initial focus on melons, berries, and leafy vegetables. We are pleased to share our latest progress update on this Project.

Governance and Stakeholder Engagement

The Project Reference Group (PRG) comprising of Key Stakeholders and Technical Advisors continues to meet regularly. As part of engagement, I have continued to meet with Key Stakeholders across Australia and New Zealand in the Fresh Produce Supply Chain. Thank you to everyone I have had the opportunity to engage with so far, and for sharing your food safety insights to inform the Projects activities.

Fresh Produce Safety Community of Practice (COP)

We held our third COP Meeting in March, which was attended virtually by COP Members across Australia and New Zealand, and across the Fresh Produce Supply Chain including Industry, Retail, Standard Owners, Regulatory, Peak Industry and Research Bodies. COP Membership has increased another 10% since the previous meeting. COP participants collaborate to share information and actively work on advancing the knowledge base of the fresh produce industry. It is anticipated that the COP will grow as the Project progresses, with a view to forming focus groups to address specific challenges and opportunities. If you are interested in joining our COP, please email: technical@fpsc-anz.com.

What’s next?

There are a number of activities in progress for Phase 3 of the Project. The Fresh Insights on Food Safety: A Research Survey of Fresh Produce Stakeholders in Australia and New Zealand, is currently underway. We’re conducting thorough surveys among growers, food safety managers in horticultural businesses, food safety researchers, experts and supply chain stakeholders in Australia and New Zealand to better understand current food safety knowledge and behaviours; identify opportunities for food safety support, research needs, and to inform food safety outreach strategies. Collaborating with the University of Sydney and the University of Otago, we are also conducting phone interviews, to ensure the broadest survey audience possible to gather food safety insights. If you would like to participate in a phone interview version of the research survey, please contact: technical@fpsc-anz.com.

The gap identification and bridging initiative is also making significant progress. We are identifying unmet needs and knowledge gaps within the industry, assessing current levels of involvement with food safety knowledge and evaluating available resources. Our goal is to develop strategies that effectively engage growers, particularly small businesses, in implementing food safety practices.

The Industry Engagement Plan is taking shape, with key deliverables focused on outlining strategies for effective engagement and knowledge transfer to growers. Engaging with Stakeholders will help us to shape extension materials and leveraging existing communication channels, we aim to effectively disseminate food safety information.

Finally, we are exploring various options for setting up a FPSC-ANZ helpdesk to provide technical support for industry members regarding fresh produce food safety issues. Stay tuned for more details…

If you have any feedback or suggestions as we progress with these listed activities, please contact Susannah at: technical@fpsc-anz.com

Technical Resources

Citrus Microbial Food Safety Guide

We are pleased to share a valuable resource on citrus food safety that has been recently published by NSW Department of Primary Industries. This newly published resource offers comprehensive information on best practice for citrus food safety, covering topics such as pre-harvest practices and post-harvest handling. The resource also addresses key issues related to microbial contamination, sanitation, risk assessment and preventative measures. We encourage you to take a look, whether you’re a citrus grower or supply chain participant in other commodities.

FSANZ Food Safety in Horticulture

FSANZ has a dedicated webpage focused on horticulture food safety. The webpage serves as a valuable hub for Stakeholders, providing a range of useful resources and information. Of particular importance are resources relating to the Primary Production and Processing Standards for berries, leafy vegetables and melons that come into effect 12 February 2025 in Australia.  Resources include the Horticulture Standards, Animations, InfoBites factsheets and external links, please click the button below:

Win a $250 Gift Card!

Fresh Insights on Food Safety: A Research Survey of Fresh Produce Stakeholders in Australia and New Zealand

FPSC-ANZ invites you to participate in our research survey aimed at improving food safety standards within the Australian and New Zealand Fresh Produce Industry. Your participation will help us to better understand Industry needs, gather insights, and identify opportunities for outreach, support and research. By sharing your experiences and perspectives, you can help us in tailoring food safety engagement strategies to meet the specific needs of growers, food safety managers, supply chain stakeholders, researchers, and experts.

Together, we can strengthen collaboration, elevate industry standards, and ensure the safety and quality of fresh produce for consumers. Help us to help you by sharing your insights – we are eager to hear from you. Thank you for your participation and commitment to building a safe future for our Industry.

WIN A $250 GIFT CARD!?Participants also have the chance to win a $250 Gift card upon completing the research survey. See Terms & Conditions of entry within the survey for more information.

The research survey includes 25 questions and will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. The closing date is Friday 10th May. To complete the survey, go to ?https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/2CRDRNH or click the button below.

Early Bird Tickets Ending Soon!

Food safety leader, food system futurist and author Frank Yiannas will be joined by leading international and regional experts who will deliver engaging and inspiring sessions as we CONNECT COLLABORATE CULTIVATE for a future of safe and sustainable fresh produce through science, innovation and collaboration.

A limited number of sponsorships & exhibitions are being offered to ensure maximum exposure and return on investment for every sponsor and exhibitor. The programme, which will be launched very soon, will include plenty of time across both days for networking. Our sponsors and exhibitors currently include Woolworths, Perfection Fresh, Merieux NutriSciences, GS1 Australia and Freshcare. For more information about sponsorship opportunities, contact FPSC CEO Farzana Adams. For information about exhibition spaces, contact FPSC Communications & Events Officer Jody Sharpe.

Early bird ticket sales are ending soon! Don’t miss your chance to secure discounted pricing.

Delegates can also access discounted accommodation by phoning the Novotel Sydney Brighton Beach directly on +61 2 9556 5111 and quoting the code FPS200824.

IFPA A-NZ Pledges Ongoing Support

The International Fresh Produce Association A-NZ is a founding partner of the Fresh Produce Safety Centre ANZ. We are thrilled to announce that IFPA A-NZ is continuing to support the FPSC-ANZ as a gold pledger. We look forward to working together as we strive for a future of safe and sustainable fresh produce through science, innovation and collaboration.