BUSINESS quality assurance

NEW legislation will take effect from February 12 next year due to a foodborne illness assessment on August 12, 2022, after which the Australian Government passed new primary production and processing standards (PPP) for berries, leafy vegetables and melons.

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) says, “the standards aim to strengthen food safety management onfarm and during initial processing to reduce food safety risks along the supply chain from farm to fork”.

The legislation does not take effect until February 12, 2025. This means industry has less than 12 months to prepare for the changes. The countdown has well and truly started. All businesses must now begin to take the time to understand these new standards and if/how they affect their operations.

“ … the standards aim to strengthen food safety management onfarm and during initial processing to reduce food safety risks along the supply chain from farm to fork ”

The three new standards are as follows and can be found online in the Food Standards Code:

• Standard 4.2.7: PPP for berries (blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry and other berries)
• Standard 4.2.8: PPP for leafy vegetables (cabbage, kale, Asian leafy greens, leafy herbs, uncooked leaves, silverbeet, microgreens and spring onions).
• Standard 4.2.9: PPP for melons (rockmelon, piel de sapo, honeydew, watermelon and others).

In Western Australia, the above standards will be governed by the State and Local governments under WA’s Food Act (2008). Compliance will be mandatory for all businesses that undertake primary production (ie growing, harvesting, etc) and primary processing (ie trimming, washing/sanitising, grading, storage, transportation, etc).

Berry, leafy vegetables and melon businesses will need to document and manage their equipment/ premises, health/hygiene/training/knowledge and product traceability under these standards.

I am a certified Freshcare business – must I change?

No. All businesses certified to Freshcare FSQ4.2 or Freshcare SC2 will be required to register with their local government prior to February 12, 2025. You will need to submit the following documents as part of the registration process (more information to come once the process has been finalised by WA Health): M1 Scope, M1 Flowchart and M1 Property Map (you must submit multiple maps if you have multiple sites on the scope of the certification).

What if my GFSI certification is not Freshcare?

Standards such as SQF and Global G.A.P. are compliant. However, as with Freshcare’s programs, you will need to register and submit similar system documents prior to February 12, 2025. For more detailed information, contact your local government to discuss what documentation will be required for registration because the documentation in these programs is not necessarily of the same format (as is the case in Freshcare’s programs).

I do not want to maintain my GFSI scheme accreditation moving forward – will this comply?

This is a complicated question, so it may be worthwhile giving this some thought. From February 12, 2025, you will be required to demonstrate that your business complies with all elements of the standards following registration (as above). This compliance can be achieved either by combination of regulatory mechanisms (routine inspections to be conducted by local government environmental health officers [EHO]) or non-regulatory mechanisms (ie via a GFSI scheme certification).

If you choose to cease certification under a GFSI scheme, you will need to be subject to EHO routine inspections of production sites, facilities, premises and documentation relating to production of these crops. (Businesses that handle berries will not be subject to routine inspections, but will still need to keep records demonstrating compliance to the standards. Random inspections may still occur, and breaches will be enforced under the Act from February 12, 2025.) More information to come as the details are finalised by WA Health.

I do not produce/process any of these crops – will I be affected?

At the time of writing, the information is that if you do not produce/handle (as defined above) berries, leafy vegetables and melons after February 12, 2025, you will not be subject to any of the legislation. If your business circumstances change, you will need to conduct due diligence to ensure you comply with the legislation.