News
April 20, 2022
Food Processing is an integral part of Australia’s food supply chain, with the industry employing nearly 34,000 people nationally. Are you one of them?
If the answer is yes, then you probably understand the critical importance of food safety in the food industry. However, understanding its importance is just one piece of the puzzle; in order to uphold the highest standards of food safety, you must acquire the specific knowledge and expertise needed to successfu…
February 24, 2022
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has proposed changes to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. The changes are meant to strengthen food safety practices and reduce the number of food-borne illnesses caused by food service and closely related retail businesses.
These changes come after an assessment done in 2018 found that a large number of food-borne illnesses reported were linked to food service and retail sectors.
“The majority of busine…
January 28, 2022
The Food Insights Questionnaire (FoodIQ), conducted by the Centre for Global Food and Resources (CGFAR) Research Centre at the University of Adelaide, is a twice-yearly survey that asks approximately 1,000 food shoppers in Australia about their attitudes towards food and food safety. Among the questionnaire topics include:
Household food costs
Food choice influences
Personal food consumption
Concerns about food safety
Changes to protein or meat consumptio…
December 23, 2021
Last month, Food Standard Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) recalled oysters grown in the Coffin Bay area of South Australia due to a Vibrio parahaemolyticus outbreak. At least 36 Vibrio cases after Coffin Bay oyster consumption were reported in South Australia, with many more in other areas of the country.
The recall included fresh and frozen raw Pacific oysters with production dates from September 4, 2021 to November 16, 2021. The oysters were sold in grocery sto…
November 30, 2021
The Queensland government has released its plans to ease restrictions for fully vaccinated individuals once the state reaches its 80 percent double dose vaccination target for Queensland residents aged 16 years and older. This milestone is expected to take place on December 17, 2021.
Venues or activities that only allow access to fully vaccinated people can operate without any density restrictions starting December 17. Contact tracing through the Check-In Qld a…
October 28, 2021
New South Wales and Victoria have reached vaccination milestones this October, making it possible for the states to ease lockdown restrictions and move forward with their reopening roadmaps.
“Every citizen in the state has made huge sacrifices in the past couple of months to keep ourselves, our loved ones and our communities safe,” said NSW Treasurer Matt Kean. “As restrictions start to ease and we reach key milestones in our Roadmap, we have to get business ba…
September 20, 2021
New South Wales has set benchmarks for reopening and loosening current COVID-19 restrictions: when 70 percent of eligible residents are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and when 80 percent have received both doses.
“There’s still more work to do to push those vaccination rates higher and everyone must continue to follow the lockdown rules until we reach that 70 per cent double dose target,” said Premier Gladys Berejiklian, “when further restrictions can be ea…
January 6, 2021
At the start of the new year, the New South Wales government has implemented a range of COVID-19 restrictions and business requirements in order to help stop the spread of COVID-19. It's essential that food businesses know exactly what is required of them and what rules they need to follow at this time. Doing so ensures that businesses remain compliant and help reduce the growing cases of COVID-19.
Here's the latest information on what NSW businesses need to kn…
June 8, 2020
In recognition of the United Nation’s World Food Safety Day on June 7, the Food Safety Information Council has released a report card on Australia’s food safety record. The report card acknowledges significant changes in food-borne illness in Australia and addresses some areas of concern that still need improvement.
In Australia, there are an estimated 4.1 million cases of food-borne illness each year. There are approximately 31,920 hospitalisations and 86 deat…
May 20, 2020
After extended closures to the public due to COVID-19, food businesses have finally been given the green light to offer dine-in services in most Australian states and territories. This is good news for food businesses such as restaurants and pubs, which have had to close their physical premises and switch to takeaway or home delivery methods. Reopenings can begin immediately in all states and territories, excluding Victoria. Food businesses in Victoria can begin…
March 27, 2020
An email was sent out to all food businesses across the state by the NSW Food Authority. This email was to inform food businesses of their newly released guidelines on how navigate the COVID-19 crisis.
The guidelines discuss the food safety effects from COVID-19, workforce impacts of the pandemic and practical actions that food businesses can take to protect their staff.
Key things every food businesses needs to know
Important points shared in the published i…
March 12, 2020
Since December 2019, a novel (new) coronavirus has spread and has been reported in 60 countries worldwide. It was first reported in Wuhan City, China, which has seen the highest number of infected people and deaths from the virus. Currently, the amount of cases in Australia is low, and the most up-to-date status of worldwide cases can be found in the World Health Organization’s situation report, which is updated daily. As of February 2020, the virus has been off…
January 31, 2020
A study was conducted by researchers at Flinders University on minced lamb from a supermarket in South Australia. In the study, 79 samples of 500g lamb mince packages were purchased three times per week for six months, between April and September 2017. The result was the discovery of Toxoplasma gondii in more than one third of the minced lamb that was sampled.
The presence of Toxoplasma gondii is not limited to South Australia. Researchers indicate that their f…
November 12, 2019
Epicurean Dairy Limited, which makes dairy products under "The Collective" brand, and its former directors have been fined $483,000 NZD for repeatedly failing to report positive Listeria results taken from the company's factory in Avondale.
Epicurean Dairy Limited, whose products include yoghurt, puddings and ‘suckies' for children, and the company's former general manager, Angus Allan, pleaded guilty to 10 charges of failing to report positive environmental Li…
October 20, 2019
Salmonella Hessarek, South Australia
The Communicable Diseases Intelligence (CDI) journal — a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the Department of Health — has released a report on the rare Salmonella serotype that caused an outbreak in Australia from 2017 to 2018.
The report, authored by a team of researchers from the Department for Health and Wellbeing, SA Health, examines a protracted outbreak of Salmonella hessarek (S. Hessarek) infection linked…