So what is the best dairy product in Australia for 2018?

The overall Grand Champion of the 19^th  Australian Grand Dairy Awards  was a Salted Pistachio Gelato, which according to the judges had a “superb texture” and “rich pistachio flavour”.

The  people’s choice was a Passionately Passionfruit Yoghurt

Convener of the Australian Grand Dairy Awards, Amanda Menegazzo, said “The awards are the crème de la crème of dairy and a fantastic opportunity for local farmers and producers to be recognised on a national scale for their talent, hard work and making a positive contribution to the dairy industry.”

The following is the full list of all categories and winners;

 

Category	Champion Product	Producer
Fresh Unripened Cheese	Montefiore Ovoline	Montefiore Cheese
White Mould Cheese	King Island Dairy Discovery Ash Brie 175g	Lion Dairy & Drinks-King Island
Semi Hard/Eye Cheese	Section28 Monforte	Section28 Artisan Cheeses
Cheddar Cheese	Bega Heritage Reserve Vintage Cheddar	Bega Cheese
Hard Cheese	Mil Lel Superior Parmesan	Warrnambool Cheese and Butter Factory
Blue Cheese	Berrys Creek Tarwin Blue	Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese
Washed Rind/Mixed Rind Cheese	Woombye Blackall Gold Washed Rind	Woombye Cheese Company
Flavoured Cheese	Section 28 Monte Diavolo	Section 28 Artisan Cheeses
Goat’s/Sheep’s/Buffalo Milk Cheese	Berrys Creek Riverine Blue	Berrys Creek Gourmet Cheese
Natural Yoghurt	Jalna Greek Natural Yoghurt	Jalna Dairy Foods
Flavoured Yoghurt	Mundella Greek Honey Yoghurt	Mundella Foods
Ice Cream	Gundowring Licorice Ice Cream	Gundowring Fine Foods
Dairy Gelato	Pure Gelato Salted Pistachio	Pure Gelato
Milk	Maleny Dairies Farmers Choice Guernsey Non-Homogenised Full Cream Milk	Maleny Dairies
Specialty White Dairy Drink	Masters HiLo	Lion Dairy & Drinks-Bentley
Flavoured Dairy Drink	Dare Iced Coffee Double Espresso	Lion Dairy & Drinks-Malanda
Cream	The Little Big Dairy Co Pure Double Cream	The Little Big Dairy Company
Butter, Flavoured Butter or Butter Blend	Western Star Chef’s Choice Unsalted Cultured Butter	Fonterra Brands (Aust)-Cobden

All information coming from those making predictions for the 2018 trends agrees that consumers are becoming  “mindful”.

What does this mean?

It is believed that these consumers are no longer predominately driven by price, issues like what is in the food and where did that come from are now important. As is the whole idea of “real” and what the food business is doing to be real and involved. Value is what is now increasingly important.

Consumer want to feel good about the food they are eating – not only  from the nutrtion but the company making that food.

Food businesses from factories to cafes have got to include this in their marketing plans or they will lose sales.

This is not just in Australia, but worldwide and shows that we are all becoming aware of how we and what we do and eat impacts on the world around us.

Food businesses have to recognise their part.

So how can they do this;

1. Find ways to communicate value and be seen as open and real – in other words a brand they can trust.
2. Use your marketing and products to educate consumers about your product and how it was made – they are looking for it to be as clean as possible. Minimal ingredients and processing is the ideal. Tell them about your special ingredients and where they come from.
3. Make consumers see you as the leader in your area – great nutrition, sustainability practices, waste practices etc etc
4. Reduce sizes but better value to help combat  obesity and increased diabetes rates
5. Price and discounts are not the future, increased value increases sales. Reducing prices reduces margins and most likely impacts on staff morale – lower productivity and efficiency

So what does this all have to do with food safety – the answer is heaps.

Why?

Regardless of what consumers are now looking for, the fundamental concept of every consumer is that the food they buy will be safe for them to eat.

Nothing kills a business quicker than a food poisoning or even the sniff of one.

This change in thinking by food businesses to get and maintain sales cannot come at the cost of reducing the most important requirement of any food business – making and selling safe food.

The following is the latest media release from the Food Safety Information Council Ltd and is include here with permission.

As the academic year begins, the Food Safety Information Council, together with their member Cater Care, have launched a food safety tips poster for young people leaving home to start university and college.

Council Chair, Rachelle Williams, said that young people are at risk of getting food poisoning.

‘While the highest recorded rates of Campylobacter and Salmonella cases are among small children under 5 years old there is also a peak for those aged between 20 and 25 years old which is the age group that many young people leave home for the first time.

‘Our consumer research shows young people are likely to have poorer knowledge of food safety basics such as washing hands, correct cooking temperatures, riskier foods and fridge safety. This is of particular concern as one of the part time jobs that young people are likely to take is working as a food handler.

‘Students also tend to live in shared accommodation where the hygiene of the communal kitchen and fridge is easily neglected. There are an estimated 4.1 million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year and a case of gastro can seriously ruin the fun of those first few months away from home.

‘By following these five simple tips, you can help ensure that you, and people you cook for, are safe from food poisoning:

• CLEAN – wash hands with soap and running water before handling food, wash the dishes regularly and keep the kitchen clean
• CHILL – keep the fridge at 5°C or below and clean it out regularly. Bring your takeaway straight home and refrigerate any leftovers within 2 hours and use or freeze them within 3 days
• COOK – cook poultry or minced products to 75°C in the centre, be aware of the risk of raw or minimally cooked egg dishes.
• SEPARATE – prevent cross contamination especially between raw meat or poultry and other foods that won’t be cooked like salads
• DON’T COOK FOR OTHERS IF YOU HAVE GASTRO – you could make them sick too so ask someone else to cook or get a takeaway.

‘The Food Safety Information Council would like to thanks our member Cater Care for developing this poster which can be downloaded here, ’ Ms Williams concluded.

Media contact:

Lydia Buchtmann, Food Safety Information Council, 0407 626 688 or info@foodsafety.asn.au

Cater Care are an award winning provider of food services to residential schools and colleges, tuckshops, TAFE providers, halls of residence, university refectories and more see www.catercare.com

There has long been an issue about what is a free range egg. Consumers have been confused, as has the egg industry.

Well, hopefully that is one issue which has been addressed, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC)  National Information Standard on Free Range Eggs becoming operational on 26 April 2018.

The Standard requires that egg producers meet specific criteria if they want to use “free range” in either words or images on their packaging and in promotion.

The primary criteria is that there must be no more than 10000 hens per hectare, and that these hens must have “meaningful and regular” access to the outdoors. This outdoor access must be during the laying cycle and in daylight, which will allow the hens to roam and forage.

The actual interpretation of what is ‘meaningful” is not clearly explained and so could be a potential loophole.

The ACCC Chairman, Rod Sims said; “The guidance helps explains what could be considered misleading and deceptive conduct when it comes to the new free range standard. If egg producers use images, pictures, or words, other than free range, that imply their eggs are free range when they are not, this would likely raise concerns under the Australian Consumer Law.The ACCC is monitoring the market to ensure that free range claims are truthful and accurate and will continue to take action against those that don’t.”

Consumers have been confused and many have had the feeling that they may have been not getting actual free range eggs, even though they pay a premium for them. With the new Standard in place from april, it is hoped that this confusion will be relieved.

Even though we now have a clear definition of what is required to be able to say that eggs are free range, there is still a strong push to change that definition. Choice is advocating that the number of hens per hectare should be dramatically reduced to a maximum of 1500.

This is obviously still an ongoing issue.

The new Standard can be found at

https://www.accc.gov.au/publications/accc-enforcement-guidance-free-range-hen-egg-claims

Food safety is a legal requirement for food businesses but there is more to food safety that just what business do.

There are four  contributors to food safety;

• International law and science
• Government
• Business
• Consumers

No country operates alone and in food safety, this is even more important. There are scientists, Microbiologists and Technologists around the world involved in developing new processes, test methods, equipment and techniques. This helps set the regulations and processes used and applied in this country. Food Standards Australia New Zealand has close working relations with all other food safety organisations around the world. All our proposals and applications to change the Food Standards Code are reviewed against what is happening internationally. So we are all operating to the same best practice.

According to the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution, health is the responsibility of the state governemnts, which is why each has a Food Act. This is where the definitions and penalties are to be found. It was agreed around 20 years ago that each state and territory would have the same food safety requirements  to ensure national consistency – this is the Food Safety Standards in the Food Standards Code.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand is the national body responsible for the development of these Standards and does so in conjunction with each of the states and territories.

The local Councils across the country have the role of enforcing these Standards. So the government at all levels has a major part to play in food safety in this country.

However it is the food businesses which have to comply with these Standards. For some a food safety program is required and for others the requirements are less onerous. For all controlling temperatures, cleaning, stock rotation, allergen control, hygiene, GMP are just the basics all businesses need to have in place.If all happens as required, the likelihood of food poisoning is dramatically reduced.

At the end of the day, it does not matter how good the laws are or how a food business manages and controls it, food safety is a consumer responsibility. If we do not keep our food hot when it needs to be or cold when required, our hands washed, everything clean, and our use by dates / best before under control then we run the very real risk of making our friends and families sick.

So who ultimately is responsible for food safety in this country.? The answer is very simple – we all are and if we all do as we need to, then we will stop the 4.1 million cases of food poisoning each year in Australia.

I was shopping this week and it was nearing dinner time (I should have remembered my Nan’s advice “ never go shopping when you are hungry”) so picked up something from the freezer to take home to heat up for dinner.

It was  a potato product with four pieces in the packet.

Whe I opened up the pack I was pleasantly surprised to find that the four pieces were the only thing in the packet.

Why was I so surprised?

The last time I  did the same thing (I really should take my Nan’s advice!!!!!!) the cardboard pack contained a plastic bag, which then contained a plastic tray, which then contained the actual food. Three lots of packaging for a product weighing less than 400g. Why?

To make it worse, that was not an isolated incident – most packed frozen food are done in much the same way.

Why?

I can buy a frozen product from the UK, with only one type of packaging, which has travelled thousands of kilometres and it arrives perfectly fine in my home.

Why are other manufacturers adding to our ridiculous waste problem by using so much more packaging than is needed? It is not only an environmental issue but a cost to these businesses.

What would make them pay all the extra for the unneeded packaging?

There has to be a change in how manuafacturers are developing their products and the associated packaging to reduce their costs and the impact their product and businesses are having on the environment. Until that happens waste and costs will continue to increase.

It is like a business I know which is about to build a new building and is not making sustainability the most important part of the design process.

Most people think of sustainability as being all about being green and environmentally friendly.

It is not about that at all – it is basically about saving money.

The only problem with it, is that it sometimes requiring spending money in the short term to be able to get significant savings in the long term. There is always more money saved / earnt than it costs to set it done.

Businesses and their managers must be prepared to take the long term view.

Like these packaged up manufacturers, most businesses do not do full and complete cost benefit analyses as part of the design process – whether it be for new building or food products.

This full cost benefit analysis must have the sustainability impact and costs included, or we will continue to get the stupidity of building with lights on all day and the resulting electricity usage (instead of free lighting from skylights) or food products with three type of packaging.

The following is the latest media release from the Food Safety Information Council Ltd and is included here with permission.

A BBQ on Australia Day is a great tradition but with cases of Salmonella and Campylobacter food poisoning continuing to be high the Food Safety Information Council is recommending using a meat thermometer.

Council Chair, Rachelle Williams, said there were over 25,000 cases of Campylobacter food poisoning infections and nearly 16,500 Salmonella infections reported to health authorities in Australia during 2017.

‘These infections are often linked to undercooking high-risk foods like sausages, hamburgers and poultry all of which should be cooked to 75°C. The only way you know these foods are cooked correctly is to use a meat thermometer.

‘So before you fire up your Australia Day barbie make sure you have a meat thermometer handy, you can pick them up from wherever they sell BBQs or any homeware shop. Then follow these 6 BBQ food safety tips:

1. Use a meat thermometer to check high risk foods like sausages, hamburgers and poultry are safely cooked to 75°C in the thickest part
2. You can cook the centre of whole pieces of beef, lamb and other red meats to your taste as long as the surface is well browned.
3. Whole pieces of pork taste best if cooked between 70°C and 75°C then left to rest for 3 to 5 minutes
4. You can cook fish to around 69°C or when flesh flakes easily.
5. Don’t put cooked meat back on the same plate that the raw meat was on as it will get re-contaminated by bacteria
6. Keep raw meat away from other foods that won’t be cooked like salads and desserts.

‘Finally make sure you wash your hands with soap and dry thoroughly before handling food and after handling raw meat. If you want to keep any BBQ leftovers make sure they are refrigerated within 2 hours,’ Ms Williams concluded.

The Food Safety Information Council is a health promotion charity and Australia’s leading disseminator of consumer-targeted food safety information. The Council aims to address the estimated 4.1 million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year that result in 31,920 hospitalisations, 86 deaths and 1 million visits to doctors on average each year.

Media contact:

Lydia Buchtmann, Food Safety Information Council, 0407 626 688 or info@foodsafety.asn.au

I have to admit that I was astounded to see Hot Cross buns in my local supermarket two weeks after Christmas.

It really seems like this Easter food, which is traditionally only eaten on Good Friday, is no longer considered as just a religious related food, it is now becoming a food for a good part of the year. Although we have an early Easter this year, it still seems that the Hot Cross bun is appearing earlier and earlier each year.

It feels  a lot like, when one festival is over, the requirement is to bring in the next festival / event related food as soon as possible.

In fact, according to Woolworths, 10 million buns were sold in their stores in January 2017, nearly three months before Good Friday.

Christmas stuff seemed to be in stores in September last year and then there was all the material and foods around for Halloween ages before the end of October.

It is about sales, but these wouldn’t happen without customers.

So I guess it raises the question – who is driving the sales? Is it the retailer putting the foods out to tempt people into buying them or is the customer demanding these products?

It’s a sort of chicken and egg question really.

But one thing for certain the festival / event foods sure are in the supermarkets earlier than they have ever been – don’t you think?

Is it something you want to see (buy) or are you more of the traditionalist and only have the Hot Cross Buns, Christmas Pudding, etc etc at the traditional time of the year?

The following are current national recalls in Australia. This information is provided with permission from Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

 

Mamee Monster Rice Sticks Vegetable Flavour and Mamee Crunchy Snacks

Originally published: 12/01/2018

Update published: 19/01/2018

• Mamee Monster Rice Sticks Vegetable Flavour 6 pack 120g
• Mamee Monster Rice Sticks Vegetable Flavour 10 pack 200g
• Mamee Crunchy Snacks 8pack 152g

Best Before: All Best Before dates from 04 Sept 2018 to 11 Dec 2018

ABC Sales & Marketing Pty Ltd is conducting a recall of the above products. These products have been available for sale at Coles, Woolworths, Big W, selected IGA stores and independent retailers nationally.

Problem: The recall is due to the presence of an undeclared allergen (gluten).

Food safety hazard: Any consumers who have a gluten allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed.

What to do: Consumers who have a gluten allergy or intolerance should not consume this product and should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Country of Origin: Malaysia

For further information please contact:

ABC Sales & Marketing Pty Ltd

(08) 8269 4143 08:30am to 05:00pm

www.mamee.com.au

 

Leggo’s Basil Pesto 190g

Best Before Date: 1 12 19 08164

Simplot Australia is conducting a consumer recall of the above product. The recalled product has been available for sale in Woolworths (TAS, VIC), Coles (SA, TAS, VIC, WA) and IGAs, Foodland and Foodworks (SA, WA).

Problem: The recall is due to the presence of an undeclared allergen (cashew nut). Note: Label contains warning statement for Tree Nuts, and lists the presence of almonds but fails to reflect the presence of cashew nuts.

Food Safety Hazard: Any consumers who have a cashew nut allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed.

The recall applies only to the above product with the nominated size, best before date and batch code. No other Simplot Australia or Leggo’s products are affected by this recall.

Simplot is greatly concerned about any risks to our consumers.

This recall is being undertaken to ensure the safety of our consumers.

We apologise for any inconvenience.

What to do: Any consumers concerned about their health should seek medical advice. Customers should return the product to the place of purchase for a full cash refund.

Country of Origin: Australia

For further information please telephone Simplot’s Consumer Information Service on 1800 061 279 (Australia)

Simplot Australia Pty Ltd

Chifley Business Park, 2 Chifley Drive

Mentone, Victoria, 3194

 

Coles Potato Salad

Use by date: 250g, Use By 27 JAN 2018

The recalled product has been available for sale from January 15th 2018 in Coles Supermarkets and Coles Online in  NSW, ACT, VIC, SA, NT, & TAS

Problem: The recall is due to the presence of undeclared allergens – gluten/wheat.

Food Safety Hazard: Any consumers who have a gluten and/or wheat allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed.

What to do:

Consumers who have a gluten and/or wheat allergy or intolerance should not consume this product.

Customers should return the product to the place of purchase for a full cash refund.  Coles Online customers should contact the Coles Online call centre on 1800 455 400 to arrange credit.

Contact details:

Customers seeking further information should contact Coles Customer Care on 1800 061 562.

 

Golden North Ice Cream

Black & Gold 5-litre Vanilla with L2 – Best Before 04 Dec 19

Black & Gold 2-litre Chocolate Choc Chip with L2 – Best Before 08 Dec 19 and 12 Dec 19

Country Style 5-litre Vanilla with L2 – Best Before 07 Dec 19, 13 Dec 19 and 14 Dec 19

Country Style 5-litre Krazy Kolors with L2 – Best Before 13 Dec 19

Foodland 4-litre Neapolitan with L2 – Best Before 12 Dec 19

Golden North 2-litre Vanilla with L2 – Best Before 05 Dec 19 and    08 Dec 19

Golden North 2-litre Honey with L2 – Best Before 06 Dec 19

Simple 2-litre Vanilla with L2 – Best Before 07 Dec 19

Simple 2-litre Neapolitan with L2 – Best Before 07 Dec 19

The recall is being conducted due to the possible presence of small metal pieces in the ice cream. Metal fragments may cause injury if consumed; consumers should not eat these products.

There have been no reports of harm or injury to any consumers, with the product recall being undertaken for precautionary purposes only to ensure the safety of customers in line with Golden North’s commitment to maintaining the highest possible standards of product quality.

These products have been available for sale at Coles (SA and NT), Woolworths (SA and NT), Foodland (SA), Supa IGA and IGA (SA, WA, VIC, NSW and QLD), Drakes Food Markets (QLD), OTR (SA) and Golden North Cavan offices. No other Golden North products are affected by this recall.

Purchasers are advised to review Best Before dates and return products to the place of purchase for a full refund, or call 1800 001 572 for more information.

Golden North apologises to our loyal customers for any inconvenience caused.

 

Coconut Milk Powder Non Organic / Non GMO

Best Before: 30.10.18  Batch Code H828FO33HB70510

Murray River Organics Pty Ltd is conducting a recall of the above product. The product has been available for sale at The Source Bulk Foods in NSW, ACT, QLD, VIC and WA.

Problem: The recall is due to the presence of an undeclared allergen (milk).

Food safety hazard: Any consumers who have a milk allergy or intolerance may have a reaction if the product is consumed.

What to do: Consumers who have a milk allergy or intolerance should not consume this product and should return the products to the place of purchase for a full refund.

Country of Origin: Philippines

For further information please contact:

Murray River Organics Pty Ltd

03 8792 8500

www.murrayriverorganics.com.au

 

There was a product recall in Australia around 10 years ago which is now taught in Universities around the world on how it should be done. The company involved immediately put it’s Product Recall Program into operation and shut down production in the affected plants, retrieved all the suspect product and then went into a very carefully managed public relations campaign. Australians were kept informed at each stage of the operation and instead of turning against the company, as is the usual result of a recall, the public actually deliberately went into their local supermarkets asking for the brand, to give support to the company. The reason this is a test case, is because this company did everything right by the law and the public and actually increased it’s percentage of the market as a result.

The vast majority of companies after a recall suffer a loss of reputation and significant sales decrease, it can even put such businesses out of operation. So this is a very special case.

This is an example of a crisis managed very well, but most companies will not do so well if it happens to them.

Crisis management is an essential part of all business planning, but few companies do it well. It is a legal requirement for some companies to have a Product Recall Program, but most do not review it regularly. They do Mock Recalls to ensure the program is in place, but reviewing it at least annually is not something done by most companies.

Recalls are not required for all food businesses, but all businesses should have a Crisis Management Plan and review it regularly.

So what sort of things need to be included in a Crisis Management Plan as a minimum?

• Recall
• Food poisoning or suspected
• Supplier issues – eg; food safety, lack of supply, emergencies
• Major equipment failure
• Fire or other emergencies which stop production
• Tampering
• Staff issues – eg; vital roles missing, strikes
• Shutdowns in aged care, child care and hospitals

All businesses need to have procedures in place for these and any other crisis which may impact on that business, and these need to be reviewed and tested regularly, so when the thing happens there are no mistakes or things missed.