For the most part, it is impossible for most of us to be able to tell if a food will cause us food poisoning just by looking and smelling it. Of course, if a food smells or looks funny, except for some speciality cheeses, we know not to eat it.

We also can’t tell by looking at a perishable product in the supermarket if it has been temperature abused during transport and storage. We can’t see the amount of food poisoning bacteria that may be on and in the food.

A brand new device is now available for the average consumer to use, which will tell accurately just how much shelf life a food containing meat, seafood or poultry has left.

It is called the PERES and when used with the app for your mobile phone, can tell you about the freshness and quality of any meat, poultry and seafood. It is suitable for use on vegetables at this stage.

It is what is known as an electronic nose, and is able to identify various chemical compounds in the air around these protein based foods. It is the presence and level of these chemicals that the PERES using to determine the remaining shelf life of the food.

The hand held device does not look for bacteria but the specific chemicals around the protein based foods that indicate the state of decomposition. It then uses this information to show the remaining shelf life through the app on your mobile phone.

Augustas Alesiunas, CEO of ARS Lab (the creators of the PERES) said; “We have worked with some of the best scientists and developers in the industry to create a working prototype, and are excited to continue developing the product so it can be made widely available later this year.”

Not only does this device have the potential to reduce food poisoning, but will have an impact on lowering the ridiculous amount of food waste we generate each year.

You can find more information at http://www.getperes.com/

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach

Apparently Australian consumers have really taken to purchasing online, with recently released research by Nielsen (the market research organisation) showing that about nine out of 10 consumers buying online in 2013.

Liquor is the big food group being purchased on line with our buying rate across the internet being twice what is being purchased in store, in terms of dollars spent.

The research has also shown that around 60% of people are using both on line and retail stores for making their purchasing decisions. This highlights why many food related businesses are now actively promoting an estore set up on their websites. It is now at a point that if a food business does not have the facility for customers to make purchases on line, that business will be losing trade.

This raises an interesting question in terms of food safety. Does a business put perishable items on it’s website for sale and, if so, how is it going to be delivered so it is safe for consumption?

Companies like Lite n Easy have been delivering potentially hazardous foods for years, with no food safety issues, but it is a matter of being organised and using the right packing materials. It can therefore be done but requires good planning, and should not be done unless food safety can be assured.

It is worth remembering that if a food business chooses to sell potentially hazardous foods through it’s website and delivers that food, then this whole process will need to be included within the scope of all future food safety audits. This will mean; training, procedures and suitable records.

This is another example of how changes to a business model can have significant effects on it’s food safety program, and this is why there must be some form of trigger in place that forces review of systems if a change happens in the business.

The research also showed that people are not just making these purchases when sitting in front of their computer but are now increasingly likely to be using their phones to do it. This is also important in terms of food safety, as these people may not even be home when the food arrives there. This means that the food business must ensure the packaging and processes are strong enough to allow for this.

My local Post Office is in a small country town and the owner was telling me recently that more than 60% of the material being delivered to letter boxes in this area is from purchases made on line. This cannot be the sort of numbers in just this area, it has to be everywhere and it is growing. Food businesses have to find methods and packaging to manage this new way of purchasing and delivery and ensure their products are still good quality and safe.

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach

This month I wrote an article about the review that is currently underway by a Federal Parliamentary committee about Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL).

To assist food businesses correctly label their food in terms of CoOL, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)has just released a brand new guide to help all food business label their food correctly according to both the Food Standards code and the Trade Practices Act.

The terms; “Product of Australia”, “Made in Australia” and “Grown in Australia” often confuse both businesses and the public. This guide will assist business understand which they can use and when.

It includes explanations and examples to make it easy to understand these important CoOL terms.

It is well recognised that Australians are very parochial when it comes to buying goods, and especially foods, and therefore the correct labelling of these products will influence sales and therefore business profits. Getting it right will increase sales, and getting it wrong will result in fines.

Rod Sims, ACCC Chairman, said; “Country of origin labels are valuable tools that allow consumers to make informed choices and let businesses compete fairly. Many consumers specifically seek out, or are willing to pay a premium for, Australian produce, or products that are made in Australia. This information assists manufacturers, wholesalers, importers, retailers, advertisers and anyone else who may be making country of origin representations, in deciding what claims are appropriate for their products. Any claim that is likely to mislead consumers about the origin of a product will also breach the law. Credence claims are a priority area for the ACCC, particularly those with the potential to adversely impact the competitive process and small businesses.”

Recently, a large supermarket chain was fined over $61000 for alleged misleading representation of the CoOL on some of it’s fresh produce in 2013. According to Australian Consumer Law, the penalties for making false CoOL claims can be up to $1.1 million.

Getting CoOL right on a product is essential and this guidance from the ACCC will be a huge help to all business, and especially those in the food industry.

It can be found at http://www.accc.gov.au/publications/country-of-origin-claims-the-australian-consumer-law

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach

So I’ve been reading a lot lately about how good dark chocolate is for us, so am now having four squares each day.

However, it just gets better, as new research is showing that dark chocolate may even help prevent both obesity and type-2 diabetes.

It obviously doesn’t mean that we can all, over this Easter, just sit and eat kilograms of dark chocolate to reduce our weight. It doesn’t work that way – unfortunately!!!

A study done by the Department of Food Science and Technology at VirginiaTech University has found that a specific antioxidant found only in cocoa, tea and grapes prevented mice in their laboratory from gaining weight as well as reducing their blood sugar levels.

Flavanol, the antioxidant involved, has several types, including oligomeric procyanidins (PCs). It is this compound that had the positive effects in the lab mice in this study.

The researchers wrote in the study; “Oligomeric PCs appear to possess the greatest antiobesity and antidiabetic bioactivities of the flavanols in cocoa, particularly at the low doses employed for the present study.”

So not only can the fermentation of specific dark chocolate compounds produce anti inflammatory effects, but eating this type of chocolate can influence weight control and blood sugar uptake.

It is starting to sound like a miracle food. However, it is important to note that research has to be done on human subjects over time to determine if these health benefits are confirmed fact.

In the meantime, eating a little of everything, including dark chocolate, is still the recognised best advice nutritionally.

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach

Coeliac Disease can be debilitating to those that have it and is a significant food safety issue for all food businesses. The problem is the protein called gluten, which causes severe auto immune reactions in some people. These reactions can range from discomfort to bloating to flatulence to loss of parts of the bowel to malnutrition to potential death.

This is the reason that gluten free food is now considered to be mainstream, and can be seen everywhere in supermarkets in places like restaurants, aged care centres and cafes.

Food businesses must have controls in place to ensure that they meet the Food Standards Code requirement that there be no gluten present in a food if there is a claim that it is gluten free.

So the discovery of a new molecule may be a god send not only for those with Coeliac Disease but for the whole food industry as well.

Researchers at McMaster University in Canada, have found that the molecule, elafin, is significantly lower in those with Coeliac disease than those without it. The researchers at Farncombe Family Digestive Health Research Institute published the results of this study inThe American Journal of Gastroenterology – April edition.

The study has found that Elafin reduces the enzymatic reaction that makes the peptides derived from gluten toxic. This significantly reduces the impact that gluten has on those with Coeliac Disease.

Elena Verdu, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine, said; “People who have to strictly avoid gluten for life often find this very difficult due to these hidden sources. There is a great need for a therapy that will protect patients with coeliac disease from accidental contaminations. This would add flexibility to a restrictive lifelong diet, and increase patients’ quality of life and potentially accelerate the healing of coeliac lesions.”

Although this research was focused on coeliac disease, there is potential for the results to be helpful in other conditions, like irritable bowel syndrome

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach

So what does organic actually mean. People will, and do, pay extra for a food that is branded as being organic. Therefore having a clear, concise and agreed definition of what organic actually means is vitally important to both the food industry and it’s customers.

So the recent proposed Regulation on organic products and labelling of organic products by the European Commission (EC) has been welcomed by many.

According to EC figures the organic market in the European Union has quadrupled over the last 10 years. This is a massive increase, by any measure, and shows the impact that being branded has on the sales of a food product.

Mr Dacian Ciolos, Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development for the EC, said; “The future of the organic sector in the EU depends on quality and integrity of the products sold under the European organic logo. The Commission is looking for more and better organic farming in the EU by consolidating consumer confidence in organic products and removing obstacles to the development of organic agriculture. This package is good for consumers and good for farmers. Consumers will have been guarantees on organic food made and sold in the EU and farmers, producers and retailers will have access to a larger market, both within and outside the EU.”

There are three main objectives of the proposed Regulation;

• maintaining consumer confidence
• maintaining producer confidence
• making it easier for farmers to switch to organics

The following are the main aims of the Regulation;

• To strengthen and harmonise rules, both in the EU and for imported products, by removing many of the current exception in terms of production and controls
• To reinforce controls by making them risk-based
• To make it easier for small farmers to join organic farming by introducing the possibility to sign up to a group certification system
• To better address the international dimension of trade in organic products with the addition of new provisions on exports
• To simplify the legislation to reduce administrative costs for farmers and improve transparency.

As change is not something that can happen quickly, in most cases, the EC has approved an Action Plan on the future of Organic Production in Europe. This Plan will assist farmers and other move toward compliance with the proposed Regulation and to encourage organic food use by the public.

The proposed Regulation will be submitted to the European Parliament shortly.

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach

Australians generally want to know where their food has come from and this is a key part of their purchase decision. Many people will not buy a specific product because it came from a country other than Australia.

Therefore Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) is an important part of the information shown on any food package. The Trade Practices Act requires that a company must provide true information on their packaging, it is therefore essential that the CoOL is correct, so that Australians can make an informed choice about whether to purchase a particular food or not.

There have been numerous reviews of CoOL requirements and their implementation, and another inquiry has just been commenced by the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Agriculture and Industry.

Committees must have terms of reference, the boundaries of the inquiry, and the following are those for this inquiry;

• Whether the current Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) system provides enough information for Australian consumers to make informed purchasing
• Whether Australia’s CoOL laws are being complied with, and what, if any, are the practical limitations to compliance
• Whether improvements could be made, including to simplify the current system and/or reduce the compliance burden
• Whether Australia’s CoOL laws are being circumvented by staging imports through third countries
• The impact on Australia’s international trade obligations of any proposed changes to Australia’s CoOL laws.

Anyone can make a submission to the Committee about this inquiry by emailing them to agind.reps@aph.gov.au

Submissions must be received by 2 May 2014, and are considered to be evidence, so they will hold parliamentary privilege and cannot be altered or withdrawn with the Committee’s approval.

Approved submissions will be shown on the committee’s website http://www.aph.gov.au/agind, as will all details of the sessions and the public hearings.

This is an opportunity for people to make their thoughts known about CoOL and possibly impacting on changes to laws.

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach

With more and more Australians buying on line rather than in store, the new Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) guide will help retailers get the legal side right. The publication is called “A guide for business: Consumer product safety online’.

Dr Michael Schaper, ACCC Deputy Chair, said; “Australian consumers are increasingly looking to online stores to purchase consumer products but the online environment creates some unique product safety challenges and requirements that online suppliers need to be aware of. The ACCC is concerned that some online sellers, particularly those based overseas, may not be aware that all businesses supplying to Australian consumers have the same obligations under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL).”

It doesn’t matter whether the store is a physical location or on line, the same consumer laws apply and this guide will help retailers meet them.

When it comes to food purchased online, there are specific issues that need to be addressed to ensure that the purchasers and consumers have all the required information to make sure they are safe. This especially applies to the ingredient list so that people know what is in the food, including the presence of the food allergens. So this information needs to be clearly shown on the website so that the purchaser can make an informed choice.

If the required information is not available or the product itself is banned, then product recalls may be required.

Dr Schaper said; “Product recalls can be expensive for a business but the cost of a recall is not the only potential financial consequence to online businesses who supply unsafe products. Penalties can include infringement notices and the ACCC can seek court-imposed penalties of up to $1.1 million for serious breaches.”

The following are just some of the types of compliance tips included in the new guide;

• clearly displaying warnings and product labelling
• using good quality product images
• providing clear product descriptions, including recommended usage and age-grading for children’s products
• checking the requirements of Australian safety standards and bans prior to listing a product available for sale.

The new guide can be found on the ASIC website.

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach

Ok, so many of us would actually be asking what a Gay Choy actually was, let alone planning to buy some and then include them in our everyday cooking.

However, this is just one of the Australian grown but exotic vegetables that are now increasingly making their way onto the plates of those cooking at home.

AuVeg recently released the results of a survey of 1000 people, who had been asked about what vegetables they are eating.

It seems that whilst traditional favourites like potatoes and carrots are not going anywhere, we are looking for new tastes and experiences when it comes to vegetables.

Felicity Powell, AusVeg spokesperson said; This demand could evoke a ‘hipster revolution’ for emerging and underground vegetable varieties. Gay Choy, Taro and Winter Melon are among the lesser-known vegetable varieties of Australian-grown produce. They’re pretty underground, you’ve probably never heard of them, but if you want to spice up the kitchen or add a flavour of the exotic, these are right your alley.”

Whilst Asian vegetables are the type that is increasingly most rapidly, Sweet potato and baby spinach are now fixed items in many homes.

AusVeg believes that this increasing desire for new vegetables is directly related to the popularity of international cuisines like Thai and Vietnamese foods.

Ms Powell said; “This report has shown that emerging vegetable varieties, such as the Tesoro tomato, which is a unique variety of tomato packed full of flavour and yet low in liquid, have huge market potential in Australia.”

This tomato variety is not currently available in Australia, but is on it’s way from the USA, along with other new vegetable varieties for our growers to produce.

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach

The recent released “emma” (Enhanced Media Metrics Australia) Out of Home Dining Report shows that on average half of the Australian population goes to a fast food (quick serve) chain as many as four times a month (or in other words averaging once a week). This totals at least 51 million visits to the fast food chains a month.

Even though Subway is the biggest quick serve chain in the world, it is McDonalds that tops the list as Australia’s most popular with 42 percent of those surveyed going there during the previous month.

The following were the other four in the top five fast food chains, based on number of visits each month; Subway at 29 percent, KFC on 23 percent, Hungry Jacks reached 16 percent and 11 percent of those surveyed visited a Domino’s Pizza outlet.

The survey identified a number of other findings as well, including the loyalty we have for our favourite fast food chain, with 40 percent of us visiting only one or two chains monthly. Interestingly 52 percent of people surveyed would consider eating at Subway but only 29 percent actually do. It seems we would like to be seen as being good but can’t help ourselves going back to our favourites.

It was also found that even though dining in is an option, more people (30.5 million out of the 51 million visits) prefer to grab a takeaway from the chains. The survey also found there was no difference between men and women in their fast food preferences.

According to the survey, 81 percent of Australians eat out a minimum of once a month and it is cafes are that rule the roost, with 59 percent of people preferring this food choice to any other.

The emma Report is a new technique in Australia, created by Ipsos MediaCT, but has been used in 41 countries, to assess many aspects of the fast food industry.

Simon Wake, Ipsos MediaCT Managing Director said; “Perhaps not surprisingly, it is young people, aged between 14 and 29, that are heaviest users of dining out and takeaway option, with 86 per cent saying they eat out once a month. And they prefer Quick Service Restaurants, with McDonald’s, Subway and KFC topping their preferred brands. One fifth of them eat fast food once a week. Interestingly, less that one fifth of young people feel confident about cooking and only 14 per cent will make an effort to get right nutrition at every meal.”

It was found that the main motivators for making a food choice were convenience and price. Interestingly taste rated only eight percent as the reason for choosing where to eat when out and being healthy achieved only 28 percent.

The level of income did not impact on whether someone would choose a Quick Serve Chain for a meal. However, sales people, labourers and students were the groups most commonly eating at a fast food chain.

Written by Rachelle Williams – the Green Food Safety Coach