AUSSIE STRAWBERRY
CRISIS A MAJOR CONCERN
In light of the recent shocking Australian strawberry tampering events, the New Zealand produce industry is taking every
action possible to reassure customers their safety systems are robust, says United Fresh president Jerry Prendergast
www.foodtechnology.co.nz 3
Kathryn Calvert
Editor NZ FOODTechnology
Welcome to the penultimate magazine of 2018…isn’t it amazing how fast the year has flown. We’re all still recovering from
one of the most successful FoodTech/PackTech shows ever, and 2019 is beckoning just around the corner. However, the
coming festive season will be sobered somewhat by the news from Fonterra of its alarming financial losses for the year.
Whilst the fact that this impressive co-operative has never posted a loss in its history before is unsettling, sometimes these
situations can be beneficial in enabling a long hard look at operations to shake out the (milk) fat. Even the All Blacks need
to lose a game or two every now and again to remind us that taking our eye ‘off the ball’ can ultimately serve to increase
quality for the next match. This month we look at labelling – specifically what kinds of wine labels attract consumers and
just as importantly, how it affects their buying decisions. This research has ramifications for food and beverage in general…
and the results could be surprising. There’s also a pictorial homage to last month’s expo – take a look on pages 42 to 47, you
might be featured in it – and plenty of other reading as we race into the summer months. Have a great October.
EDITOR'S NOTE
BREAKING NEWS
IT'S ON!
United Fresh is the New Zealand pan-produce
organisation that is currently leading a major
New Zealand-led project reviewing traceability
systems in our produce sector. The New
Zealand fresh produce industry has systems
in place to assess risks to the food supply
and to ensure it is managed. This includes
secure packing and distribution facilities as
well as regular assessment of the supply chain
processes. These risk mitigation strategies
need to be reviewed regularly and cover all
steps in the supply chain. The project started
this year and will continue for three years. It is
co-funded by the Ministry for Primary Industries’
Sustainable Farming Fund and involves working
with the fresh produce industry to ensure
effective traceability from paddock to plate.
The United Fresh project reinforces the need
to work continuously on defending the integrity
of our food supply systems. Fresh produce is
being traced from harvest through to retail store
with a view to strengthening our industry wide
traceability systems. The current tampering
in Australia, whether copycat or worse, is a
major concern and we support the efforts of all
of the industry and authorities both here and
in Australia in dealing with these issues. We
want to reiterate this is an Australian strawberry
issue - there is no connection to New Zealandgrown
strawberries. The good news is that
New Zealand product is ripening nicely with the
approach of warmer spring weather and some
strawberries have already made it into stores
this week. As an extra precaution and following
advice from public health authorities in Australia,
customers should cut up any existing Australian
strawberries they may have at home, before
eating them.
/www.foodtechnology.co.nz
