Page 8 - National Poultry Newspaper

Confidence rises as transparency
SUSTAINABILITY
FRAMEWORK REPORT 2022
drives consumer trust in egg sector
THE Australian egg in- The community survey age of this process,” Mr “Traceability provides
dustry has proven the power of transparency, with the release of the annual Sustainabil- ity Framework Report by Australian Eggs showing levels of trust in the egg industry by Australians has increased significant- ly since 2018.
explores the current posi- tion of the egg industry within the Australian com- munity, addressing key points including the lives of people, animal welfare, environmental impact and economic viability of the egg industry, with the re- sults being presented in a report as part of an annual cycle.
McMonnies said.
“In response, Australian
full transparency and pro- vides the team with the peace of mind that any health or quality issues with any of their eggs or hens can be rectified im- mediately, greatly reducing potential impacts.”
The industry’s respon- siveness remains the strongest driver of trust over the four-year research program, with Australians agreeing that the Austral- ian egg industry listens to and respects the commu- nity.
“The report closes the loop on the community engagement process,” Mr McMonnies said.
“This robust traceabil- ity solution will provide farms that do not currently have systems in place with greater transparency over egg movements within their operations and pro- vide stronger assurances on food safety and quality.”
Mr Andary said he be- lieves outside of the easy to measure financial benefits, the most important benefit of traceability is trust.
This was shown in the lat- est research findings where overall trust in the industry increased from 53 percent in 2018 to 63 percent in 2021, with 65 percent of Australians specifically ex- pressing trust in the egg industry to act responsibly.
“Having listened to community priorities, we then demonstrate how the industry is responding to progress these important issues.
Days Eggs in South Aus- tralia is one of the largest producers in the country with around 450,000 eggs laid per day.
“The importance of being able to trace an egg back to the date of lay, date of sale and specific shed, and the role that plays in ensuring trust, cannot be overstat- ed,” Mr Andary said.
Australian Eggs manag- ing director Rowan Mc- Monnies said, “Our annual Sustainability Framework Report remains a key ve- hicle for industry transpar- ency and is a formal dem- onstration of how, as an industry, we continue to ad- dress community priorities and meet the expectations of our community.”
“For instance, food safety has always been the pri- mary focus of egg farmers and it’s pleasing that the Australian public’s confi- dence in the industry is im- proving, with the commu- nity research showing that seven in 10 Australians are more confident in egg food safety than they used to be.
Days Eggs pride them- selves on innovation, qual- ity and their relentless pur- suit of hen welfare and have also been early adopters of comprehensive traceability systems to help protect the community, hens and staff.
“Customers can trust that we have the processes in place to provide safe eggs, our staff can trust us that we have the mechanisms in place to support them in any issues, and we can trust our team that the cor- rect processes are being followed.”
Eggs has been developing a traceability solution for the egg industry based on the best systems currently available.
Days Eggs managing director Dion Andary.
“While most eggs con- sumed by the public are already the subject of ef- fective traceability systems, there remains an opportu- nity to increase the cover-
The Australian Eggs sustainability framework examines the relationship between the Australian public and the egg industry, through an annual com- munity survey by Voco- niq, which builds on three years of previous CSIRO research.
A key element of this is traceability, which allows food safety issues such as salmonella to be identified and managed out of the food system promptly.
“To ensure this continues to improve, the Australian egg industry is investing in research and resources to make eggs even safer.”
Days Eggs managing director Dion Andary said, “Traceability is one of the most critical busi- ness processes – without it, the business is operating blind.”
The full Sustainability Framework Report 2022 is available for download at australianeggs.org.au/what- we-do/sustainable-produc tion/sustainability-report
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Page 8 – National Poultry Newspaper, April 2022
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