Page 7 - National Poultry Newspaper

Food safety: it’s time to get serious on consistent egg standards
THEY produce one of the most nutritious, af- fordable and accessi- ble food sources in the world, but too often Australian egg produc- ers find themselves in the centre of a national food safety scare, even with little or no evidence being traced back to the farm.
Victorian free-range egg producer Lachie Green and his wife Minnie, to- gether with his parents Alan and Shelley, own and operate successful egg business Green Eggs Pty Ltd, consisting of 36,000 free range hens on a mixed farming opera- tion at Lake Fyans, Vic- toria.
Established in 1999, Green Eggs found a gap in the market that under- stood the value of a qual- ity product and believed in the ethos of how it had been produced.
Today, they produce 210,000 eggs per week and supply into restau- rants, cafes and farmers’ markets across Melbourne and Victoria.
Despite being at the forefront of quality assur- ance programs and taking the utmost care to guaran- tee quality and safety on farm, the business found itself in an unimaginable position in 2014, when a café they supplied to was linked to a salmonella outbreak.
Overnight, Green Eggs’ sales dropped 70 percent and they were left with no support as to what to do, what to change or how to move forward.
The Department of Health later found no salmonella on eggs used in that café, and all their on-farm tests came back negative.
Mr Green paid tribute to their loyal customer base, hard work and ongoing commitment to best prac- tice as pivotal in helping them get back on their feet, returning to full sales and production within a year.
With the prospect of taking over the family business as well as the sal- monella issue in the back of his mind, Mr Green ap- plied for a Nuffield Schol- arship and was a success- ful recipient in 2016 with the generous support of Australian Eggs.
“I work in an industry that’s filled with passion- ate farmers, world-class research and consumers who love the product, but the industry needs better mechanisms to future- proof itself, particularly when it comes to food safety concerns,” Mr Green said.
“My Nuffield research was focused on gaining a greater understanding of the current egg climate in Australia, including the rules and regulations around egg production, and the use of eggs in the food service industry.
“The scholarship ena-
bled me to visit world- class facilities in the UK, the Netherlands and the US and examine their respective operat- ing environments and policies to ultimately see whether they could be implemented back here in Australia.”
Mr Green said current egg regulation in Aus- tralia is piecemeal, with no federal legislation ap- plied consistently across the country.
“We have a voluntary accreditation scheme that requires producers to adhere to best practice standards of production across areas such as hen welfare, food safety, en- vironmental management and egg grading,” he said.
“The problem is that not all egg farmers are part of the scheme and we need to look at ways to encour- age greater participation and deliver consistent out- comes across the industry.
“All the countries I studied on my Nuffield journey have schemes that go above and beyond the minimum.
“In the UK for instance, there’s a voluntary ac- creditation scheme known as the Lion Code, and over 90 percent of eggs are produced under it.
“While voluntary, it is robust and carries con- sumer and regulatory faith.
“This means that if an issue arises on an egg farm, the government is willing to accept that the farm operates well above minimum best practice standards.”
The Netherlands is con- sidered a world leader in egg production and is self- sufficient in egg produc- tion, contributing about 40 percent of Europe’s total shell egg exports.
“Dutch egg producers are certified under the voluntary quality assur- ance program Integraal Keten Beheer, which in- volves testing laying hens for salmonella at various points throughout their life,” Mr Green said.
“If a test returns posi- tive, there are strict regu- lations around how the flock and farm are to be managed.”
A mandatory approach is taken in the US un- der the federal Egg Rule, which is administered and overseen by the US Food and Drug Administration.
It applies to any produc- er with 3000 or more hens and places strict require- ments on them to prevent salmonella.
“Any producer with 3000 hens on one farm must be registered within 30 days of becoming an egg producer and must comply with a set of rules concerning pullets, biosecurity, pest control, refrigeration, egg testing and record keeping,” Mr Green said.
Mr Green said his Nuf- field report includes several straightforward
recommendations for the Australian egg industry, and more broadly, the sup- ply chain to help miti- gate the risks around food safety.
“Industry should con- sider working with regu- lators to develop a set of requirements that can be applied across the coun- try,” he said.
“This will provide a commercial advantage for best practice pro- ducers and, at the same time, gives assurance to the consumer about egg origin, quality and safe production.
“My report also recom- mends that anyone pre- paring or selling food to the public must undergo food safety training with
particular attention paid to the use of raw egg prod- ucts and the risks associ- ated with doing so.
“The industry has a vital role to play in educating the end user.
“The customer needs to know that almost always, eggs are an extremely safe product, but more work could be done to build the case for buying an accred- ited product that’s under- pinned by best practice.
“These are just some of the steps that industry should take, if egg pro- ducers are not to be held liable when they have pro- duced a safe, fit for pur- pose product.
“Education is a key vehicle that can help us achieve this.”
Minnie and Lachie Green of Green Eggs, Victoria.
www.poultrynews.com.au
National Poultry Newspaper, August 2018 – Page 7
spray one step ahead of E. coli
Help stop disease before it stops you. Poulvac
E. coli is the only commercially available modified live vaccine that helps prevent disease caused by E. coli in chickens. Help your birds before they need it with Poulvac E. coli.
For more information please contact your local Zoetis representative or Customer Service on 1800 022 442.
Zoetis Australia Pty Ltd. ABN 94 156 476 425. Level 6, 5 Rider Boulevard, Rhodes NSW 2138. © 2017 Zoetis Inc. All rights reserved. www.zoetis.com.au ZL0821