Copy
Issue 34    |    May 2022
Share Share
Tweet Tweet
Forward Forward

GFSI Supply Chain 2 Update

With the release of the revised Freshcare Supply Chain Standard in 2021, and the commencement of audits in February this year, we have been monitoring the certificates achieved for our application to the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) to increase our scopes.

We are pleased that we have hit the required 10 certificates per scope to the Supply Chain Standard Edition 2 (SCS2) over the past two weeks, and GFSI has formally accepted our application.

The scopes we are applying for SCS2 are:

BIII - Pre-Process Handling of Plant Products, Nuts, and Grains

FI - Retail / Wholesale

FII - Food Broker/ Agent

G - Provision of Storage and Distribution Services for Food, Feed, and /or Packaging

We will continue to provide updates as we progress through the benchmarking process. 

GFSI Integrity Assessment 

As a Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) Recognised Certification Program Owner, Freshcare has many processes it undertakes routinely to ensure we, and our approved Certification Bodies continue to meet expectations.

One of the activities conducted by GFSI on Freshcare is "annual monitoring of continued alignment". This consists of:

  • A random record review twice a year; and
  • A Certification Programme Owner office audit once a year.

Freshcare conducts many activities throughout the year to support this process, including internal audits, KPI monitoring of Certification Bodies, auditor file reviews, and audit record and report reviews.

Our recent GFSI records review and office audit have been successfully completed this month. Once the final record review is conducted in August, we will receive our final report from GFSI.

Win Prizes with Freshcare at Hort Connections!

The horticulture industry’s biggest annual event, Hort Connections is almost here!

Freshcare Prizes, Gifts & Online Game!

For the week of Hort Connections, we are running three prize competitions for you and your business!

Come by our booth #73 and play our new interactive game “Sure Thing” and enter our daily prize draw for the top scorer – you and your business can also go into the main prize draw.

Tag, Like & Share our social media posts from Hort Connections that week to go in the draw to win top-of-the-range noise-cancelling headphones to promote our focus on wellbeing and mental health as well as the chance to win a Small Business Online Security Audit valued at $5000 provided by The Glue.

Come by, play our game or sign up for our newsletter, to take home one of our sustainably produced, Australian owned and made JOCO travel coffee cups.

Find out more here.

Follow us on Social Media for updates on Hort Connections:

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram

Protecting Freshcare Materials for Program Participants  

As a purpose driven organisation, Freshcare offers the most cost-effective, user friendly, Australian owned and operated certification program in the current market.  Our prescriptive programs, developed in conjunction with Industry working groups and technical steering committees, are provided to support all our participants.   

Published and protected under copyright to Freshcare Ltd, our resource library includes the Freshcare Standards, worked examples, forms, record keeping templates, training programs, slides, and factsheets.  Our copyright protects these publications, with reproduction of these resources permitted for use in awareness, training, implementation, and auditing, provided they are not sold for profit or reproduced for commercial gain. 

To support the implementation of our Standards, Freshcare is the only certification program that provides access to program resources freely to all participants.  It is therefore vitally important that Freshcare assets, along with our intellectual property, are recognised and appropriately acknowledged when used.   

Use or adaptation of the Freshcare logo, name, or resources on websites, in software, via online applications, or in any other form or media without the prior written permission of Freshcare Ltd is an infringement of Freschare's copyright.  

If you have any questions, concerns, or would like to enquire about authorisation and permissions for use of the Freshcare materials, please send an email to ceo@freshcare.com.au 

Please note: if you have been issued a Certification Logo from Freshcare then you have permission to use those assets.

If you are a newly certified participant looking to use the Freshcare logo, please complete the form here.

Understanding Freshcare fees and the costs of Certification

What are the costs of Freshcare certification for my business?

The Freshcare Program fee table below  effective 1 July 2022, outlines the fees captured and derived to Freshcare.
In addition to Program fees businesses will need to account for implementation costs and service fees for audits.

Implementation costs: The cost of implementation of each Freshcare Program will vary per business. Costs to consider during program implementation and ongoing management of the Freshcare Programs include training on the Standards requirements, various forms of testing and costs associated with the development or review of business policies and processes.

Service fees for audits: To achieve Freshcare Certification, audits are undertaken by independent Certification Bodies. The costs for audits, inspections or assessments (time, travel costs) and services provided by the Certification Body are negotiated directly between the business and the Certification Body and depend on the individual pricing policies, duration of the audit activity, travel costs, the time needed for preparation, and follow-up.

Find out more about Fee Changes (Effective 1 July 2022) here.

Connecting with Communities: Freshcare CEO Jane Siebum Visits Bowen

I recently attended the Bowen Gumlu Growers Association (BGGA) annual Gala Dinner. The organisation is the regional industry body representing agricultural growers, producers and businesses in North Queensland.  

The event, which had been postponed twice due to the COVID-19 pandemic, was a great opportunity to connect with the local community of growers, business owners and government,  

Having lived in the Whitsunday region for seven years and running my own small business in Bowen, I have direct experience of life in a regional community. I am always amazed at the ingenuity and resilience of these communities, especially after facing some tough years of environmental impact and a pandemic.  

I spoke with many people from throughout the community who are Freshcare certified and who were there to celebrate the success of local producers and opportunities to further the local industry.  

Additionally, I spoke with representatives from the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries and council representatives about Freshcare’s commitment to its participants, ensuring our reputation that Australian grown food is safe because of their investment in the program. 

Connecting with local growers from the region was invaluable, the event facilitated some important discussions around the current challenges faced by producers seeking certification and how Freshcare can better support them.  

BGGA President, Carl Walker, presented at the event and highlighted the focus on the importance of the sector and food security, in light of recent supply shortages as well as the role of government in supporting the industry in the region.  

“It is incredibly pleasing to see the high regard the Queensland Minister for Agriculture has for growers and producers in our region, having brought his Director-General, Deputy Director-General and leadership team to show support and to hear our feedback from the ground up,” BGGA General Manager, Ry Collins, said.  

“No matter what the result of the upcoming federal election is, we want the leaders of the day to know we’ll work with them to address issues facing the industry and our consumers and support the actions needed to move forward together,” Mr Collins said.  

Freshcare Visits AustChilli
Pilot - Smart Farm

 

We interviewed Freshcare's E-Learning officer, Leizl Dorner, about her recent visit to AustChilli Smart Farm.

What did you do at the AustChilli Smart Farm?

I went to do a site visit in person and see the data captured by sensors and how they benefit Austchilli. I also undertook the farm visit to assess the sensor installation and better inform outputs for compliance alignment.

Smart Farms project partner AHR gave me a tour of the multiple test sites of both chillies and avocados, including a demonstration of the sensors and other technologies used for the project.

What did you learn from the trip?

It was great to see how the sensors and technology have been beneficial in assisting AustChilli in their decision-making processes.

These benefits include a reduction in time spent on record keeping, and the availability of accurate and reliable datasets to inform decision making associated with the use of water, nutrients, and pesticides.

While they are not currently certified to the Freshcare Environmental program, the project has led to the creation of records that will be of assistance for these farming sites to more easily progress to Environmental Certification in the future.

More information on the Smart Farms project, and other pilot farms, is available on the AHR website here.

Smart Farms Project Funding Statement

This project is being delivered by Hort Innovation – with support from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment as part of it’s National Landcare Smart Farming Partnerships Program, and the project partners pictured below. 

National Reconcilliation Week

Starting today, the National Reconciliation Week 2022 theme, “Be Brave. Make Change.” is a challenge to all Australians— individuals, families, communities, organisations, and government—to Be Brave and tackle the unfinished business of reconciliation so we can Make Change for the benefit of all Australians.

In the spirit of reconciliation, Freshcare acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the Wann-gal clan of the Dharug people and their connections to land, sea, and community. We pay our respect to their Elders past, present, and future and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.

Find out more here.

Monthly Reminder:

Training Records for Audit Bookings

When booking your first audit, you must have evidence of completed Freshcare training when booking. 

We recommend training to be completed 3 months prior to allow sufficient time to prepare for your audit and to ensure that you have all the necessary records and tests completed.

When completing Freshcare training via the eLearning platform course review, follow-up and sign-off will normally occur between 2-5 business days from course submission. 

This could extend up to 10-12 business days if additional support is required to be provided to the training participant or during periods of 'peak submission' (when there have been a high number of training participants submitting for completion at the same time). 

Reef Assured Bananas:
 Record Keeping Update

The Queensland Department of Environment and Science has updated the Agricultural Environmentally Relevant Activity (ERA) standard for banana cultivation.

Minor updates have been made to the Agricultural Environmentally Relevant Activity (ERA) standard for banana cultivation (version 2 now applies) and the Prescribed methodology for banana cultivation and supporting guides to make the requirements easier to understand.

These updates include:

  • removing record-keeping requirements already regulated under the Chemical Usage (Agricultural and Veterinary) Control Act 1988, and
  • clarifying the term ‘ground-based application’.

Freshcare has updated the Factsheet - E5 Nutrient management for banana cultivation (Ref1.2). Banana growers in Reef Catchments are advised to download the factsheet and familiarise themselves with the updates.

Premium Recognised Supplier Profile: Farmable

We recently spoke with General Manager (English Market) Russell Davison from Farmable, a Freshcare Premium Recognised Supplier, about their Farm Management Platform how it is delivering digital operational support for farmers world-wide.

What product does Farmable provide?

We developed a Farm Management Platform which is a free farm management app uniquely designed for fruits and tree crops, and can be used for a wide variety of farming operations including:

· Registering field borders, visualize farm operations in a digital mobile map.

· Use field notes to record observations, images and GPS coordinates.

· Full control of crop treatment activities.

· Send detailed job tasks to your team members, and stay updated with real-time notifications on job completion.

Where does Farmable operate?

Most of our farms are from Australia/New Zealand, South Africa, Germany, Uk and Spain. But we provide our services all around the world.

What drives your organisation?

We aim to help growers save time documenting while improving efficiency in field operations and having full control over the orchard.

Why do you love working within the horticulture industry?

The horticulture industry was experiencing a lack of digital tools made for growers. Helping fruit growers start the digitalization journey is our mission. We want them to be more successful and prepared for the future.

What made you want to become a Freshcare Recognised Supplier?

Farmable is making farmers' lives so much easier by providing an easy-to-use tool to capture tasks and events out in the Field. We store that data for growers to use to make better decisions in the future to ensure their farm is as profitable as possible. As a bonus, these jobs that you have been tracking and the records you have been keeping within Farmable can provide you with the information you may need for your audits.

Where do you see Farmable in 5 years’ time?

Our users manage and capture all essential processes happening at the farm. This opens for introducing new features in the next years. Our dream is to start working with integration partners to create a platform with all the information a grower needs. We want to start focusing on bringing the best of Agtech to our increasing user base.

To find out more about Farmable, visit their website at www.farmable.tech for more information about their company, mission, and products.

2022 Renewed Premium Recognised Suppliers

HTM Complete

In 2005, Fabian Gallo, a farmer and Irrigation Agronomist (CIAg2743), established Hydrotech Monitoring Pty Ltd TA HTM Complete, selling and installing off-the-shelf monitoring and irrigation automation equipment. Hydrotech Monitoring quickly saw a gap in the industry being able to provide real-time data, telemetry-based monitoring and advanced, automation irrigation systems based upon plant/crop water needs.

HTM Complete became known for its leading-edge, custom irrigation management projects. Working nationally and internationally on some unique innovative automated irrigation systems including PNG, France and the USA.

While these products and services are HTM's specialties, they were pushed by leading farmers to provide more than just irrigation control and sought after an all-in-one platform that could communicate to 3rd party brands and keep up to compliance, spraying, staff and more. 

Find out more about HTM Complete here.

National Fruit Fly Council Webinar Series

Agchemicals and novel technologies in fruit fly management Webinar

Click here to register to attend the Webinar.
 
Date:  Tuesday 31st May
Time:  1:00 PM – 2:30 PM AEST           
Speakers:   Kevin Bodnaruk (AKC Consulting), and David Daniels (General Manager Market Development | Citrus Australia Ltd). 
 

Supporting Regional Communities:

Presentation to Camden's flood impacted Growers

Trainer and Camden local Ian Johnson facilitated a session on post-flood food safety, where he provided practical advice to the community on ensuring that horticultural business activity reflects best industry practice. 
What’s your background and why did you become a Trainer?

I’m passionate about educating farmers on how to use technologies and on how to improve their processes, I get great enjoyment out of helping farmers understand these concepts.  I enjoy mentoring people, including my daughter who’s a teacher and uses her skills to educate farmers as well. 

A lot of the horticultural industry is very multicultural, and there are a lot of people who speak English as a second language and are good at farming but struggle with compliance because of language barriers. I find it very rewarding to bridge these barriers with people and help them innovate with the latest technologies.

The younger generation is taking over the farms and they’re very into technology. I’m in a mentoring phase of my life to help highly skilled young people to get the next generation into this industry.  I also think it's important to help increase awareness of Freshcare among everyone who eats fresh fruits and vegetables.
 
How has the clean-up process post-flood been going?
 
It’s been slow, Camden showground area has a vegetable farm that was flooded that’s been going after the floodwaters have receded but there’s areas closer to the Nepean river that can’t access their farms because it’s too wet.
It’s a major tourist area – some farms can’t plant until we have more dry weather but progress is being made and business is still going.
 
What did the session attempt to achieve, and what was the community response to the session afterwards?

We gave a presentation on when, where, and how the people of Camden can grow fresh produce again after the floods while maintaining production of high-quality food.

There were lots of questions on how to manage the risks of growing fresh produce post-flood not just for markets but also in their own gardens.  People were also interested in hydroponic food production and greenhouses as they can produce in dry and elevated areas. Some of the farms that have been flooded have already diversified into these strategies by planting in areas that are out of flood zones through the flexibility of placements that greenhouses provide.

We explained how to take advantage of these viable post-flood options and were very appreciative of the information and factsheets that Freshcare and FPSC had available.

People were concerned about the risks they had post-flood – the look of the soil, septic tanks, etc. and we were able to help people while promoting Freshcare to a wider audience.
 
What further support does the Camden community need to help with the recovery effort?

The farming community needs income support, there needs to be recognition that they need a higher price paid for the produce they grow.
 
Incentives for putting in the effort for certification to make sure that people are certified safe during flooding periods. Reward people to be part of a certification system by getting a higher price for their produce – we want more money for our producer, like how the dairy industry pushed strongly for a higher price too.

Click here to find out more about Ian Johnson and AgServices.
Flood and Natural Disaster Resources

We have created a list for communities impacted by the natural disasters to seek help here, with information on relief grants, mental health resources and more.

Resources on NSW flood clean-up are available here.

Resources for Queensland flood relief are available here.

World Food Safety Day - 7 June

Foodborne diseases affect 1 in 10 people worldwide each year. There are over 200 of these diseases - some mild, but others deadly. 

This year’s theme, “Safer food, better health”, highlights the role that safe, nutritional food plays in ensuring human health and well-being, calling for a set of specific actions to make food safer.

We all have a role to play; whether we grow, process, transport, store, sell, buy, prepare or serve food, food safety is in all our hands. And if we work together, we can all help achieve safer food for better health.

Freshcare strives to support these values through the support of policies and legal frameworks to strengthen the national food safety system, while also engaging in multisectoral collaboration on local, national and global levels.

Find out more here.

Quick links

Email
LinkedIn
Link
Facebook
Twitter
Website
Copyright © 2022 Freshcare Ltd, All rights reserved.


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.