9 results

Establishment of the Seafood Services Australia Stage 1 - seafood quality management and seafood safety (SeaQual Australia)

Project number: 1999-357
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $1,519,007.63
Principal Investigator: Ted Loveday
Organisation: Seafood Services Australia Ltd
Project start/end date: 30 Mar 1999 - 30 Mar 2004
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Like many of Australia's primary industries the seafood industry needs to adjust constantly to changing consumer preferences and expectations and changing market conditions. The seafood industry also has to contend with changes in the availability of the resource.

Industry and governments throughout Australia recognise the need to support the continued growth of an internationally competitive sustainable seafood industry in Australia. This need has resulted in a significant increase in the pace and scope of regulatory reform and policy changes (environmental management, food safety, occupational health and safety, training, marketing etc). Thus the operating environment is in a state of constant change as it moves towards one of increased industry self regulation and responsibility.

There are significant challenges in achieving sustainable industry development - one of the most pressing is the need to drive a cultural change which results in an industry following world's best practice in management and operations ensuring that there is maximum return for the resource.

Consumers and therefore governments are increasingly demanding assurance that the food they eat is safe. Regulatory reform in this area is being driven by the Australia New Zealand Food Authority in the development and implementation of the proposed National Food Safety Code. Victoria has already passed their legislation and other States have drafted legislation ready for consideration by their governments.

The international trade environment is also changing rapidly with increased scope for implementation of non tariff barriers to exports - typically relating to food quality and environmental management. The economic crisis in Asia has already negatively affected the levels of Australian seafood exports, a trend which is expected to continue unless there is an increased focus on identifying and meeting the needs of the marketplace.

Developing seafood industry standards (accepted nationally and internationally) incorporating food safety, quality and environmental management elements provides a significant opportunity to ensure change occurs to meet these challenges.

With the operating environment changing so rapidly there is an increasing need for the development and adoption of seafood industry standards (accepted nationally and internationally) incorporating food safety, quality and environmental management elements. The standards development process provides a significant opportunity to ensure that the cultural change required to achieve the vision for the industry will occur.

The capabilities that are proposed to be brought under an "Australian Seafood Centre" (ASC) would provide the impetus to develop and manage the adoption of such standards and would provide coordinated products and services to all stakeholders.. With many industry development initiatives existing at State and National level there are significant opportunities for achieving a bigger and faster impact through better networking and integration. The ASC would provide a focus for post harvest initiatives, creating critical mass for achieving significant outcomes to benefit all stakeholders (government and industry).

The recently released SeaQual strategic plan "The Seafood industry's Strategic Plan for Achieving Seafood Excellence" identifies five key goals and a number of strategies for achieving them. The plan identifies the roles and responsibilities of industry and government stakeholders and recognises that success will depend on commitment from all stakeholders including the allocation of appropriate resources.

At the recent workshop held in Queensland, all States identified the need for work to be done in relation to seafood safety and quality, particularly in the development of agreed and accredited industry guidelines and in the eventual development of agreed industry standards. It was agreed that SeaQual Australia could provide immediate benefits to all States by providing key linkages with agencies with responsibility for food regulation and by networking the State based SeaQual operations.

The proposed development of an “Australian Seafood Centre” initially with seafood safety and quality management capabilities – SeaQual Australia is a major and complex project which will need both a strategic and an operational focus. It will meet the need to manage and review the implementation of the Strategic Plan while achieving the synergies and consequent cost efficiencies through the provision of a “single window” to the seafood industry on food safety and quality issues. It will ultimately do the same for all post harvest activities.

Objectives

1. Establish SeaQual Australia (SeaQual Mark 2) and State SeaQuals in each State and the Northern Territory
2. Implement the Seafood Industry's Strategic Plan for Achieving Seafood Excellence" (SISPASE) with a high priority on Food Safety and Quality Management
3. Establish the Australian Seafood Centre: delivery of cost effective, competitively priced seafood post harvest services through the integration of new and existing services (including SeaQual Australia) under one centre
People
PROJECT NUMBER • 2002-303
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

The establishment of a training resource and information service to underpin the successful adoption of EMS by the Australian seafood industry

Significant progress has been made to build the capacity of the Australian seafood industry to enable it to respond effectively to the ever increasing myriad of challenges, and rapidly changing demands including demands from the community to produce food in an environmentally friendly and safe...
ORGANISATION:
Seafood Services Australia Ltd
Industry
Industry

Tactical Research Fund: Conduct of a Seafood Incident Response Plan (SIRP) trial for the aquaculture industry in Melbourne as a prelude to the Skretting Australasian Aquaculture Conference (AA12)

Project number: 2011-259
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $25,760.00
Principal Investigator: Ted Loveday
Organisation: Seafood Services Australia Ltd
Project start/end date: 31 Mar 2012 - 29 Jun 2012
Contact:
FRDC

Need

Every time you fly, you listen to the flight attendant state, “In the unlikely event of an emergency, it is important that etc”. The message is continually reinforced so that, in the event of an incident, you will know exactly how to adopt the brace position and put on a life jacket.

Similarly, regular trials of the Seafood Incident Response Plan (SIRP) need to be held to reinforce industry awareness of its existence and ensure that the SIRP is responsive and relevant.

Australian seafood has an excellent reputation when it comes to food safety but we are potentially only one step from a disaster.

E.g. 22 December 2011 headlines “WA grown oysters off the Christmas Menu”. A headline such as this can have a highly detrimental effect on the Australian seafood industry if not properly managed. In this case, the SIRP was implemented as a level 1 emergency (Watching brief).

This does, however, highlight why it is important that the seafood industry is regularly reminded of the existence of the SIRP

SSA on behalf of the Australian seafood industry has been responsible for the development and ongoing maintenance of the SIRP.

The SIRP co-exists with other existing incident response protocols and provide guidance to the seafood industry as to how to respond and thus minimize damage to the industry resulting from an adverse incident.

This SIRP trial workshop is planned as a prelude to the Australasian Aquaculture Conference & Trade Show (1-4 May 2012, at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre)

A unique opportunity exists for key stakeholders to participate in the SIRP trial and attend the Conference.

The key outcomes from the workshop will be presented to conference delegates at Australasian Aquaculture.

The Australian aquaculture industry and associated supply chains will be the major focus of this particular trial.

Objectives

1. Industry awareness of the role of the Seafood Incident Response Plan will be increased and the linkages between the SIRP, the aquaculture sector, existing seafood recall plans, and emergency planning by food safety agencies will be tested.
2. A trial to test the responsiveness of the aquaculture sector and the wider seafood supply chain to a seafood incident will be conducted
3. The SIRP will be updated following the workshop to ensure that it remains responsive and relevant to today’s environment
4. Engagement with relevant food safety agencies will occur as the success of SIRP is about partnership and collaboration

Final report

ISBN: 978-0-9871787-1-8
Author: Ted Loveday

Project products

Plan • 2012-05-01 • 984.16 KB
2011-259-Seafood-Incident-Response-Plan-May-2012.pdf

Summary

Overview:

This Seafood Incident Response Plan (SIRP) was developed by Seafood Services Australia Ltd (SSA) in consultation with the seafood industry and relevant agencies to:

  • provide a proactive, easy-to-follow response to adverse incidents in the seafood industry
  • maintain Australia’s reputation as a provider of safe, high-quality seafood to its customers
  • strengthen consumer confidence in Australian seafood.

As a result of this project a seafood incident response plan was developed (framework with templates and forms) for use in the event of an incident. This can be downloaded below:
 

Download the Seafood Industry Response Plan

 

Industry

Participation in study tour to attend Seafood & Health ’05 Conference & Seafood HACCP Alliance for Education & Training

Project number: 2005-407
Project Status:
Completed
Budget expenditure: $5,000.00
Principal Investigator: Jayne M. Gallagher
Organisation: Seafood Services Australia Ltd
Project start/end date: 5 Nov 2005 - 10 Jul 2006
Contact:
FRDC

Need

The Seafood HACCP Alliance meeting - important to ensure that Australian Seafood Industry are fully briefed about changing requirements in the USA market. The USFDA is launching a new Fishery Products Guide in 2006. To be up to date, aware of the changes and to be able to meet the relevant people making and enforcing the new arrangements is significant. There will be training implications for Australia. The Conference - relevant to SSA activities in food safety, quality and chain management and potentially other new areas for the industry eg new CRC, Promotion & Market Development, etc as well as FRDC/SSA consumer education information. NFI meeting – learning of their handling of change relevant to issues in Australia.

Objectives

1. Promoting Australia’s work on the issues to be discussed at both Conference and Meeting and influencing any international decisions that are discussed in the two forums. By contributing expertise and knowledge to the forums the opportunity to influence discussions on two levels – regulatory area and research area. Both are relevant to Australia due to reliance on international markets and potential flow on to domestic market.
2. Gather information including contacts from both the forums to ensure that the Australian Seafood Industry is fully aware of the outcomes and can utilise the information to maximise its position.
3. Identifying any issues that could be considered by the Australian Seafood Industry/SSA/FRDC in development and communication areas based discussions with National Fisheries Institute (NFI)

Final report

Blank
PROJECT NUMBER • 2008-907
PROJECT STATUS:
COMPLETED

SCRC: COMMUNAL PROJECT: Seafood CRC Participation in the Seafood Access Forum (SAF)

The goal of the Seafood CRC is to double the value of the Australian seafood industry to $4billion per annum by 2017 and to generate more than 2,800 jobs in rural and regional areas. Achieving this goal will require a concerted effort by the Seafood CRC, its core participants and collaborators over...
ORGANISATION:
Seafood Services Australia Ltd
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