The dairy industry is one of Australia’s major rural industries, ranking third behind beef and wheat. Australian dairy is an AU$13 billion farm, manufacturing, and export industry. With a current farm gate value alone of AU$4 billion, the Australian dairy industry enriches regional Australian communities, says Helen Dornom, manager, sustainability, including food safety and integrity at Dairy Australia (DA).
DA is the dairy industry-owned national service organization that aims to support the dairy industry as a profitable, growing, innovative, and sustainable industry. “Dairy Australia covers the whole supply chain but works for the ultimate benefit of dairy farmers,” Dornom says.
There are eight dairying regions in Australia, each with its own environmental conditions. Each region has a Regional Development Program (RDP) to identify the region’s research needs and also help extend national research to meet regional needs. While RDPs receive funding and support from Dairy Australia, they are independent entities that act on what’s best for their region.
During financial year 2013-2014, (July 1-June 30), Australia’s 6,314 dairy farms were home to a total of 1,650,000 milking cows which produced 9.239 billion liters of milk, according to DA’s InFocus 2014, an annual publication. “The average herd size is an estimated 258, but there is also a trend emerging to herds of 1,000 plus head,” Dornom mentions.
The Australian dairy industry directly employs 43,000 Australians on farms and in manufacturing plants, while more than 100,000 Australians are indirectly employed in related service industries.
Dairying is a well-established industry across temperate and some subtropical areas of Australia. “While the bulk of milk production occurs in the Southeast states, most especially Victoria, all states have dairy industries that supply fresh milk to nearby cities and towns,” Dornom relates. “Dairy farms in Australia are primarily pasture-based with conserved fodders, grains, and prepared stock-foods used as supplementary feed.”
According to Dornom, a range of high-quality consumer products, including fresh milks, butter, cream, custards, yogurts, and a wide variety of cheeses are produced in most Australian states. The manufacturing of longer shelf life products, such as cheese and specialized powdered milks, is more concentrated in the Southeast region.
A significant exporter of dairy products, Australia exported approximately AU$3 billion in dairy products during 2013-14, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. The top five export destinations for Australian dairy products in 2013-2014 were Greater China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
The U.S., while not even in the top 10 relative to Australia’s dairy export destinations, imported 6,490 tonnes of dairy products in 2013-2014, which included 1,891 tonnes of cheese and 1,386 tonnes of lactose. Australia’s imports of dairy products from the U.S. far exceed exports of dairy from Australia to the U.S. In 2013-14, the U.S. exported a total of 53,886 tonnes of dairy products to Australia, including 16,200 tonnes of cheese and 1,112 tonnes of ice cream. (One Australian tonne equals 2,204.623 pounds.)
Dairy Regulatory Framework
“The dairy industry in Australia is a highly regulated sector and practices a high level of food safety management,” Dornom relates.
For starters, the Australian Dairy Food Safety Regulatory Framework has three elements.
1. Under national legislation, it is mandatory for dairy farms and dairy companies to have a documented and implemented dairy food safety program that is developed, validated, and approved to national and international standards.
2. Individual programs from farm through to retail or export are verified by government authorities.
3. Each business is licensed based on compliance and performance against the food safety program.
Currently, Dornom explains, these arrangements are implemented through a national Dairy Primary Production and Processing Standard (Standard 4.2.4) established through Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), which is uniformly adopted within state-based regulatory requirements (including Dairy Acts, Food Acts, Food Production Safety Acts, and/or Health Acts in differing states).
Standard 4.2.4 is implemented by State Regulatory Authorities, namely Dairy Food Safety Victoria, New South Wales Food Authority, Safe Food Production Queensland, Dairy Authority South Australia, Tasmanian Dairy Industry Authority, and Department of Health in Western Australia.
“Thus, it’s a national standard implemented through state jurisdictions,” Dornom elaborates. “This comprehensive domestic dairy food safety regulatory framework is the key underpinning element of the dairy food safety risk management system, which also includes industry codes of practice and guidelines.”
Additionally, those dairy businesses wishing to export must comply with the requirements of the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture’s (DoA) Export Control (Milk and Milk Product) Orders 2005.
Every dairy farm supplying a milk manufacturer/processor must be licensed and, under the FSANZ Primary Production and Processing Standard (4.2.4), have a validated and documented food safety plan (FSP) approved by the relevant State Regulatory Authority in place. An audit is conducted every two years in Victoria and annually in other states, to monitor compliance.
“New South Wales and Queensland use monitoring systems against an agreed set of performance indicators as an alternative to audit,” Dornom says. “The auditors undertaking these on-farm compliance audits are approved by the State Regulatory Authorities and must have National Food Safety Auditor Competencies. What’s more, the State Regulatory Authorities also undertake verification audits and system reviews of dairy farms to check that the compliance audits/monitoring systems are being undertaken appropriately and systems are operating effectively.”
National auditor meetings are held approximately every six months (with flexibility in the schedule) to review any issues arising around the states and seek to ensure national consistency with implementing the audits and interpreting the FSP requirements, Dornom adds.
“Any dairy farm that does not comply with its food safety plan is issued with non-conformances and if not resolved, the State Regulatory Authority may revoke the farm license so that it cannot produce milk for sale,” Dornom explains.
On-farm quality assurance programs all contain the same essential food safety elements, she continues. “The core elements that must be addressed in on-farm food safety programs under FSANZ Standard 4.2.4 include agricultural chemicals, veterinary medicines, pest control, stock feed, water quality, hygienic milking, water supply and quality, cleaning and sanitizing, traceability and records, and skills and knowledge,” she points out.
Likewise, under FSANZ Standard 4.2.4, every dairy manufacturing and processing establishment must have validated, documented and approved food safety program in place that must cover the following core elements: pathogen reduction technologies (including pasteurization), temperature controls, processing, cleaning and sanitizing (including chemicals to be used), storage, traceability through distribution, post-pasteurization hazard management, post-pasteurization raw material and ingredient management, traceability, records, and personnel competency.
“The State Regulatory Authorities are responsible for approving the dairy plants’ FSPs and verifying compliance with the plans,” Dornom notes. “Dairy companies are audited against their FSPs by approved auditors as per the National Food Safety Auditor Protocol. Export listed establishments are also audited against their approved arrangements, as well.”
This approach to whole chain food safety reflects international requirements under Codex (Code of Hygienic Practice for Milk and Milk Products), national requirements by FSANZ, and state-based legislation that adopts the FSANZ Requirements.
“In addition to complying with food safety requirements, all dairy farmers must adhere to all legislative requirements, including areas such as animal welfare, chemical contamination, and environmental responsibilities,’ Dornom says. ”Dairy company on-farm QA programs may also contain market specific requirements.”
There are currently no specific issues relating to Australian dairy food safety, Dornom says. “However, we operate in a global market, so when there is an issue questioning dairy food safety in any market, because Australia exports approximately 40 percent of its dairy production, dairy companies are asked to demonstrate why buyers of Australian dairy products need not be concerned about the overseas issue with respect to Australian product,” she relates. “The legislated underpinning of food safety and the company QA programs provide evidence, which is supported by such things as company product testing in accredited laboratories and other monitoring programs like the Australian Milk Residue Analysis survey.”
All establishments involved in the processing and storage of dairy products for export must have a current export registration certificate issued by the DoA, Dornom says. “DoA officers undertake an on-site audit of establishments, and export registration is only issued once the establishment has been audited and found to be compliant with Australia’s export legislation, including importing country requirements,” she elaborates.
Companies exporting dairy products must be registered with the DoA and subject to compliance audits. “These audits are conducted by the State Food Authorities on behalf of the DoA,” Dornom explains. “Moreover, importing countries regularly come to Australia to audit the Australian dairy food safety system. For Australian dairy establishments to export to the U.S., they must be registered by the U.S. FDA and may be subject to on-site audits by the FDA.”
Emerging Dairy Safety Issues
Even in the absence of any current dairy safety issues, the Australian Dairy industry’s Issues Management Group (IMG) was developed in 2002 as a network of interested industry and government stakeholders coordinated by DA. The IMG’s objective, says Dornom, is to provide a comprehensive and industry-wide approach to address issues that may affect the reputation and future viability of the Australian dairy industry.
“We embrace a cooperative and pro-active partnership approach to identify any emerging food safety issues that may affect dairy product safety at any time down the road,” Dornom says. “This requires strong links with a wide range of Australian and international organizations such as FSANZ, CSIRO, Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, Codex Alimentarius Commission, World Animal Health Organization, and the International Dairy Federation. This collaboration also ensures the Australian industry is aware of potential issues in other countries and actions being taken by various agencies and scientific researchers to investigate measures to correct or manage whatever the issue might be.”
Leake is a food safety consultant, auditor, and award-winning journalist based in Wilmington, N.C. Reach her at [email protected].
For more information on food safety in Australia, click on additional content:
Food Safety in Australia
Australia: Focus on Red Meat
Australia: Focus on Horticulture
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