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Translated from Chinese
China Food Industry
Dec 2010
Information Technology Improves Food Safety
- Seminar with Victorian Government ICT Trade Mission, Australia
Reporter: Yanru LUO
Recently a Victorian Government ICT Trade Mission from Australia came to Shanghai and held a special seminar on Food Safety and Tracking Technologies with a number of Chinese entrepreneurs. The trade mission consisted of a total of nine businesses: Challenger Momentum Pty Ltd, eLearning Portal Pty Ltd, MessageXchange (eVision Pty Ltd), Icon Global Link (IGL), Microlistics Pty Ltd, SAI Global Limited, Secure Commodities Pty Ltd, Smart Trans Limited, and Systems of the Future International (SFI) Australis Pty Ltd. The seminar was chaired by Mr Stuart Bland, Multimedia, the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development of the Victorian State Government, and was also attended by Mr Phill Goode, Manager, International Market Development, Dairy Australia, and Chander Oberoi, Chief Executive Officer of Yamei Electronics.
How Does Australia Ensure Dairy Food Safety?
Australia enjoys strong technical expertise and advantages in food safety, and has worked well with a number of countries in the world in promoting the development of the food industry. As an important part of the food industry, the dairy industry has also attracted a lot of attention. It is the role of Dairy Australia to serve the dairy industry covering the whole production chain from farm productivity, processing and innovation, domestic promotion and international trade.
Australia is one of the four major exporters of dairy products in the world. With an important agribusiness sector, the dairy industry has approximately 8,000 dairy farms and exports around 50% of its total milk production to some major export destinations such as Japan, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines. Each state in Australia has its own independent dairy businesses which supply fresh milk to nearby cities and townships.
In terms of scientific quality management and quality risk management, the Australian government and the dairy industry have jointly established a stringent safety management system, which is consolidated with a full range of regulations. Generally speaking, the governments in the majority of countries set relevant standards which are then implemented by relevant authorities. However, in Australia, dairy producers and processors work together with government authorities in discussing and deciding on what standards are most suitable for the development of the dairy industry. On this basis, a reasonable standard is established, which ensures that the established regulations and practices can cover all links of the dairy production chain, including the six links of pre-farm gate (animal, feed, veterinary medicines, etc.), farm, transport, production, sale and market, and lay the foundation for dairy regulation in Australia. Customer demand, food safety and product traceability are the three most important elements of the Australian dairy product safety management system. However, other factors such as animal welfare, bio-security and environmental sustainability are also important factors that have been taken into account in the food management system. This system has placed its focus on dairy product licences. Industrial quality assurance (QA) requires that food safety should be the responsibility of all participants in the supply chain. Every business and organization involved in dairy production and processing, including dairy producers, manufacturers, transportation and sales systems, must hold such a licence. Every dairy business must provide an accredited dairy safety guarantee plan before they are granted a government-issued licence.
Here is an example on how a farm implements a safety management system. Under the Australian Food Standards Law, all farms in Australia must make and implement a proper food safety plan (FSP) according to the law. The dairy food safety authorities (SDFAs) in each state must approve the FSP of a farm before issuing a licence, and must supervise and audit the farms to which they have issued licences on a regular basis. The FSP submitted by farms must consist of the following seven key elements: pollution control (including physical, chemical and micro-biological pollution); milking sheds; milking hygiene; water supply and quality; cleaning and sterilization; traceability and records; and staff capability. Among these seven elements, the last two elements are the most important, namely, farms must ensure that their staff are capable of doing the job and their records are traceable. Farms work with some large businesses to help them achieve these seven requirements. In order to ensure the implementation of FSP, an effort must be made to ensure that the requirements are met at every link. For example, in terms of sampling for testing purposes, the sampling must be completed before milk is transferred from farm to milk tank. The testing of milk samples must be focused on fast testing of milk composition, antibiotics and other indicators, so as to determine if the milk meets the safety standards. Each year, government authorities regularly send out their technical specialists to audit farms and supervise milk production processes. If a farm has invested heavily in its early stage in construction and the purchase of cows, it will not risk any violation of the regulations during its milk production process. This is why the Australian safety management system operates well on its farms.
Furthermore, after milk is transported from farms to processors, there are also similar systems during the production of dairy products to ensure product safety. Before they obtain their licence to manufacture products for the domestic market from various state dairy food authorities and their export licence from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, the manufacturers of dairy products must have an approved HACCP system to assess if their products meet the safety standards and monitor food safety risks at their factories. The HACCP system for manufacturers of dairy products must consist of a number of key elements including pathogenic bacteria minimization technologies, temperature control, processing, cleaning and sterilization, storage, forward and backward traceability on the supply chain from farm to consumer; hazard management after pasteurisation; record keeping, and staff capabilities. Likewise, relevant authorities need to put in a lot of effort to ensure the proper implementation of HACCP systems. For example, in Victoria, the government conducts audits on a regular basis, and the businesses organize their own internal staff to conduct audits. They have also established a monitoring and inspecting system to undertake sampling tests on a daily basis so as to identify and resolve any issues in a prompt manner. Australian dairy industry has a strong traceability system, which has benefited from Australia’s information and communication technologies. The importance of information technology to dairy safety and even food safety is obvious.
Establishing a Modern Logistics System to Ensure Food Safety
In the past 20 years, the Chinese government has made brilliant achievements in food safety. However, there is still some room for development, which requires a lot more effort. Food safety involves a number of links. However, in such a process, the logistics of food, especially that of perishable, fresh and quality-centric food, is closely linked to food safety. It can ensure that the products and the means of transport are very safe when food is transported in various countries and regions, so as to ensure that the food industries operate in a proper manner.
Logistics is an extensive and complicated topic. In any country or any industry, logistics systems play an important role. But their importance to the food industry is most obvious. You can imagine what would happen if ice cream made in Australia for sale in Shanghai only arrives in Shanghai a month later. You can also imagine what would happen if eggs produced in Australia for sale in Shanghai become chickens when they arrive in Shanghai, even though they are labelled as quality-assured eggs.
China’s cold chain logistics industry is developing at a rapid pace, but there are still some problems. Firstly, there is still not an independent and established food cold chain system in China. Secondly, the level of market driven food cold chain logistics is still relatively low. With only a few third-party logistics agencies and lack of well-established service networks and information systems, the quality, accuracy and promptness of food logistics are seriously affected, which leads to very high cold chain costs and product losses. Thirdly, the hardware of food cold chains is inadequate and needs to be further improved. Fourthly, there is a lack of overall planning and integration between upstream and downstream in food cold chains. Therefore, it is a matter of urgency to develop a modern logistics system which can’t do without the adoption and integration of information technology.
The healthy development of logistics for farm produce provides not only an important guarantee for achieving added value for farm produce and increased income for farmers, but also an effective carrier for putting in place stringent systems for food quality and safety traceability, recall, and market access and exit. The development and overall improvement of cold chain logistics can’t do without technological innovation. Luckily, the rapid development of modern information technology has made it possible to establish a modern logistics system and promote the safety and healthy development of the food industry. It is worth noting that food safety is actually not only a government responsibility, but also the responsibility of each and every food business. It requires the joint efforts of businesses and government to ensure the acceptable quality of the food produced by the businesses and build up the confidence of consumers.
Strengthening Sino-Australian Cooperation to Contribute to Food Safety
Multimedia Victoria of the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development of the State of Victoria is committed to establishing, maintaining and strengthening the links between Victoria and China. It hopes to introduce the ICT technology and services of the Victorian Government into China and establish a cooperative relationship with Chinese businesses so as to contribute to global food safety and achieve its maximum value. During this period of time, the Australian Chamber of Commerce, Beijing has vigorously supported and promoted the interests of Australian companies in China. It has recruited more than 180 corporate members and conducted a series of activities for its corporate members. It has provided various services and business liaison opportunities and played an important role in promoting the business links between China and Australia. In addition, there are probably significant differences between the traditional food industries in China and Australia. It is hoped that relevant agencies can make even greater efforts in the future to ensure a good and long-term cooperative relationship with China.
A Strong Back-up Force for Australian Food Safety Management
At the forum, the reporter learnt from face-to-face talks with members of the trade mission that the State of Victoria is a conglomeration of entire food industries in Australia and the centre of the ICT industry in Australia. Its ICT industry is a major contributor to the economy and wealth of the state, and it is world famous for its high efficiency and low costs. It has a strong ICT workforce, which is committed to providing quality products and services to its customers and contributing to food safety. There are nine companies in the Victorian ICT Trade Mission to Shanghai, which are a part of this industry. They are capable of developing safety management software and provide customized solutions for their customers, such as the radio frequency identification labels and Real Time Locating System of Challenger Momentum Pty Ltd, the electronic information exchange service platform of MessageXchange, the Integrated Standard Execution System (ISES) of Icon Global Link, the storage and tracing system of Microlistics Pty Ltd, the vehicle transportation optimisation system of Smart Trans Limited, the perishable food management solution of Secure Commodities Pty Ltd, the risk management software platform of eLearning Portal and SAI Global Limited, and the customer relationship management solution of SFI. The rapidly developing information technology has become a strong and indispensable backup force for food safety.
(Caption: Mr Phill Goode, Manager, International Market Development, Dairy Australia)
(Caption: Mr Chander Oberoi, CEO, Yamei Electronicss)
(Caption: Mr Stuart Bland, Multimedia Victoria, Victorian Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development)
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