The daily coverage of the short course on Food Standards and Regulations Familiarisation, led by The Centre for Global Food and Resources, continues below.
South Australia is renowned internationally for its premium food and wine products produced in a clean and green environment. Today, the IA-CEPA delegates had the opportunity to listen to some of the key stakeholders from the South Australian government that are involved in policy development and implementation at the state level.
Prof Pauline Mooney
The third day of the program opened with Prof. Pauline Mooney introducing the Primary Industries and Regions South Australia (PIRSA) and the work they do in supporting the South Australian food and agriculture sector. Pauline explained in detail about the various aspects of the industry and outlined the achievements of the agriculture and food sector in the last decade. She presented an overview of the various sub-sectors of the industry.
Heidi Alleway
Heidi Alleway spoke about her role as the General Manager of the Aquaculture and Fisheries sector in PIRSA on the importance of the seafood industry to the economy of the state. She also gave a detailed explanation of the various legislations that regulate the seafood industry in South Australia to ensure that a premium quality product is produced that is of a globally recognised standard which can fetch a high value for the producer.
Dr. Margaret Sexton
Dr. Margaret Sexton presented an overview of the food safety procedures that the businesses have to undertake in order to successfully operate in South Australia. The IA CEPA delegates engaged in significant discussions with the officials from PIRSA while drawing lessons from the South Australian examples and thinking about potential implications the learning can have on policy development in Indonesia.
Around lunchtime, the delegates visited the Frewville Foodland supermarket, which has been voted the world’s best supermarket for the last two years in a row.
The delegates made the most of the opportunity to explore the aisles to identify various international and Indonesian products that are available in-store. This also resulted in some useful discussion and thinking about future strategies that some of the business owners in the delegation might want to implement in order to establish sales in Australia.
Catherine Sayer, CEO of Food South Australia
The day was wrapped up with a talk by Catherine Sayer, CEO of Food South Australia, a membership based industry support organisation. Catherine gave an overview of the work Food SA does with local businesses that wish to export their products.
Catherine spoke about her experience of setting up and representing South Australian agrifood industry at various international food shows and the various aspects of showcasing South Australian products in international markets. The delegates engaged with Catherine on a one-on-one basis after the talk to gain more insights from her.
