We research food borne bacteria, fungi and chemicals to make sure that Australians can continue to feel confident that the foods we buy are safe for our families to eat.
Australia and food safety
Next time you're shopping at a supermarket, take a moment to think about how safe it is to eat the food in your trolley. Thankfully, it is a given in Australia that generally the food products we buy won't make us sick and that we can transport and store them as per their labels. However, many countries don't have the same protections in their food supply as we do.
Colonies of Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella can cause serious food poisoning.
Colonies of Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella can cause serious food poisoning.
Scientific understanding, along with good regulation and production, processing and handling practices make our everyday foods safe, boost food manufacturers' access to export markets and develop new and innovative food products.
Keeping Australia's food supply safe
Our research on the safety of Australia's food supply starts at the farm, where we help the $10b red meat and dairy industries, in particular, ensure their raw commodities are as free from bacterial, fungal and chemical contamination as possible. This helps make foods safer all the way to supermarket shelves, extends food storage life and increases Australia's exports through better ability to meet the import requirements of other countries.
We also work with food manufacturers to develop, process and export high value, highly transformed meat and dairy products (ready to eat meals and bioactive dairy powders, for example) by ensuring their processes and related environments are as risk free as possible.
We are world leaders in helping companies adopt new food processing technologies, such as high pressure processing, and ensuring products are just as safe - or safer - than those processed with traditional technologies such as heat.
As a trusted advisor to government and food safety regulators, we have a national role in Australia's food regulation system and provide scientific advice that shapes national food safety regulations.
From on-farm, to manufacturing, exporting and for consumers, we work at all stages of the food supply chain to support Australia's enviable food safety record.
We partner with small and large companies, government and industry in Australia and around the world.