Food and water shortages to take the spotlight at HACCP food safety forum

Australian charities and welfare groups will soon be calling on the food industry for more assistance if the results of a Foodbank survey are any indication.

The hunger-relief organisation surveyed over 700 welfare groups and their agencies, and found that almost 70 per cent have seen an increase in the number of Australians in need of food assistance.

Of those agencies, 25 per cent reported a 15 plus per cent increase in demand for food donations over a 12-month period, and 10 per cent of agencies experienced an increase greater than 30 per cent.

Greg Warren, Foodbank's general manager, who will be outlining the findings at the HACCP Conference food safety forum in August, says food insecurity is increasing in Australia, and more food donations are now needed.

However, improvements in inventory control and planning methods within the food industry in recent years mean there is less surplus food for donation.

“This also highlights the issue of food safety and security,” Warren said. “With increased demand, the challenge for us is to safely supply vast quantities of food, often in times of crises, from various suppliers. The processes we have in place are more important now than ever.”

The problems are not limited to Australia, according to Major General John Hartley OA, CEO of Future Directions International, who will also be speaking at the event.

He said an increasing demand for fresh water combined with an increasing loss of arable land could result in a global food and water crisis by 2050 if key countries including Australia didn’t review their current food policies.

“We urgently need more produce to be grown here, in addition to a clarified food policy that incorporates reasons why Australia needs a viable agricultural and pastoral sector. Different policy and regulatory areas related to food should be brought together,” Hartley said.

“We need an analysis of the northern land’s size, challenges of soil and its access to water. Major investment into this area could potentially increase productivity in cattle, sugar and other crops within Australia.”