Field fresh project sparks interest in environment QA

摘要

The greening Australia-Field. Fresh Nature Conservation Project was established with Natural Heritage Trust (NHT) funding in February last year. The project aimed to help Field Fresh growers implement conservation management plans. These plans werewritten to meet the environmental component of the Nature's Choice quality assurance (QA) program that Field Fresh had adopted. This is the only QA system in the state that has an environmental component and is likely to be the only one similar throughout Australia. QA that incorporates' environmental standards could provide the future mechanism to ensure agriculture is environmentally sustainable. Tesco, Britain's food chain, requires growers from around the world to meet the Nature's Choice assuranceprogram. Field Fresh onion growers had to adopt the Nature's Choice QA system to be able to export to these markets. European markets are leading the push when it comes to safeguarding their reputation in supplying safe, quality assured foods, as Consumer awareness and concern for environmentally friendly foods are growing. Tasmanian producers, therefore, need to be ecolabel-ready in order to comply with labelling demands of European and Asian markets.