Hawkesbury residents don’t have to buy frozen berries if they’re prepared to eat seasonally.
After last week’s Hepatitis A scare over frozen berries from China, the Gazette rang round to find local replacements.
John Maguire of Enniskillen Orchard on Grose Vale Road has blueberries delivered fresh from Orange every Friday night at $4 a punnet, Tutti Fruitti on Bells Line of Road at Bilpin currently has fresh blackberries, and Hawkesbury Harvest Hampers.com.au has organic blueberries and raspberries grown at Mount Tomah for $7 a punnet.
Hawkesbury Harvest recommends residents think twice before buying produce grown overseas.
Harvest secretary Alan Eagle said the confusing labelling on frozen products can be avoided if you buy your produce locally.
‘‘When you buy direct from a farmer you can usually see where the produce is grown, and you can ask how it is made or how it is transformed. Try that at a supermarket!’’ he said.
‘‘Hawkesbury Harvest understands the need to produce goods at lower costs or at least a competitive cost. We also understand that sometimes processes fail.
‘‘But when the processes fail, accompanied by failures in health regulations and inspections that are varied, and different to what we have paid for and developed in our own country, you start to wonder if the lower price you pay for that produce is worth it.’’
He said while consumers should have the right to choose between imported products and local products, ‘‘but tricky labelling regulations allow manufacturers to use sleight of hand to confuse the consumer’’.
‘‘Hawkesbury Harvest has been putting the Farm Gate Trail businesses in front of consumers now for 14 years. Our Farmers and Fine Food markets have been another channel where you can quiz the farmers about the way things are grown and processed.’’
Hawkesbury growers could benefit due to the outcry caused by the berry scare, as shoppers, wanting to ensure their food is safe, may be more inclined to source their food locally.
Meanwhile national vegetable grower advocate body AUSVEG, which represents 9000 growers, has mounted a campaign for clearer country-of-origin labelling after the frozen berry scare. The group’s spokesperson said the contamination has also highlighted the need for stronger testing of imported produce, saying it’s ‘‘high time’’ it was subjected to the same level of scrutiny that local produce was.
“In this latest incident, we are seeing berries sourced from Chile and China, being processed in China then shipped here, and seemingly posing a health risk to Australian consumers.’’
Gathering momentum on the issue last week resulted in a shock alignment of the Coalition and The Greens. The Australian Greens Party introduced a bill in Parliament on February 12 to make country of origin clear on food labels, distinguishing where something was grown from where it was processed.
Then Coalition Minister for Agriculture Barnaby Joyce stressed the need for clarity for consumers, saying on ABC Radio last Wednesday ‘‘I want to make sure that people can clearly identify... a genuine Australian product because we have stronger sanitary laws to make sure we have a cleaner, greener product.’’