Small businesses slam red tape as food safety accreditations take up to a year to finalise

Critical safety accreditations used to take as little as 10 days but businesses say the government is now taking up to a year to rubber stamp them.

Goodwood Quality Meats owner David Armstrong says food safety accreditation delays have cost him a significant amount of money. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Small businesses say they are losing out on thousands of dollars because state government red tape is delaying approval of food safety plans.

Industry groups and business owners say the accreditation process was previously taking about 10 days to complete, but the time has now blown out to up to a year.

The government says it already addressed the delay – which happened after a review was launched – by issuing temporary accreditations to waiting applicants.

Goodwood Quality Meats owner David Armstrong said food safety plans must be approved by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) every time a change is made.

“We notify the food safety person to come out and check. These things were taking 12 days, now they’re reaching out over 12 months,” he said.

“This makes it really hard for us to move forward and keep up-to-date and keep a book that’s honest and for us to trade appropriately.”

Mr Armstrong said the delay meant he could not sell ham over the Christmas trading period, causing his business to lose out on “a significant amount of money”.

“For us, (the change) is about how we cook our products, and we’re looking at upgrading our food safety plan for fermented products,” he said.

“But this is an industry-wide thing, this is something that needs to be addressed across the board.”

Dave Armstrong at Goodwood Quality Meats with Nicola Centofanti. Picture: Keryn Stevens

Opposition primary industries spokeswoman Nicola Centofanti visited Goodwood Quality Meats on Monday and called on Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven to intervene.

“To have a situation where bureaucratic red tape is not only making it harder for South Australia businesses to operate but is costing them money is disappointing,” she said.

“Ensuring the safety and quality of food products is of critical importance which is why it’s essential businesses have confidence in the accreditation process.

“If there has been a change to the process, the industry would just like to be kept informed.”

Opposition primary industries and regional development spokeswoman Nicola Centofanti. Picture: Emma Brasier

Primary Industries and Regional Development Minister Clare Scriven. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Emma Brasier

The Australian Meat Industry Council said it had raised concerns around delays and was committed to working with Ms Scriven and PIRSA to fix the issue for members and the industry.

Ms Scriven said food safety standards ensured the public could be confident that the food they consumed was safe to eat.

“Therefore PIRSA cannot bypass strict requirements that ensure food safety,” she said.

“PIRSA began reviewing its food and safety accreditation processes last year to ensure they align with safety standards, codes, and practices.”

Ms Scriven said she became aware in January of delays in the accreditation process, and raised it immediately with the chief executive of PIRSA.

“PIRSA activated temporary accreditations for the majority of applicants,” she said.

The review of accreditation processes is still underway.