07 August 2020

Brought to you by Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor www.olivebiz.com.au
Today's Top Story
VIC COVID-19 update: requirements for permitted workplaces
 
From 11:59pm on Wednesday, regional Victoria returned to Stage 3 “Stay at home” restrictions. This means going out only for: shopping for food and essential items; care and care-giving; daily exercise and work and study – if you can’t do it from home. 
At the same time Melbourne entered Stage 4 restrictions and workplaces in Melbourne must now be closed unless: the workplace is part of a permitted activity, or all employees are working from home. Employers that require their staff to attend a work site must issue a worker permit to their employees – this is the employer’s responsibility. More information and download permits here.
If you are still operating from a workplace, and have five or more employees, you must also have a COVID Safe Plan. Find out more, and access the COVID Safe Plan template, guidance information, and other relevant documentation, here.
Australia

Water brokers and market analysts have reacted positively to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's interim report into Murray-Darling water markets. The ACCC found the markets needed a major shake-up, to allow for open, fair and efficient water trading.

Meanwhile …
A second phase to deliver 60GL for farmers is now on hold because of significant rainfall across the Murray-Darling Basin.

South Australia’s $2.2bn desalination plant is going back into hibernation after being briefly fired up to support drought-stricken farmers. A $98m deal between the federal and state governments to supply 100 gigalitres of water to farmers to grow fodder is now on hold, with a decision not expected until late this year.

And more comment on the topic …

With the volumes of reporting that is undertaken by the government in relation to water and water entitlements, you would imagine that they might be close to reaching some sort of consensus on how a sensible and largely agreeable arrangement might be arrived at. It would seem not, however.
Tim is more of a happy chappy than a grumpy grandma since he swapped Sydney life for market life. Photo Kate O’Neill.

If you’ve been shopping at the local farmers’ markets for a while, you’ll remember Denyse Hodgson, aka, Grumpy Grandma; the no-nonsense lady with the best olives in town. She and husband Alan retired a few years ago, but to the relief of their many loyal customers, their stall and products remained at New Brighton and Mullumbimby Farmers Markets.

It’s always great to see promotion of local olive producers.

It's an ingredient you keep on hand at all times and probably use in most of your recipes - but oil comes in many forms, and not all are created equal! Dietitian Melissa Meier takes the reins to provide the final word on which is healthiest for your daily cooking.

As the sub-header says, this is “Bad news for coconut oil lovers”.
A Parliamentary Friends of Soil group has been established, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister the Hon Michael McCormack, with the Hon Linda Burney MP acting as co-chair. The group will bring together a bi-partisan forum for parliamentarians to interact with farmers, scientists, industry groups and policy makers on issues relating to health and maintenance of Australia’s soils.
Review of the Australian Table Olive Production Manual
This important resource for Australian table olive producers is currently being reviewed by table olive specialist Professor Stan Kailis. Stan would like to know if Friday Olive Extracts readers have noted any problems or omissions in the original Table Olive Manual, or have any suggestions or additions to be included in the revised publication, which will be available later this year.
Please send any contributions ASAP direct to Professor Kailis at: stan.kailis@y7mail.com.
The Table Olive Production Manual can be downloaded for free from the Agrifutures website here.
NSW: primary producer rego savings continue

Registration savings for primary producers across New South Wales will continue for another 12 months until 20 June 2021 as part of ongoing drought relief measures. The reduced costs are automatically applied during registration payment, with vehicle owners still required to pay Compulsory Third Party (CTP) insurance, stamp duty, number plate fees and relevant safety checks when registering a heavy vehicle.
More information here.
Evaluation of Country of Origin Labelling for Food: discussion paper
Reforms of Australia’s Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) regulations for food were passed in 2016 and came into full-effect in July 2018. The CoOL reforms were implemented in response to feedback from consumers that previous origin labelling claims on food were hard to find, confusing or did not provide enough information. Providing clearer, more consistent, more informative and easier to find country of origin labels for food, the reforms aimed to help consumers make more informed choices about the food they buy, in line with their personal preferences.
Two years down the line, an impact evaluation of the CoOL reforms is now underway, seeking to find out whether the CoOL reforms for food have:
  • improved consumer access to information about the origin of food
  • clarified the origin claims businesses can make about their products
  • avoided imposing excessive costs on the impacted businesses
A survey is being conducted as part of the initial consultation process, with submissions open until 11 September. Access the Discussion Paper here.
Fair Farms: Managing bullying, harassment and discrimination

The horticulture industry is lucky to welcome workers with diverse backgrounds and experiences that make the industry an interesting and exciting place to work in. However, these workers may be vulnerable to bullying, harassment and discrimination. This not only forms a health and safety risks for workers but can also prevent them from performing their job well.
The Growcom Fair Farms Initiative team has produced a report on policies and procedures growers should have in place to understand, prevent and manage any instances of bullying, harassment and discrimination.
Access the report here and for more information regarding your obligations as an employer, visit www.fairwork.gov.au and www.growcom.com.au.
Opportunities
VIC: New online training for horticulture workers
New workers starting at Victorian horticulture businesses can access a new online training package through SuniTAFE, supported by the Victorian Government. The Horticulture Farm Worker Induction Program will help upskill new workers and allow them to quickly gain an understanding of the horticulture industry, aiming to ensure a trained, ready and reliable harvesting workforce.
The program will be rolled out over the next eight months and includes development of 12 interactive units covering topics such as industry awareness, safety, machinery use and harvesting skills. Sections of other TAFE-accredited courses will be included to make the transition to certificate and diploma qualifications easier for workers wanting to further upskill in the future.
The training will be free for the industry and jobseekers, including those registered with Working for Victoria.
More details and register interest (jobseekers and businesses) here.
Update: IFAM phase 2 new/extended flight schedule
Phase 2 of the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) is supporting new flights as follows: Sydney to Bangkok, Perth to Singapore and Brisbane to Narita. New extended flights include Brisbane to Dubai and Sydney to Dubai. 
Eligibility for products supported by IFAM is now determined by a set of principles, including: Australian-made or produced; high value; time-sensitive/perishable; limited shelf life.
View the current IFAM flight schedule and associated information, and submit an EOI to access flights, here.
In addition to IFAM flights, alternative air freight options include domestic network flights, international repatriation flights and international commercial freight only flights. More information here.
Events
MAIL’S MOVING AT SNAIL’S PACE … don’t wait to send your entries for the Australian International Olive Awards or you’ll be too late to win!
There are now only weeks to go until entries close for the 2020 Australian International Olive Awards (AIOA), so if you haven’t entered yet – get moving! This year will judging undertaken internationally by panels in seven countries across the globe, providing an unprecedented opportunity for recognition and the marketing benefits that follow.
Benefits
Along with medals, trophies, industry recognition, promotion and increased sales, the AIOA provides organoleptic appraisal for EVOO status and eligibility for OliveCare® accreditation. Each entry will also be featured in the 2020 Results Book, a high-quality publication provided to all entrants, judges and media, providing a great marketing tool for all medal and award winners.
Key dates
Entries close: 4 September 2020 at 5pm CST 
Winners announced: 5 October 2020 via email; online Awards Presentation event in mid-October as part of the AOA 2020 Virtual Conference.
Full competition details and entry forms are available on the AIOA website: www.internationaloliveawardsaustralia.com.au.
*Don’t forget that AOA members pay heavily discounted AIOA entry prices, so check your 20/21 membership invoice has been received and paid before submitting your entries. If in doubt, contact Liz Bouzoudis on 0478 606 145 or secretariat@australianolives.com.au.
Food Safety Governance for Directors
Food Innovation Australia Ltd (FIAL) is holding a Food Safety Governance for Directors virtual workshop from 1.30pm to 4.30pm (AEST) on Tuesday 15 September. The interactive workshop will provide a governance overview for Directors, Executives and senior management of food manufacturing and supply businesses based in Australia to support the production and sale of safe food both domestically and overseas; helping directors to understand the importance of food safety governance, their responsibilities and role in assuring food safety performance. It will also discuss the tools to monitor and verify food safety system performance and the essentials of good food safety governance.
More information and register here.  
International

One of Italy’s largest agricultural firms has agreed to invest $200 million to provide more bargaining power and a larger pool of resources for independent farmers.

Pakistani olive oil producers are preparing to enter the global market as 27.5 million olive trees on more than 30,000 acres of land have been planted. The plantation extends through Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Baluchistan, Islamabad and Azad Kashmir.

The 2020 olive harvesting season has gotten underway in Argentina, in spite of Latin America’s largest olive oil producer entering the third week of a nation-wide lockdown due to the coronavirus.
Friday Olive Extracts – send us YOUR news
With 2020 now well underwayFriday Olive Extracts (FOE) continues to bring all the latest industry news and events to your Inbox every week. THE place to share olive industry news, event details and reminders, our industry e-newsletter keeps growing in popularity and we now have nearly 4000 subscribers across the globe. If you’re not one of them, you can sign up here.
And please remember that FOE is YOUR e-newsletter, so we’re keen to receive your news and help spread the word. Just email your information to Editor Gerri Nelligan at editor@olivegrower.com.au - it’s free, and the best way to reach your fellow industry members!

Authorities in Germany, Spain, Italy and Belgium have provided more details of their roles in an international operation focused on potentially dangerous food and beverages. Operation Opson IX, coordinated by Europol and Interpol, ran from December 2019 to June 2020. More than $40 million worth of food and drink was seized including 12,000 tons of illegal and harmful products.

The European Commission wants the United States to scrap tariffs on a range of manufactured and agricultural goods now that E.U. states found to be providing illegal subsidies to Airbus have complied with WTO demands.

Hyderabad: State Agriculture Minister S Niranjan Reddy said the groundnut farmers in the State will be provided with quality seed varieties developed by the ICRISAT and ICAR as per the international standards.

The line which caught our eye is “The new varieties will have the quality present in the olive oil” …
Battery graphics show consumers how many calories, fats, saturated fats, sugar and salt are in each product.

The European Commission has given the green light to an Italian alternative to the Nutri-Score food labeling system.

Adhering to the MIND diet is one of five healthy behaviors associated with a substantially lower risk for Alzheimer’s disease, according to a recent study funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA).

One of the key components of the MIND diet is … olive oil.
What's On
2020

10 August
Entries open, 2020 NZ EVOO Awards – Wellington, NZ

24 August 
Entries open, 2020 WA Olive Awards – Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition

29 August
Results announced, Golden Olive Awards – Vic, Australia

September TBA
World Team Tasting Championship

4 September
Entries close, 2020 Australian International Olive Awards

4 September
Organic Regenerative Conference 2020 – Wellington, NZ

11 September 
Entries close, 2020 Hunter Olive Show – Hunter Valley, NSW

11 September 
Entries close, 2020 NZ EVOO Awards – Wellington, NZ

11 September
Entries close, 2020 WA Olive Awards – Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition

5 October
Results emailed to entrants, 2020 Australian International Olive Awards

10 October 
Awards Dinner, 2020 NZ EVOO Awards – Wellington, NZ

10 October 
Olives NZ 2020 Conference – Wellington, NZ

10 October
2020 NZ EVOO Awards – Wellington, NZ

19 October
Results emailed to entrants, 2020 WA Olive Awards – Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition

22 October
Awards Presentation, 2020 Hunter Olive Show – Hunter Valley, NSW

2021

23-25 March
Soil CRC Participants Conference

7-9 June 
Hort Connections 2021 – Brisbane, Qld

15-17 October 
AOA National Olive Conference & Trade Exhibition – Devonport, TAS

To include your event, or update your existing event details, email FOE editor Gerri Nelligan at editor@olivegrower.com.au
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Australian and New Zealand
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Friday Olive Extracts Editorial editor@olivegrower.com.au
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