Food safety and quality management remain a focus for Viterra while it moves southern Australian grain to market.
After receiving growers’ grain during harvest, Viterra exports grain to international markets from its six port terminals, and outturns grain by road and rail for shipping and to supply domestic end users. Through these tasks, Viterra plays an important role in upholding food and feed safety standards.
Food and feed safety and quality management is integrated into all of Viterra’s activities and operations to ensure grain delivered to its customers meets the varying requirements of importing and exporting authorities as well as end users’ individual requirements.
Viterra holds a number of accreditations and certifications, and meets the highest international standards of food safety and quality management.
Grain is tested for quality a minimum of four times prior to export at various points along the company’s supply chain.
Viterra’s state of the art laboratory supports its network of sites by conducting comprehensive grain classification, testing for end user quality specifications, DNA testing for genetically modified material and chemical residue testing.
Viterra also works with growers to uphold food safety and quality requirements for grain delivered to the company after harvest.
This is achieved by receiving grain through its postharvest delivery procedure, which is in place for all deliveries after the harvest season, including through port direct.
Through the postharvest procedure, growers are required present a postharvest delivery declaration form at classification for each load, in addition to the company’s standard delivery advice and declaration.
Viterra continues to conduct testing on grain delivered postharvest in line with its food safety and quality management processes. This includes classifying all loads on delivery, conducting falling number testing on wheat and malt barley to ensure the quality has not deteriorated while in storage, and postdelivery chemical residue testing.
With these rigorous processes and testing in place, Viterra is able to meet end use customers’ quality specifications as well as importing countries’ food safety requirements, which helps ensure southern Australian growers’ grain maintains access to multiple markets.