Berries

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Overview

New laws for food businesses that grow and/or process berries apply Australia-wide from 12 February 2025.

The laws are outlined in Chapter 4 - Primary Production and Processing Standards of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, which sets legal standards for food in Australia and New Zealand.

The new standards apply to businesses that:

  • grows and/or harvest berries
  • wash, trim, sanitise, sort, store, combine and pack berries, and transport berries between pack houses.

The standards do not apply to cooking, freezing, drying, preserving, blending, juicing or adding other foods to berries. They also do not apply to retailers or to the retail sale of food, which are already regulated under Chapter 3 of the Code.

What berries are included

The standard applies to fresh raw berries including, but not limited to:

  • strawberries
  • blueberries
  • berries of the Rubus species, such as blackberries and raspberries.

Primary producer and processor definition  

Primary producer means a business, enterprise or activity that involves the growing and/or harvesting of berries.

Primary processor means a business, enterprise or activity that includes one or more of the following activities in relation to berries that have been harvested:
 

(a) washing

(b) trimming

(c) sorting

(d) sanitising

(e) storing

(f) combining harvested leafy vegetables

(g) packing

(h) transport between primary processing premises.

Notification

Under the national standards, NSW berry growers and processors must notify the Food Authority of their business details.  

We are developing an online form to help berry businesses notify their details. If you would like us to let you know when the form is available, please subscribe for updates on the Berries, leafy vegetables and melons page.

New licensing requirements are proposed for berry primary production and processing businesses. For more information, see Draft Food Regulation 2025 or Changes by industry. 

Scheme-certified growers and processors

The Food Authority will recognise growers and processors that are certified to Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) food safety schemes, such as Freshcare, SQF, GLOBALG.A.P and BRCGS, as meeting the requirements of the berries Primary Production and Processing Standard.

Growers and processors certified to an existing GFSI food safety scheme should provide their name and email address at the bottom of the Berries, leafy vegetables and melons page to be updated when more information becomes available.

Traceability

Traceability is the ability to track produce through all stages of its production, processing and distribution.

Traceability helps businesses show that their products are safe and responsibly grown. It also helps protect the business to quickly respond to a food safety issue or recall.

Berry growers and processors must keep records that can identify:

  • to whom their produce was supplied; and
  • from whom their produce was received.

This requirement only applies to wholesale transactions - it does not apply to retail sales directly to consumers.  

For more guidance on traceability, see:

Input management  

Inputs are things you put into growing your produce. They include water, fertiliser, soil and soil amendments, such as manure, compost, and blood and bone.

Some materials and products added to soil could contain harmful substances and pathogens that can transfer to produce and make people sick.

Berry growers and processors must do what they can to ensure inputs do not make their produce unacceptable to eat.

This means the soil, soil amendments, fertiliser and water you use do not contaminate your produce with harmful microorganisms, chemicals or physical hazards.

Water  

For growing crops, water used for irrigation and for applying fertilisers, pesticides and other agricultural chemicals should not contain levels of microorganisms that would make the produce unsafe.

Regularly assess risks of your water sources, including:

  • the potential for cross-contamination from water sources in normal and high rainfall or flooding (for more information on flooding, refer to Weather Events)
  • to ensure microbial quality of water is safe for its intended use (see below).

Regularly test your water sources and:

  • apply appropriate treatments if required (e.g. chlorine, UV, filtration) and monitor levels of chemicals used in the water
  • increase testing if animals, weather (e.g. dust storms, heavy rain, drought) or other events could have affected your water sources
  • keep appropriate testing records.

Prevent water contamination (for example, fence around dams to keep animals away). Record water sources used for irrigation and the site of irrigation.

Post-harvest water used to cool, wash or sanitise produce must be clean and safe (town water or similar quality) so it will not contaminate your produce.

Water used for cleaning food contact surfaces must also be safe – town water or similar.

For more guidance on best practice for inputs, see:

Premises and equipment

Berry growers and processors need to make sure the structures, equipment and vehicles used for growing, harvesting and processing produce do not make the food unsafe to eat.

Poorly made and maintained farm buildings, facilities and equipment can increase the chances of product contamination. They must be suitable for food production, and kept clean, sanitised and in good repair.

For more guidance on best practice for premises and equipment, see:

Skills and knowledge

Workers must understand food safety hazards, including sources of contamination, and that they are responsible for producing safe food.  

There are no formal qualifications required, and the level of training should be appropriate to the level of risk of the duties performed.  

For example, a person who picks produce may have different skills and knowledge to a person who services equipment, but they both need to know and do their part to keep produce safe.

For more guidance, see Skills and knowledge - Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

Hygiene and handling

Workers and visitors can contaminate produce with harmful microorganisms, chemicals, or foreign matter from their hands, body, clothes or equipment. To reduce this risk, anyone who visits or works onsite must understand and follow good personal health and hygiene practices.

For workers, this includes:

  • wearing clean clothing at the start of each day
  • not handling food if they know, or suspect, they have an illness for example, vomiting or diarrhoea
  • covering open wounds with a waterproof bandage
  • washing their hands whenever it is likely their hands could contaminate food for example, after visiting the toilet, after meal breaks
  • not smoking, spitting, chewing gum, eating, sneezing or coughing near produce at any time.

For visitors:  

  • Provide site inductions or materials on health, hygiene and food safety to visitors before they visit.
  • Provide written instructions, signs and posters to remind people what they should do.
  • Ask visitors to complete declarations they are not sick with intestinal or respiratory illness.

For more guidance, see:

Inspections

Growers and processors not certified to a GFSI food safety scheme will be monitored through a Food Authority compliance program.

Initial visits to farms and facilities by food safety officers will focus on providing advice on how to comply with the new laws and educate growers on the importance of maintaining food safety standards.  

Legislation and standards

Berry businesses will also need to meet the requirements of the:

  1. Food Act 2003 (NSW) and statutory instruments made under the Food Act 2003
  2. Food Standards Code, including -

More information

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