HARPS Newsletter June 2024 Edition

As mentioned in our January HARPS update, the One Direction ANZ Management Team announced the appointment of Lena Christl as General Manager for HARPS.  Lena took over from Belinda Millard, after 9 years as the General Manager for HARPS. We appreciate the tireless work Belinda did in helping to lead the development of the original HARPS scheme in 2016 and wish Belinda every success for the future.

Lena Christl has completed a Bachelor of Applied Science (Food Science & Technology) at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and brings over 20 years of knowledge and experience in the food industry.  Before joining HARPS, Lena was the National Quality Manager for Montague, a leading grower and packer of apples, pears, citrus, table grapes and stonefruit. Her role included continuous improvement around quality, environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and corporate governance.  Lena is passionate about helping suppliers, and previously worked as a Senior Food Safety Project Leader for Rulethirteen, where she worked closely with clients to help them achieve better food safety and quality controls to meet customer and certification requirements.  Lena is also a certified Food Safety Management System Lead Auditor and holds a Certificate IV in Training & Assessment.

You can contact Lena at the HARPS Helpline 1300 852 219, email harps@harpsonline.com.au or email her directly at lena@harpsonline.com.au

In addition to Lena’s arrival, we are pleased to announce that Lacey Rowley, who has been working behind the scenes to support the HARPS team since January 2020, has taken on sole responsibility for administrative support.

Lacey will continue to provide valuable support to better assist our daily operations and has a strong understanding of the HARPS Database. Lacey joins us from Quality Associates where she held the position of Office Manager and Training Coordinator. Lacey has 20 years’ experience in office administration and database analysis and management.  Lacey is currently studying a double degree, Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Business.
You can contact Lacey at admin@harpsonline.com.au or email her directly at lacey@harpsonline.com.au.

World Food Safety Day 2024 – Prepare for the Unexpected

HARPS joined the global community in celebrating World Food Safety Day on the 7^th June. A day dedicated to recognising the critical importance of food safety in protecting our health and well-being. This years theme, “food safety: prepare for the unexpected” draws our attention to food safety incidents and highlights the importance of being ready to respond, no matter how mild or severe they can be.  Food safety incidents can happen due to many reasons including accidents, inadequate controls, food fraud or natural events.

Providing safe products to consumers is a legal requirement.  Where an issue in relation to consumer safety has been identified, a product recall is required.  A food recall is the action taken to remove unsafe food from distribution, sale, and consumption.

In order for your Customer(s) to help facilitate the recall process and to rapidly implement a product recall, HARPS requires Customers to be notified within sixty (60) minutes after a Supplier decides to conduct a recall.  This means that Tier 2 Suppliers must inform their Tier 1 Customer, and the Tier 1 Supplier must inform its Retail Customer(s).  [HARPS V2.0 Element 7.1]

Food Standards Australia New Zealand provides information on recalling food in Australia and guidance for food business on developing a written food recall plan for conducting a recall.  This can be found at the following link: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/food-recalls/firp

See you at the International Fresh Produce Safety Symposium!