An Australian organic farm has secured its place as one of Australia's best managed properties when it comes to biosecurity.

Liz and Piers Benwell run a citrus orchard in Lower Chittering, WA and were among the top four finalists in the recent Australian Rural and Outback Farm Biosecurity Awards. They say the stringent record keeping that is required to be certified organic goes hand in hand with protecting their farm from pest, weeds and disease.

Their orchard is currently ''In-Conversion Organic'' and is on track to become ''A-Grade Organic'' with Australian Certified Organic (ACO) following three years of organic management (the standard requirement for producers becoming certified organic in Australia).

Farm manager Liz Benwell says they did not find it difficult to be grilled on biosecurity measures - ''everything they wanted to know we could say 'Yes - we have those records!' because we were required to monitor our systems in preparation for our organic audits.

''Managing a farm organically requires you to look ahead, rather than be reactive and this also helps with taking better biosecurity measures,'' says Liz.

She says the awards recognised farmers utilising best practise risk mitigation techniques.

''They were interested in the restrictions we place on visitors accessing our property, and the monitoring and control systems we have in place for pests.''

Currently, Liz and Piers monitor all visitors to the property and keep a daily farm diary on the computer of all things that occur on the farm each day. Visitors are allowed to access the farm only via a road that leads to the farm house, and another that leads to the farm shed. ''These roads are fenced off from the rest of the property to guard against any external contamination,'' says Liz.

She says they purchase equipment that allows them to be independent of outside contractors as much as possible.

The farm also utilises an Integrated Pest Management strategy (IPM) using various predatory insects to control pests. A small flock of 12 young guinea fowl have been introduced to help control insects in the orchard. ''They have taken on the job of policing the whole property and are doing a very good job!'' says Liz.

The Benwells are also one of the few producers in their area to have joined groups and research programs which monitor WA properties for fruit fly (Orchard Alert and the Mediterranean Fruit Fly Co-op trapping program).

''They collect research from participating farmers, so each week I go out with a check list and check bottles to monitor fruit fly numbers. We also note what kinds of other pests are or aren't present and submit this information,'' says Liz.

''Once a month we get an update which is a collated version of everyone's information to let us know what to expect in terms of pests in months ahead. Through these groups we also now have access to an entomologist if we have a pest concern, which is very useful.''

The Benwell's hope is to grow their organic citrus orchard from around 700 trees to 1000 in the next few years. Product is sold fresh through an organic distributor to the local WA market.

''When we first acquired it, the orchard was so small we weren't sure what to do with it. Going organic was something that was suggested to us as a way of being competitive with the excellent horticulturalists in the Chittering Valley. We're thrilled we decided to try organic - we're not looking back,'' says Liz.

Organisers say organic produce remains amongst the most difficult to monitor and control, with new challenges arising for international organic food certification and guarantee systems as the organic sector continues to develop rapidly.

''Currently all scientists can do is test for what should not be there (e.g. chemical pesticide residues)'' they state.

The event is expected to look at ideas and methods like those currently being developed by Dr. Karyne Rogers of GNS Science's National Isotope Centre in New Zealand.

Dr. Rogers is working with a technique known as stable isotope analysis which analyses the elemental carbon and nitrogen found in vegetables in order to try and find out whether produce has been grown using organic methods or synthetic fertilisers.

''Using special mass spectrometers we measure not only the level of carbon and nitrogen... but more importantly the ratio of heavy to light atoms. This determines the origin of the elements,'' said Dr. Rogers in an article recently submitted to Organic NZ magazine.

Dr. Rogers said synthetic nitrogen (fom synthetic fertilisers) is primarily made from light nitrogen, whereas recycled nitrogen (such as composts or animal manure) contains heavier nitrogen atoms.

She said her research currently has found no evidence of fraud in organic vegetable sample studies in New Zealand.

''All showed an enriched nitrogen isotope signature - typical of recycled nitrogen being taken up by the plant and transferred to the produce,'' she said.

While good for vegetables, one problem with the technique is that isotopes are unlikely to distinguish between legumes like peas and lucernes - ''which fix atmospheric nitrogen, and have similar nitrogen isotopes regardless of their growing regime'' says Dr. Rogers.

She said the technique could be used to encourage best practise producers, as well as providing a check point for buyers, with many distributors already sending in samples to test the authenticity of produce they are buying.

''Stable isotopes are carving an important niche for the possibility of screening produce,'' she said.

Isotopes have also been used to begin to identify whether eggs are from caged, or free-range and organic origins.

Using isotope analysis, Dr Rogers found almost all eggs could be differentiated by relating the carbon and nitrogen found in the egg to the hen's diet.

''Free-range and organically farmed hens normally have access to a wider range of food sources than caged hens, such as insects, vegetation or organic feeds, and this changes the isotope fingerprint of their eggs,'' she said.

Contact Dr. Karyne Rogers: K.Rogers@gns.cri.nz

FOR MORE INFORMATION
- Visit the international forum Organic Food Authentication - Challenge or Utopia? CLICK HERE
Registrations close October 24th;

- On research by Dr. Karyne Rogers visit: (vegetables) CLICK HERE
OR (eggs) CLICK HERE

This article has been adapted from the article: Is it organic? Prove it which appeared first in the September/ October edition of Organic NZ magazine.

''I get a lot of satisfaction, just knowing that it has been made using good sustainable viticultural practices. We sell 80 % directly to our customers,'' says Duncan.

Harris Organic Wines has been producing high quality wines ''outside the square'' since 1998 and gained organic certification in 2006.

Duncan says his wine provides informed consumers with a high quality alternative to ''commercial style'' wines.

An interest in permaculture has shaped his philosophy and his own small vineyard, where the emphasis is on traditional production methods for best quality vintages. At Harris Organic Wines, traditional production methods are utilised for best quality vintages and just about everything is done by hand - ''Leaf plucking, crop thinning, pruning and of course, grape picking,'' says Duncan.

Harris Organic Wines is currently the only certified winery in the first established vineyard area in WA, the Swan Valley (around 30 min from Perth).

The vineyard has emphasized diversity with 8 different vines grown on a property that harvests just 6 tonnes of grapes a year. Final varieties include rich Shiraz, sparkling Chardonnay, and natural dessert wines - a total of 8 varieties.

Wines are stored and cooled in a natural underground cellar to conserve energy.

''We use almost no preservatives in our wine, apart from a very low amount of 220. No sulfur dioxide is used at any time in our natural dessert wines which are handmade and inherently stable,'' says Duncan.

He says the operation is proof that a sustainable viticulture business can be created without irrigation and synthetic chemical inputs.

A Harris Organic Wines tour as part of the BFA Organic Roadshow will cover: applying permaculture principles to organic grape growing, making small-scale production profitable, achieving next-to-no preservative high quality wine.

Attendees will also hear from: Steven David (owner, Organic Farming Systems); Doug Haas, (Chairman, BFA), David Cool (Dandaragan Organic Beef), John Zar (Born Organic), Wayne Brock (Biodynamic farmer, Muchea region), Ben Ipkendanz (Biobean Coffee) and others.

Download the full program, CLICK HERE

By Dr Ajay Shah

Fluoridated water is supplied to many millions of people worldwide. The sole reason for its addition to public water supplies is for dental prophylaxis - the prevention of the development of dental caries in young children.
The fluorine chemical industry has grown very rapidly in recent years, with applications including pesticides, anaesthetics, drugs and cosmetics. The impacts of releases of fluorides and of complex organic fluorochemicals to the environment are poorly understood.

At least 99% of the fluoride in domestic water is discharged directly into domestic and industrial drains without being drunk by consumers, and it also passes unchanged through sewage treatment works. The effluent from such works may have higher levels of fluoride than is present in their main source of water, from fluorides originating from foods and drinks.

Dental fluorosis is the most widely recognised side effect of water fluoridation. It is the only visible indicator of an excess of fluoride intake, and presents as a discolouration of the teeth resulting from the incorporation of fluoride into the enamel. The severity of dental fluorosis is directly proportional to the amount of ingested fluoride, and in fluoridated countries its prevalence has grown rapidly.

In a landmark decision of the European Court of Justice (ECG) in the case of HLH Warenvertriebs and Orthica
(Joined Cases C-211/03.C-299/03, C-316/03 and C-318/03 on 9th June 2005) on the regulation of foods that appear to be on the borderline between foods and medicine, the court ruled:

* Where a product appears to be both a food and a medicinal product, the medicinal legislation must take precedence, and the product is subject to regulation as a medicine.
* National regulators cannot decline to recognise such products as medicines, and must subject them to pharmaceutical scrutiny with a view to issuing a marketing authorization
* Such ''functional drinks'' must not be used to prepare foodstuffs, nor may food containing them be exported to other European Community (EC) member states

The ECJ ruling must be applied to fluoridated water. It establishes that:
* Fluoridated water as a ''near water drink containing added minerals'' is a functional food with recognisable pharmaceutical properties. As such, it must not be used in the preparation of foods. This therefore implies that all retail outlets will now have to either cease production or install an alternative water supply
* In the absence of a relevant medicinal marketing authorization for its supply to the public, fluoridation of public water supplies in UK and Ireland must stop immediately

The ruling has an equally profound implication for export trade in processed foods and drinks. The court stated that even if a functional food product (or food containing it) is legally marketed as a food in one member state, it cannot be exported to any other member state unless it has a medicinal licence. This therefore means that any company making a consumable product using fluoridated water in its preparation or as an ingredient cannot now export that product to any other state in the EC, even if their product is permitted in their home state.

The economic implications are enormous. Not only does the ruling ban the use of fluoridated water for all retail catering and wholesale food processing in the UK and Ireland, it also prohibits such trade from these states to other member states of the EC. But it goes much further; this prohibition must also apply to the importing of such products in EC member states from any other country that practices water fluoridation.

The decision effectively bans all processed food products from countries such as USA, Australia and New Zealand, unless they can be positively proven to have been prepared using only water that was not fluoridated.

The UK Council Against Fluoridation (UKCAF) will be pushing hard for fluoridation to be stopped in Europe and having it banned worldwide.

Dr Ajay Shah is Director of AAS Food Technology Pty Ltd.
For contact details CLICK HERE

Western Australia's Organic Fine Food Company is looking forward to a promising future after winning two awards at this year's Food Challenge Awards - for their healthy invention, the Kidsnak.

Originally developed as a value adding initiative for the company's strawberry farm in Bridgetown, Kidsnak is a 99% certified organic pureed fruit snack developed for children.

In July, the Kidsnak took home the highly commended award in the Health and Wellness category and the trophy for the Snack Food category, at the Australasian Food Challenge Awards in Sydney.

Managing Director, Dr Errol Seymour said he had always wanted to create organic snacks.

''We had that inclination - to go healthy and get away from the pesticides,'' he said.

''We heard that kids were a big potential market and it certainly turned out that way.''

Initially the company had the idea to produce frozen pureed organic fruit snacks, similar to frozen yoghurt snacks, but all fruit.

However, they were told that there would be a larger market and easier distribution if they switched to a shelf-stable pureed product - and the Kidsnak was born.

To make the product, the company uses its own strawberries and bramble berries and locally sourced apples that have been dubbed unmarketable for the fresh market.

The snacks come in a range of three varieties - all with no added sugar - apple, apple-strawberry and apple-mixed berry.

Dr Seymour said Kidsnak was full of fruit that was pesticide free and was much healthier.

''It's much healthier for the people who eat the product and the people who pick the fruit, because it's pesticide free,'' he said.

''We have replaced the concentrated fruit juice, which we were using as sweetner, with stevia, which has almost no calories.''

Stevia is a non-GMO natural sweetner, plant derived and refined from the South American herb Stevia Rabaudiana.

Dr Seymour said the Organic Fine Food Company was planning a new line beyond the kidsnak suitable for the work lunch break.

Article by RESA ZEKANTS