The Farm Diary Full Cream Pure Milk (1L)

The Farm

Farm Assurances- Animal Welfare

All animals are clearly identified through the National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) - Australia's system for identifying and tracking dairy cattle.

Farms must meet their obligations under the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Cattle (2014) and other legislation to ensure that all aspects of animal health and welfare are considered. This includes performing health checks on the animals and having systems in place to isolate any unhealthy animals from the herd.

Protection from extreme heat or cold temperatures must be available to the cows, which can include access to trees and hedges that provide shelter.

Farm Assurances- Milk Supply

All milk supplier farms are required under the Dairy Act 2000 to be licensed with Dairy Food Safety Victoria (DFSV) and to comply with the conditions of the licence. This includes compliance with the relevant provisions of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

The farms are regularly audited by approved auditors to demonstrate compliance to the regulatory standards.

The milk must be filtered and chilled to below 5°C within 3.5 hours from the start of milking to ensure freshness and prevention of microbial growth.

The milk must be kept chilled while stored on the farm awaiting collection.

Farm Assurances- Water Use

In Victoria water for commercial use is regulated on behalf of the Ministry of Water to ensure sustainable use of the resource.

Legislation requires operating dairy farms to hold a license to use water and all water used on the farm is metered to ensure compliance.

Water used in the milking shed must be suitable for use and the farm should hold records of any testing.

Dairy Carriers-Assurances

Dairy carriers in the state of Victoria, Australia are required under the Dairy Act 2000 to be licensed with DFSV and to comply with the conditions of the license.

Dairy Carriers must also comply with all relevant provisions of the Food Act 1984 and the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSANZ).

The dairy carrier controls any potential food safety hazards by implementing a documented food safety program through all stages from collection, transportation, and delivery.

Prior to collecting the milk at the farm, the tanker driver takes a sample of the milk to be tested by the factory.

The milk is transported to the factory in tankers which maintain the temperature of the chilled milk.

Records are kept ensuring traceability of milk. This includes the tanker details, date and time of milk collection, temperature of milk, description and quantity of milk collected and delivery destination.

Once the delivery is made the tanker is cleaned in place (CIP) with approved chemicals and potable water.

The Factory

Factory Assurances

On arrival at the factory a sample of the chilled milk is taken from the tanker and checked for quality.

The milk is not accepted if it fails to meet required specifications.

Once approved for use, the milk is heat treated to ensure commercial sterility is achieved.

The milk is aseptically packed into individual tamper-proof Tetra Pak cartons.

All cartons are individually coded with the date, time, line number and jaw number for traceability.

The products are stacked onto pallets, stretch wrapped and barcoded for traceability.

Chemical, microbial, and sensory tests are conducted on the finished product to ensure that safety and quality requirements are met. 

Regulatory Assurances

The Export Control (Milk and Milk Products) Rules 2021 require that water used within the factory must be potable.

 Water potability standards are prepared by the National Health and Medical Research Council and activities must be undertaken to verify the quality of water against the Australia Drinking Water Guidelines.

In addition to company- based testing, samples of finished product are collected by DFSV auditors during routine audits and are assessed through the DFSV product surveillance program.

The dairy factory is regularly audited to ensure it complies with the regulations which include:

• The Dairy Act 2000
• The Food Act 1984
• The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (FSANZ)
•  Dairy Food Safety Victoria (DFSV).

The factory must be registered with the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources and meet the requirements of The Export Control (Milk and Milk Products) Rules 2021.

A declaration of compliance statement must accompany each shipment attesting that the product is:

•   Eligible for export
•   Fit-for-human consumption
•   Meets any specific importing country requirements

Transport 

Transport Assurances

Prior to loading of the product, the cleanliness of the interior of both the transport vehicle (truck) and the shipping container are checked.

The freight forwarding company receive the containers at the wharf and prepare the shipment.

Shipping

Shipping Assurances

The shipping company must ensure that the products are accompanied by all EAD (export accompanied documents) that are required by the importing country, including:

• customs documents
• health certificates
• certificates of laboratory testing analysis

All other documents that are required by the importing country must be completed and approved before the container is sealed and loaded on board the ship.

The product is shipped to China and checked by China Customs on arrival. China Customs check the import documentation to confirm all requirements have been met and may test the product again prior to releasing it into the country.

Once cleared by Customs the product is sent to the warehouse.

Retail

Retail Assurances

The product arrives at the warehouse where it is managed using barcoding and traceability systems.

Product is loaded onto delivery trucks and distributed to individual shops, supermarkets, and other customers.

Retailers ensure that the product is fresh by using good stock rotation and checking best before dates before selling the product to consumers.

The AQ Assured™ brand and QR code can be scanned to provide consumer confidence of the safety and quality measures undertaken throughout the supply chain.