New Centre for Food Integrity
Australians are well recognised as being cynical when it comes to any type of claims on food or other items. We are a nation of people that generally need to have someone prove something or have someone we trust validate it, before we believe it.
Well known sports stars are often in advertisements because it encourages us to believe that the product is everything that is being said.
Recently I had solar electricity put onto my property and I used a company that had done the same thing for a neighbour and friend. I had done some checking on prices previously but did not get a second quote because the price was reasonable. The thing that made me go with that company was the recommendation from my friend.
I am not alone in taking the recommendation of someone I know. This is one of the most common ways for businesses to do business – referrals. It immediately establishes a level of trust that would not exist without it.
A Centre for Food Integrity is being established in Australia. It is based on a model of the not for profit Center for Food Integrity in the US. It will be launched in October 2012.
Like the one in the US, our Centre will be focussed on building trust and confidence in the food we produce and our food industry.
The Centre will hopefully have representatives from all food sectors and the plan is to assist each sector improve communication to consumers about the food and industry. It will also work on collaboration between business sectors and types. It will not be working for, or on behalf of, individual businesses
The Center for Food Integrity (CFI), a U.S. not-for-profit organisation established in 2007 to build consumer trust and confidence in the food system, is to be launched in Australia in October 2012.
The US Center uses it’s five websites as the key tools in spreading the message. One of these, Farmers feed us, has an average time spent on the site of 11 minutes per person.
Representatives from the National Farmers Federation, Australian Pork Ltd, and the Australian Wheat Board are on the Foundation Board of the Australian CFI. It is expected that interest, which is already high in the food industry, will continue to increase.