25/07/2026
🌱 A response to Biosecurity TAS 🌱
VITAL INFORMATION FOR ANY BACK YARD GROWERS THAT SHARE WITH OTHERS!
The proposed regulations will apply to everyone who ‘supplies’ berries, leafy vegetables and melons. The definition of ‘supply’ is extremely broad and includes:
• Sharing food at crop swaps
• Roadside stalls (selling or giving away)
• Donating berries and greens to food relief charities or hungry strangers via social media
• Airbnb/farm stays sharing home-grown berries & herbs with guests
The new regulations will possibly make it more difficult to purchase locally grown organic/chem free produce than to bring them from the mainland! This goes against everything that we should be striving for.
We want to minimise food miles, reduce end user cost, encourage locally grown, Biodynamic/Organic/Chem free growers such that Tasmanians have access to affordable nutritious produce that hasn’t been doused with chemicals &/or fumigated. The new regulatory changes would seem to work to promote an almost opposite scenario.
If local growers are to be pushed out, & it would seem this is the intention, organic retailers will be forced to ship much of the produce from the mainland. This will drive up costs due to exorbitant freighting costs, inspection fees etc. Not to mention, the produce wont be as fresh.
Phase 2 submissions are closing 30 July. You can find more information from Biosecurity Tasmania and tell them what you think by making a submission via this website https://nre.tas.gov.au/biosecurity-tasmania/product-integrity/development-of-the-primary-produce-safety-(horticulture-produce)-regulations by emailing: [email protected]
If you would like to learn more the I can recommend this 23-minute video by Dr Olivia Rundle, Senior Lecturer in Law at UTAS, is a great summary of the proposed Primary Produce Safety (Horticulture Produce) Regulations. https://youtu.be/RqGyj3ok0Gs
Every submission counts.
If you only have five minutes and don’t have time to read all the resources, that it okay. Just copy and paste any of the below points that you agree with in an email them directly to Biosecurity Tasmania:
- The regulations should ONLY apply to commercial farmers, all home and community-based horticultural activities should be fully exempt.
- Gifting fruit and vegetables should be encouraged, it shouldn’t require notifications and food safety plans.
- The regulations should not apply to crop swaps, community gardens, neighbourhood houses, Men’s Sheds, churches, school kitchen gardens or charities.
- ‘Supply’ should be defined to better target larger scale commercial arrangements only.
- ‘Traceability’ is not an issue in short local supply chains because the food is either provided directly from the grower to the eater or provided by a charity who sourced the food directly from the grower.
- The regulations should not be a barrier to Tasmania’s access to nutritious and affordable food.
- The regulations should be proportionate to the risks. Historic public healthy outbreaks have not been caused by small producers.
- Short local supply chains present an extremely small risk to food safety and an education approach should be adopted.
*** some of this information has been copied from the extremely helpful & informative posts circulating FB
