Business View Oceania | Volume 4, Issue 3

91 92 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3 BUSINESS VIEW OCEANIA VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3 For over 25 years, Novachem has supported the food and environmental analysis industry with reference standards and superior service. We stand behind every material we sell. Every vial, every test, guaranteed. We purchase from the highest quality suppliers available anywhere in the world and ensure that you can rely on what you receive. Superior Standards is not just a byline. It is the way we do business. In service, in quality of materials, in everything we do. That’s why you trust us. Thank you for your business over the past 25 years. We are sure the next 25 will be just as amazing. Novachem Pty Ltd 1800 668 224 www.novachem.com.au EUROF INS FOOD TEST ING AUSTRAL I A PTY LTD The scope of food testing is very broad, both in terms of the industries and the services that Eurofins laboratories in Australia provide. Industries served by their laboratories cover small to large dairy, meat, beverage, processed and fresh foods as well as pet food. All of these industries have requirements to check the safety of their food, plus some additional requirements. In the safety realm that means checking that there is no pathogen, like salmonella or listeria, in the food that may lead to food recalls, an event which carries serious risks for a food manufacturer. So the Eurofins teams test the customers’ food where the results are necessary for food safety, regulatory and customer compliance prior to releasing their products into the market. There are also labelling requirements. Mrs Thevenet clarifies, “Look at the nutritional information panel that you have on a bag of chips, for instance. This information needs to be purity of biological substances and products, as well as for innovative clinical diagnostics. In Australia and New Zealand, Eurofins has over 1,000 talented staff members focused on Food and Water Testing; Environment Testing; Agroscience Services and Agro Testing; BioPharma Product Testing; Cosmetics Testing and Technologies. Sarah Thevenet, Regional Director Eurofins Australia New Zealand, recounts, “We entered Australia almost ten years ago, at first with an acquisition, and since then we’ve been actively growing. On the food side, we entered a reasonably mature market – and we knew it would be an exciting challenge to impact a market that had been relatively stable. The way we approached it was to try and understand what needs were not being properly answered in the food industry, or that we thought could be answered better. Some of that is about bringing more advanced technology and investing in solutions that allow us to provide better results quicker, and sometimes cheaper.” Being aware of the challenges in the industry, Eurofins companies in Australia are trying to bring some of the solutions the Eurofins network is using across the world to food manufacturers in Australia. With its largest laboratory headquartered in Melbourne, the Eurofins network has eight laboratory sites throughout Australia. The Melbourne facility has 8,000 square metres of laboratory space. A similar laboratory was just completed in Sydney in February, with Brisbane and Perth next on the list for upgrade and expansion. In addition to these large campuses, the Eurofins companies are constantly expanding their network of laboratories to be close to their clients. Mrs Thevenet explains, “This is because some testing requires short turnaround times, or can be challenged by delays in logistics. When testing for bacteria in food, for example, you don’t want your meat or milk sample to be travelling across the country. So proximity is important.” Sarah Thevenet, Regional Director