What was it all about?

This investment strengthened the Australian mushroom industry’s approach to food safety, quality and risk management through delivering practical resources, specialist advice and on‑call support to help growers protect their businesses and the reputation of the industry.

The program reinforced existing industry systems and built new tools to identify risks early, manage issues effectively and support compliance across the supply chain. Three key components worked together to do this:

• A knowledge and information hub gathered Australian and international updates on food safety, regulation and compliance, including annual global scans. This information was shared back to industry through articles, webinars, conference presentations and targeted communication.
• The SAFE MUSHROOM Program was developed, including fact sheets, posters, videos, record‑keeping tools and a voluntary HACCP‑based framework for non‑certified growers.
• An “Act and React” service provided confidential advice, verification testing support and crisis assistance to growers and industry bodies when issues arose.

As a result of these efforts, growers now have improved access to up‑to‑date food safety knowledge, practical resources and expert support. The mushroom industry is better prepared to manage incidents, meet customer and regulatory expectations, and protect long‑term market access and consumer trust.