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ORGANIC ORGANIC PUSH FROM FLAVOUR MAKERS Flavour Makers, with its brand The Australian Organic Food Co, is encouraging more people to join the organic food movement. The brand’s range of 100 per cent Australian Organic products, including soups, tomato passata, fruit purees and juices, is available at Woolworths and selected independent stores nationally. Flavour Makers says the organic movement has a strong and growing following as consumers increasingly demand to know where their food comes from, resulting in farming industry changes. Adrian Cester, founder of Flavour Makers and CEO of The Australian Organic Food Co, says the brand is passionate about supporting organic farmers in Australia who keep consumers informed about the origin of their organic food while protecting and promoting soil health for future generations through organic farming. Conventional farming is depleting the soil, he says, with farmers not growing to the extent, nor getting the yields, they used to, while organic farming, which doesn’t make use of chemicals, artificial fertilisers or pesticides, replenishes the soil. He adds that Australia has 63 per cent of the world’s certified organic farming land, which is untouched by chemicals, with just under 10 per cent of the nation’s agricultural land certified organic, which equates to almost 36 million hectares, with 4802 certified operators in 2018. “It’s about us taking stewardship of the land over time and ensuring soil is enriched after a crop,” Mr Cester said. Most of the baby food sold in Australian supermarket shelves comes from organic produce grown elsewhere, particularly China, he adds, with much of Australia’s organic produce being sent overseas. “It should be filling our supermarket shelves,” he said. “Something has to be done about this. “It’s about making organic produce accessible to everyone in Australia and not just at local markets.” Organic produce, he says, is at times not as visually appealing as conventionally farmed produce, but it’s chemical free and more nutritious. “Regardless of how the produce looks, we can make use of it for our first-grade products,” Mr Cester said. Less of a luxury product Organics should be certified from the farm through to the finished product, Mr Cester says. “The industry hasn’t been able to grow the tonnes of branded or manufactured organic product it could, because of a lack of infrastructure to support certifications,” he said. “But we’re working to build that from the ground up. And as that happens, organic products become less of a luxury product.” He highlights that growing and manufacturing organic products hasn’t been the easiest path, as the company is 100 per cent Australian and puts only wholly locally grown organic produce into its produce, even to additives. “That makes it bloody tough, but worthwhile, and it ties in with my objective to help the industry,” Mr Cester said, “and be able to look my children in the eye in years to come and say we didn’t just take, but tried to give something back based on my belief in a sustainable way of growing produce. “I also firmly believe that farming will increasingly be organic and that organic produce and products are the way of the future, so I’ll continue to put my heart, soul and money into providing a genuine organic option here in Australia.” JUN, 2020 RETAIL WORLD 33