Australian Centre for Food Integrity

The Australian Centre for Food Integrity (ACFI), was established in late 2012. According to a submission made to the Commonwealth (Federal) Department of Agriculture's public consultation for a National Food Plan, its role is to "independently communicate to all stakeholders about Australia's Food System and its:

• Commitment to produce safe nutritious and affordable food
• Care for the wellbeing of consumers
• Ethical production systems
• Care for the well being (sic) of its animals
• Care for the well being (sic) of the planet
• Care for the well being (sic) of the people who work in it."

The Centre says it aims to win back consumer trust through the 'passive release of factual information to consumers, the media, the food industry and government to correct the misinformation that is coming from our detractors.' Against such laudable objectives, who could be a detractor?

US spin-off

The centre is modelled on the US Center for Food Integrity (USCFI), a US not-for-profit organisation established in 2007 which includes among its members Monsanto, McDonalds USA, ConAgra, Nestle US and others. The US centre identifies among its aims the creation of 'consumer trust in the food system' and to 'train and develop highly qualified messengers to deliver positive and accurate information on today’s food system'. The new Australian centre is receiving support and encouragement from the US centre and Charlie Arnot, its PR/journalist creator. Arnot has recently been in Australia promoting the new Centre and the need for better communication between the food industry and the public.

The new head of the ACFI is Geoff Frost who, in an article in the industry journal Australian Food News, stated (somewhat ironically) that “there’s a growing interest in food production, which provides an opportunity for those in agriculture to do a better job of informing consumers.”

The vision of the new centre is to 'lead the public discussion from an independent perspective to build trust in today's food system'. This statement and an outline of the new centre's plans and the methods that it will use to guide the views of the public were contained in submission to a public consultation on a National Food Plan, which the Australian Department of Agriculture held in 2012. The stance of the centre is apparent from its paranoid identification of 'well organised individuals and groups with agendas … (who) have hijacked today's commentary on food production', which includes among others those opposed to the introduction of GMOs.

Frost is known as the former head of the Bartter-Steggles company, one of the largest suppliers of chicken products in Australia. After revamping the company along American business lines prior to its sale in 2008 and then leaving in that year, Frost sat quietly as a consultant manager until his appearance as the new head of ACFI in 2012.

In 2011 Bartter Enterprises, the owner of the Steggles brand, was taken to court by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The Commission alleged "that Baiada Poultry and Bartter Enterprises made false or misleading claims in print advertising and product packaging, that Steggles’ meat chickens were raised in barns with substantial space available allowing them to roam freely." () On 8 July 2013 the federal court found that Baiada Poultry and Bartter Enterprises, had 'engaged in false, misleading and deceptive conduct by claiming their chickens were free to roam in barns when this was not the case'.

Returning to the birth of ACFI, while in Australia and in a perhaps not un-related activity, Arnot also spoke at an 'Influential Women Conference'. In a story about the conference Arnot was quoted as saying that 'women's ability to show the ethical side of a story is crucial in improving the connection between producers and consumers' and that 'consumers are significantly more interested in knowing that we're committed to doing what's right than in knowing specifically how we do it' (note the keyword 'committed'). And who should the organiser of the conference Catherine Marriott ('Mazza'), turn out to be, but a member of ACFI's new management team.

Potential conflicts of interest

Additional to major players in the Australian food industry, the AusFoodNews article also reported that (according to Frost) 'the Victorian and New South Wales Departments of Primary Industries are already “very involved”', and that he expects 'Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to also become involved in the Centre.' While words are cheap, if such involvement were to occur the potential conflicts of interest would be serious and wide-ranging.

In particular, the Food Standards agency is the government agency that has responsibility to 'develop the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code which regulates the use of ingredients, processing aids, colourings, additives, vitamins and minerals. The code also covers the composition of some foods e.g. dairy, meat and beverages as well as standards developed by new technologies such as genetically modified foods.') No possible conflicts of interest there.

As of 24 July 2013 the ACFI is yet to create a website. However, the spirit is still alive: One woman, perhaps an attendee at the Influential Women Conference, has written on her website "Charlie Arnot and his team are doing an awesome job of doing it the right way by providing farmers with the skills sets (sic) to tell their own story. Australian farmers have a great story to tell and its time to say YES to the Australian Centre for Food Integrity so we know how to tell our story well."

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