A CULTURE of fear is overwhelming small Victorian meat producers and butchers, as a result of the State food safety regulator's strong stance on inspections of dry-aging standards.
PrimeSafe is responsible for ensuring meat and seafood food safety standards are met and inspectors have recently cracked down hard on dry-aging of beef.
But producers and butchers throughout Victoria, many of whom declined to be named, told Stock and Land inspectors were inconsistent in their approach.
"They can shut me down in a blink of an eye – PrimeSafe are putting in specifications which are unachievable by small producers and small to medium butcher shops," one producer said.
An extensive investigation by Stock & Land led to a number of smaller operators claiming they were working under a "culture of fear", as a result of PrimeSafe's activities.
Many producers and butchers said they were afraid to speak out, because they were concerned they would be targeted by PrimeSafe.
One butcher said an inspector poured bleach over some of his meat, after it was declared unsafe.
The inspector then condemned the rest of the products in the cool room, at a cost of $5000 to the business.
PrimeSafe inspectors were currently checking businesses which were selling dry-aged beef, but butchers and graziers said inspectors had been carrying out heavy-handed practices for many years.
The statutory authority recently released 'Primenotes', advising of safe practice guidelines for the production of dry-aged meat.
One producer prepared to speak out was Jonai Farms and Meatsmith's Stuart Jonas, Eganstown.
Mr Jonas said PrimeSafe was "overstepping the boundaries".
"They are coming up with more and more hurdles, stopping producers developing unique products," Mr Jonas said.
He said he was dry-ageing meat, until the new guidelines came out.
"Because the guidelines have changed, the bar has changed and we don't have the facilities to do that (dry aging) any more."
Mr Jonas said the new regulations would mean putting in a dedicated cool room, worth at least $15,000, which most small producers could not afford.
"I'm not sure where the impetus has come from for these more stringent changes, the science doesn't stack up; but in order to have a competitive product, small producers need to create a different product for the market," he said.
Regular testing of the meat – required under the new guidelines – was "outlandishly expensive," according to Mr Jonas, who said it would cost him $130 each time.
"PrimeSafe have the right to condemn everything in your cool room; it severely limits consumer's food choices.
"There is no solid science behind these new guidelines, and I am not sure where the impetus has come from for them."
PrimeSafe chief executive Brendan Tatham said the guidelines were intended to help producers comply with the Australian Standard for the Hygienic Production and Transportation of Meat and Meat Products for Human Consumption.
He said inspectors had visited between 12-15 producers and butchers in the last two to three months.
"We have put this guide together to support the normal auditing process, which licensees go through," Mr Tatham said.
"We identified some licensees who had been purchasing dry-ageing cabinets, they are quite expensive, but they didn't have the appropriate processes and approvals in place for doing it.
"Some were not doing it appropriately."
Stock & Land asked Mr Tatham about allegations that one of his staff had poured bleach over a butcher's product.
Mr Tatham said inspectors only condemned meat, or closed premises, as a very last resort.
"Whilst, in the past, there may have been issues with PrimeSafe, I can't understand why that would be the case now," he said.
"My staff are required to ensure that there is no product, which remains a risk to public health; occasionally that requires product to be condemned.
"But, with regard to shutting them down under the compliance regime PrimeSafe has in place, it is used as an absolutely last resort."
He said it was concerning licensees had complaints about PrimeSafe.
"If anyone has an issue, with regards to PrimeSafe, I want those licensees to raise that issue with me, in the first place," he said.
McIvor Farm's at Tooboorac recently shut down its small farm shop, on advice from the Mitchell Shire Council.
McIvor's "Beyond Free Range", pasture-raised, old breed pork, is sold online, through farmers markets and shops around Melbourne.
"We are extremely disappointed that we have to close, due to regulations," owner Belinda Hagan said on McIvor's Facebook page.
"I think some of the regulations are getting to the point of being so restrictive on small business that my concern is that agriculture, local employment and regional development are all going to be affected," Ms Hagan told Stock & Land.
Cost was a factor which caused Illwagyu's Dennis O'Brien, Stewarton, to stop having his beef dry aged.
"We used to have our animals sent up to Wangaratta abattoir and dry aged in the butcher's at Wangaratta – he charged us a lot of money to dry age and pack it," Mr O'Brien said.
"All the cost outside the farmgate exactly equalled the extra money we made – that wasn't so good.
"The market was open for larger producers to come in and produce dry-aged beef.
"I don't think it will be long before JBS Swift start dry-ageing in large quantities and make money from it because they have economies of scale."
Wangaratta grazier Bob Andrews is set to expand his dry-aged beef business, when he opens a new cool room at his Old Kentucky property.
Mr Andrews said he had received advice from a former PrimeSafe inspector, before building the new cool room, at a cost of between $85 and $90,000.
“There won’t be many of them around like that,” Mr Andrews said.
“There is a lot of rubbish going around about dry-aged beef - unless you have a standalone cool room, in a butcher's shop, you technically can’t dry age beef for 21-40 days.
“It would be a slime ball,” he said.
Mr Andrews said he worked with “Your Everyday Gourmet” butcher’s shop, in Wangaratta, to market his meat under his Londrigan beef label.
Dry-ageing meant about 10 per cent shrinkage, but it concentrated the flavour.
“It makes it a lot more tender.”
Alongside the new cool room, Mr Andrews said he was opening another butcher’s shop, in mid-July, to further expand production.
“People are coming in and asking for dry-aged meat, mainly because they like getting beef which is tender and has great taste,” Mr Andrews said.
“We have offered some smaller blokes to join the group and we could hold up to 65 bodies a week in the cool room” he said.
“One end of the cool room will hold primals, we can age for 100 days, for the high class restaurants,” he said.
Natalie Hardy of Brooklands Free Range farms at Blampied said it might be possible to take up dry-ageing, in the future, if Koallah Farms abattoir at Camperdown was agreeable.
Brooklands mainly runs Berkshire pigs, but also has a small herd of British White, Angus and Hereford cattle, which are processed through Koallah.
“We would probably like to do it, down the track – there are a lot of people asking for it, at farmer’s markets,” Ms Hardy said.
Brooklands sold its meat at Clunes Farmers Market and she said “demand would be strong”, if dry-aged beef was offered.
