The spinach industry has fared well and is rebuilding in Australia since a recent spinach recall scare in December.
Spinach growers and experts reflected on the recall and also passed on knowledge about food safety at the tenth International Spinach Conference, held in Victoria this week.
Supply chain issues and consumption trends were also discussed on Monday at RMIT, while on Tuesday delegates travelled to a field day at Boratto Farms and vegetable seed supplier Rijk Zwaan, both in Bacchus Marsh.
Boratto Farms distribution manager Dominic Boratto said while the industry recovered well from the contamination scare, it had wide impacts in Australia.
"Most growers don't bag their own stuff and it goes to the processing factories and the big problem is most things are Coles or Woolies brands," he said.
"So when there is an issue, the consumer loses faith in the whole product line, not just with a grower."
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Up to 200 people were believed to have suffered hallucinogenic symptoms after consuming spinach contaminated with a weed that was linked to a Gippsland farm.
But Dominic said the industry has rebuilt well since the incident.
He said his farm had grown since 1968 to now having four properties and working with international seed companies.
"Spinach is our biggest line, but it's really variable," he said.
"We also do wild rocket, coloured and baby leaf lettuce, cos, cabbage and others.
"It's a high demand line that our customers, which are processing factories and we do our best to do 30 tonne a week in summer, and in winter... it gets up to our Queensland growers, as it's a warmer climate."
He said that international conference meant he could learn a lot about what is coming ahead in lines of spinach which in turn prepares them well for any instances of disease or mildew.
Dominic's brother and Boratto Farms director Joe Boratto also said the spinach industry was being challenged by labour shortages.
"Labour is probably our biggest issue and we have been looking for [employees] for a while," he said.
"We have Samoans who come here on a working visa where they work for nine months and then go home, but consistent, dedicated locals are what we need too."
Joe said the conference was a good opportunity to also talk about those labour issues with overseas growers.
Managing director of Maraldi Seeds based in Denmark Ole Johansen attended the conference and said presentations from across the globe gave a very good insight into plant diseases.
"We are focused on breeding for disease resistance across the globe, and there were many presentations about the presence of downy mildew, Stemphylium and many other diseases," he said.
"I can take away this information on how to improve our breeding methodologies in Denmark."
He said those specific methods would beneficial to spinach producers, who "always look to do a bit of fine tuning."
Mr Johansen said Maraldi's parent company focused on baby leaf plant species but his Denmark operation focuses fully on spinach.
"Denmark has a mild climate so it is very much perfect for breeding spinach over there."
