VICTORIA’S small livestock producers and processors have started to set up a legal defence fund, to give farmers advice on food safety laws.

Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance president Tammi Jonas said the growth in farm-gate shops and sales direct from properties had raised questions about food safety regulation.

“For the smaller producer, direct sales are where they make their money, because no-one takes it out of the middle,” Ms Jonas said.

There was growing confusion about the role of the state meat safety regulator, PrimeSafe and council regulations, when it came to retail operations.

“I have people who want to set up farm gate shops who say “Tammi, I am afraid to start, because of everything I hear about PrimeSafe’ – I just want PrimeSafe to show us how to act, because all we want to do is store meat, and sell it.”

Jonai Farms, at Eganstown, grew and sold the meat from Large Black pigs and Angus Lowline cattle, through its farm gate shop and at markets.

She said the Farmer to Consumer Legal Defence Fund would mirror one set up in America and would cover all aspects of food production.

“It’s not just about PrimeSafe, it’s about raw milk, as well – we are concerned about legislation inhibiting local food economies and people’s ability to choose the food they want to eat.

“New farmers need guidance and PrimeSafe is famous for giving no advice, so a legal defence fund is a good idea.”

A working group had been set up to establish the legal defence fund.

“The American fund has a 24/7 hotline and three experts - food safety lawyers - who run that hotline.”

She said a similar hotline would be established in Victoria.

“You ring that hotline when PrimeSafe rolls up your driveway and says we are going to destroy you salamis.

“You ring the hotline and the lawyers say, here is the authority they have and here’s what they don’t have, here’s what you should say, here’s what you should not say.”

Ms Jonas said last year, a PrimeSafe inspector ordered smoked hocks she had made.

“I had cryovacced them but I didn’t realise they were classified as ‘ready-to-eat’ food,

“The definition of ready to eat is ‘likely to be consumed, in the form in which it is packaged’ - everyone in Australia would tell you smoked hocks are not meant to be consumed, raw, out of the packet.”

Regrarians Australia director Darren Doherty, from Bendigo, said PrimeSafe were “an organisation which is right up there, which gets people’s attention.”

Regrarians aims to use farming techniques to regenerate land and improve biodiversity.

Mr Doherty said the legal defence fund steering group had initially met to talk through what sort of governance the organisation would have and how funds would be raised, to run it.

“We will then work on what sort of corporate profile we have, working on a business plan and determine staffing and costs,” Mr Doherty said.

The fund would also lobby for changes to food safety legislation.

“If a PrimeSafe officer, or environmental health officer, turns up at your farm, or a producers farm, the producer will not have the ability to have an action plan, on how to deal with it,” Mr Doherty said.

Farmers and producers understood the place of regulations and the need to provide the public with certainty the food they consumed was safe.

“We understand and appreciate that,” he said.

“But the changing dynamics in the food industry need to be understood and respected, the one-size-fits-all is really undermining the capacity for rural businesses to exhibit their potential.”

And Gamze Smallgoods Felix Gamze, of Wangaratta, said he thought it was a “fantastic idea.

“I will be joining up, we are going to contribute to that, now that opportunity is there,” he said.

“It seems a little bit unfair – it’s all about divide and conquer, but if we can have an organisation of some kind, it would give us enormous strength.”

PrimSafe chief executive Dr Brendan Tatham declined to comment, saying the organisation was currently being reviewed.