Vegetable growers are urging Tasmanians to buy local as imported frozen vegetables are pulled from supermarket shelves across the country. Fears over the deadly listeria strain of bacteria have sparked a recall of frozen corn, carrot, broccoli and mixed vegetable bags from Woolworths, IGA, Aldi and some other independent grocery stores.

Food Standards Australia said the recall, although “precautionary” was due to listeria contamination fears linked to a factory in Europe.

James Whiteside, chief executive of vegetable and potato growers peak body AusVeg, stated that local fresh and frozen vegetable products are safe and of the highest quality. “Consumers can easily identify if a food product is grown in Australia, which has some of the most stringent food safety protocols.”

Tasmanian vegetables are at the forefront for consumers, with Ulverstone now home to the only mixed processing plant in Australia. Operated by Simplot Australia, the plant processes 83,000 tonnes of vegetables and 295,000 tonnes of potatoes. Tasmania’s vegetable industry farmgate value is worth about $217 million with a processed food value of almost $560 million.

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