B-QUAL News Mar 2022
2 min readB-TRACE Australia
The B-QUAL board have made the decision to introduce a lower level desk only audit system for small enterprise operations for beekeepers with 100 hives or less or maximum honey sales of 6000kgs per annum.
This new venture has come about by requests from various State bodies and industry stakeholders as a means of improving both the industry image, biosecruity and importantly give provenance and traceability to consumers.
The system is based on a newly developed app to assist apiarists to better record their operational records and members must complete an annual online desk audit. The audit also involves completeing the BOLT course. Participants will also have to upload varifiable eveidence, photos, invoices etc, of some aspects of their operations.
B-TRACE is specifically aimed at small producers as they start their way towards hopefully full B-QUAL membership.
With Governments and organisations such asAustralian Farmers Markets Association covering in excess of 300markets in Australia, B-TRACE is going to provide another step in the process to give our industry the advantage to showcase that our products are produced to high audited and certified standards from the highly accreditated B-QUAL standards down to small producers also having an audited level encompassing those Biosecruity and food handling issues and traceability to give our consumers confidence in our products that is being more and more requested.
We produce world’s best products now we have toshow the general public that we have the industry means to guarantee our claims.
If you know a small operator with less than 100 hives suggest he look up www.btrace.com.au and join online.
Remember some of these small operators one day may be large players in the industry and to have them committed to a QA program early in their careers can only help B-QUAL and the industry in the long run.
The launch date of the B-TRACE website is Monday 21st March 2022.
The launch will be followed up with wide industry marketing to State Associations, large Beekeeping Clubs and press.
We acknowledge the assistance and co-operation of the CRCHBP, Dr Liz Barbour and University of WA, Professor Sharon Purchase in the development of the management app and input into the B-TRACE program.