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My wife and I have identified some unique 'home style' confections from a Southeast Asian country which we believe would be popular in Australia. But we have no idea where to start with quarantine requirements. We're confident we can organise distribution once we get the products here and we know we can help a disadvantaged community if we can get them into Australia - but getting them across the border and complying with all the government conditions is the sticking point. Does anyone have experience with this or can point us in the right direction for compliance help?

I had a family member who wanted to bring in tea and although it did meet quarantine regulations, it was harder to sell in larger markets as the food seller also required certification, which was not only cost based, but I believe time based in getting the certification.

These sites might help you get started -

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumerinformation/importedfoods.cfm

http://www.daff.gov.au/aqis/import


By getting this certification, it would allow them to sell to a larger market, eg. hotels and resorts, which was their target market. They also need their suppliers to comply in this way.

It was a pity they gave up as they had already presold their imported product but the sales could ahead while they didn't have their certificates in place, and that took longer than the buyers were willing to wait to get it done.

I guess asking the right questions first does help.

Hope this helps you.

Nina

The first place to start is AFIS to see what the requirements are for importing your particular food stuff.
The next step is FSANZ(food Standards Australia New Zealand) to see if the ingredients in the food are able to be consumed in Australia.The products may need to be re labeled to Australian requirements and would also need an australian address and contact number on the product in case of any recall issues. The products would also need warning labels if they contain any allegns.
After both of these agencies you will need to contact your local council to see if there are any restrictions on selling the particular products and if they have any particular requirements.
It is a lot of work and there is a lot of red tape.
Good luck