Future-Proofing Food Safety: How Bunbury Farmers Market Streamlined their operations

Bunbury Farmers Market began 21 years ago as a fresh produce market, operating just three days a week with a vision of providing "Extreme Value & Extreme Freshness Guaranteed." As the market expanded—introducing on-site kitchens, a vast range of "100% Market Made" products, and growing to over 300 dedicated staff—the complexity of managing food safety documentation increased. The manual, paper-based system became confusing, time-consuming, and often messy or unreadable due to the nature of the work environment. Staff spent countless hours sorting through piles of paperwork, which was an inefficient use of their valuable time.

Implementing Safe Food Pro revolutionised Bunbury Farmers Market's approach to food safety documentation. The digital platform streamlined the entire process, drastically minimising the time spent on following up, correlating, and finalising reports. Now, all types of documents—from Safety Data Sheets (SDS) and recipes to manuals and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)—are stored centrally and accessible at the touch of a button. This not only saved time but also ensured that records were clean, organised, and easily retrievable, allowing staff to focus on delivering fresh, high-quality products to their guests.

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“As a growing business we were not looking at a band-aid solution but looking at futureproofing our systems – Safe Food Pro delivered”

At Bunbury Farmers Market, the diverse and talented team plays a key role in the market’s success. With staff coming from different backgrounds, it was important to ensure that everyone could easily understand and complete food safety tasks. While the paper-based system worked, there was an opportunity to make food safety processes clearer and more accessible for everyone on the team.

Safe Food Pro empowered Bunbury Farmers Market to customise and translate food safety checklists into multiple languages. This feature ensured that every team member could follow procedures confidently, regardless of their background or language preference. By making information more accessible and easier to understand, Bunbury Farmers Market not only improved accuracy and compliance but also reinforced its commitment to valuing each team member’s contribution. The result was a unified team working together to uphold the high standards that Bunbury Farmers Market is known for.

As a growing business, Bunbury Farmers Market needed more than a temporary fix—they required a "one-stop-shop" for all their food safety compliance needs, managed from a central point regardless of location or the number of areas involved. The goal was to future-proof their systems rather than applying a "band-aid solution."

Safe Food Pro delivered precisely what Bunbury Farmers Market was looking for. The platform offered a streamlined system that oversaw all areas of the business from a FSANZ/HACCP point of view. Its clean layout, ease of navigation, and ability to be easily built upon ensured that it met their current needs while being scalable for future growth. As Rob noted, "Safe Food Pro stood out for a number of reasons: there were no gimmicks, the name was straightforward, the layout looked the best, the functionality was simple, and it offered exactly what we needed (and a whole lot more as we found out)."

Accessing equipment information, cleaning protocols, and SOPs was previously a challenge, often requiring staff to sift through various documents or rely on memory. This sometimes led to inconsistencies and hindered staff engagement with food safety practices.

With Safe Food Pro, staff now have touch-point access to every piece of equipment and related procedures. This immediate availability means that when it comes to correct construction, cleaning, and use, "there is no excuse." The user-friendly functionality and minimal learning curve meant that staff quickly embraced the system. According to Rob, "Our staff love the program; they have really taken to it. Most of them have had years of bad experience with paper-based programs, so this is a whole new level, easy to pick up, small learning curve, then they run with it." This boost in engagement has led to improved compliance and a stronger food safety culture within the organisation.

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“Staff now have touch point access to every piece of equipment so when it comes to correct construction, cleaning & use there is no excuse.”

The manual process of completing, gathering, correlating, and reporting on weekly documents was not only time-consuming but also a significant cost due to paper and ink expenses. Management recognised that these resources could be better allocated to more productive work.

By adopting Safe Food Pro, Bunbury Farmers Market saw immediate cost savings. The reduction in paper and ink usage made the investment in the digital platform "definitely worth it." Moreover, the time saved allowed staff to focus on more valuable tasks within the business. Rob highlighted that "the cost of the program versus future wage costs is minimal," emphasising the long-term financial benefits. Additionally, the ability for staff to build their own questions and have them translated into multiple languages further enhanced productivity and inclusivity.

Bunbury Farmers Market's partnership with Safe Food Pro has been instrumental in enhancing their food safety management. The digital transformation addressed their challenges by simplifying documentation, bridging language gaps, centralising processes, engaging staff, and reducing costs. As they prepare to take their next exciting step with the opening of Vasse Village, they do so with confidence, knowing their food safety systems are robust and future-proof.

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"Safe Food Pro helps assist in managing all the requirements that keep our food safe, keep us compliant, and keep our customers safe. The setup, remote assistance, and usability are fantastic. I would recommend Safe Food Pro as THE go-to program for food safety management." — Rob Cumberworth, Food Safety Manager, Bunbury Farmers Market