South Australian food processor Mitani Group has taken a bold step to strengthen its food safety culture by having all production employees complete the Dairysafe online notifiable contaminants training course.
The online training, which focuses on the management of high-risk contaminants such as E. coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus, was delivered as part of a dedicated workplace training week called ‘Mit-School’ in June 2025.
The Dairysafe online program is designed to help processors meet legislative requirements and empower staff with the skills and knowledge to proactively safeguard dairy products.
For Mitani Group, the training became much more than a compliance exercise; it created a spark of enthusiasm and ownership among employees that is already delivering results on the factory floor.
A whole-of-business commitment
The Mitani sibling leadership team made the significant decision to invest in a dedicated week-long training program for their 30 person production workforce. Over five days, overlapping with a planned whole facility maintenance shutdown, production staff rotated through a comprehensive program that covered food safety, workplace safety and quality systems.
Externally facilitated sessions included food safety with Victual, chemical awareness with Ecolab materials, emergency warden training with Chubb, and the Dairysafe’s notifiable contaminants modules. Internal sessions covered production traceability, critical control points, allergen management, and cleaning and sanitation procedures.
The investment was not without sacrifice. “It was expensive,” said Quality Assurance and Safety Manager, Melissa Coventry. “We had our production staff on site, paid, but not producing product. That’s a huge call for any small business. However, the Mitani family put their faith in me to pull it off, and it’s paying dividends.”
Bringing training to life
Melissa said Dairysafe’s notifiable contaminants training was a highlight of the week. Conducted via video modules supported by printable handouts, the sessions were run as a group training activity.
The video modules stood out because they combined technical rigour with humour and relatability through visual examples. “People could see photos of real facilities and equipment, and that made the risks understandable,” Melissa said. “By the end, employees were so motivated they wanted to grab swabs and start testing for listeria straight away.”
The course’s structure – short videos, background notes and assessment questions – also supports a wide range of learning needs. The Mitani Group workforce is diverse, with many employees from non-English speaking backgrounds. “Not everyone has the same literacy level, so video as a training method is powerful,” Melissa said. “It meant everyone could participate, learn and succeed without struggling silently.”
From awareness to action
One of the strongest measures of the program’s success has been behavioural change. Following the training, Mitani Group carried out two days of deep cleaning before full production resumed. Melissa’s quality team conducted more than 40 listeria swabs across food-contact and non-food-contact surfaces. The results were immaculate – not one presumptive result was found.
“That outcome shocked me,” she said. “After three weeks of shutdown, you would expect something to show up somewhere, like a drain. But nothing. The operators really scrubbed the place because they understood why it mattered. That was the impact of the Dairysafe training.”
Even weeks later, employees continue to reference what they learned, asking questions about cleaning and swabbing, and pointing out areas of potential risk. This has seen a continued shift from a reactive to a proactive mindset.
“My job is to make everyone a food safety champion. I don’t want to be the only one saying, ‘You have to clean that.’ I want employees to be empowered to say, ‘I don’t think that’s good enough – let’s look into it.’ These videos cultivated those conversations,” Melissa said.
Mitani Group’s experience demonstrates the value of industry-developed training tools when combined with a company’s commitment to culture and learning. Dairysafe’s modules, developed with input from processors and funded with government support, are free and flexible. For Mitani Group, they provided both compliance assurance and a springboard for behaviour change.
The training week may have ended, but its legacy at Mitani Group is ongoing. Employees are more alert to food safety risks, more willing to speak up, and more united in their commitment to safe, high-quality dairy products.
To access Dairysafe’s processor training program, click the link and follow the steps to set up an account: https://training.dairy-safe.com.au/login
Read more about Dairysafe’s processor training program at the following links:
- Processor training available
- Positive feedback to processor training
- Processor training program update
