Australian supermarkets will now have access to locally grown frozen berries, with the official launch of frozen berry brand, Matilda’s.
Sourced from New South Wales and Tasmania, the berries have secured distribution in IGA, FoodWorks, and a variety of other independent supermarkets.
The genesis of the company, created by third generation strawberry farmers, Matt and Ruth Gallace, was rooted in response to the dozens of people who contracted Hepatitis A from eating contaminated frozen mixed berries, which were imported from overseas.
Matilda’s co-founder, Ruth Gallace, says there is no risk of cross contamination with their products as they’ve built the factory from the ground up, and the packing site is exclusively for fruit.
“In many cases, nuts are processed on the same site used to process other foods, which causes great concern for parents who have children with allergies. My daughter has anaphylaxis and I’m only too well aware of the need to ensure there is no chance of contamination”.
“The beauty of having our own site means it’s only used exclusively for fruit, so there is nothing else processed on site,” she said.
Gallace also maintains the importance of origin of food labelling, stating their products are processed and packaged transparently.
The launch into Australian supermarkets signifies a coup for the company, who says commercial quantities of Australian frozen berries haven’t been available to retailers.
Matilda’s frozen berries are available in supermarkets shelves in Victoria, and will be rolled out across New South Wales, Queensland and South Australia in coming weeks.
