News ALTSA’s passing the test

ALTSA’s passing the test

“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data.”

Arthur Conan Doyle’s mastermind detective Sherlock Holmes knew the value of analysing data, imparting, “I cannot make bricks without clay”.

The same can be said about ALTSA – Analytical Laboratories and Technical Services Australia – which is putting Sunraysia back on the map for its firstrate analytical capabilities.

Housed at the former CSIRO Merbein South location, ALTSA has tasked itself with the goal of becoming a world-class laboratory and centre of excellence.

For the fledgling facility opened in 2018, what that entails is operating a commercial state-of-the-art laboratory with a focus on expert agricultural and environmental analyses, channelling the brilliance of its predecessor through research and innovation, and lighting a fire in the belly of Sunraysia’s next generation of science and agriculture students.

Since establishing the site, restoring the building and grounds and acquiring technical equipment fit for an industryleading facility, the ALTSA team began offering its key services, including soil and plant nutrition testing, chemical and residue analysis, food and wine microbiology and environmental testing – most of which is provided to the horticulture industry.

Many Sunraysia growers would be familiar with ALTSA and general manager Ray Harris – if not through their soil and plant nutrient analyses or MRL tests, through Ray’s extensive career in science and large regional network.

“I came (to the CSIRO) as a work experience student from Mildura High School when I was 15, and I thought this was one of the most beautiful workplaces I’d ever been to,” Ray said. “I thought, I want to be a scientist, because if you can work in a place like this, I’m in. “We want to recover that. We want ALTSA to be a welcoming place to work and to visit, for customers and school kids.”

Alongside operating a commercial laboratory, Ray said one of ALTSA’s main goals was to give back to the community, particularly through science education and exposure.

“We’re big on having students come through when COVID goes away, because we see that it’s in our interest,” he said.

“Down the track they could be future recruits who come and work for us, or these same kids could end up working for our customers.

“Science is so critical to farming, it’s becoming more and more. Farmers have got to be up with everything, and the students who come through could become agronomists, laboratory people, farm managers or processing managers.”

Such high-end tests require

certification and accreditation, and ALTSA is an approved lab for Freshcare and GLOBALG.A.P., as well as National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA) accreditation, which is highly regarded both nationally and internationally as a reliable indicator of technical competence.

“That’s an ongoing process that as we keep adding tests we have to keep getting accreditation for them … but it reassures supermarkets and foreign governments,” Ray said.

One major benefit of using a regional laboratory was that turn-around time was generally quicker, Ray said, which could potentially impact the accuracy of results if samples had to travel to capital cities, were exposed to differing conditions along the freight process, or had to wait for tests to be carried out.

“That’s where we have an advantage over the city labs,” Ray said. “A grower collecting a sample and sending it to, say, Melbourne – the parameters for testing for E.coli and coliform is six hours.

“I guarantee there wouldn’t be many instances where you could get a sample sent from here to a Melbourne lab within six hours. The bacteria that are present could actually die in the process of getting it there. Heat, cold, excessive time can all impact and give a false positive, or a falsely high result.”

With so much for growers to “keep an eye on”, Ray said ALTSA could be a valuable resource for not only testing, but information.

“We want to work with the ATGA in particular to look at how can we make it easier for growers to make sure they comply because it’s in all our best interests to avoid a container going across the sea that doesn’t comply.”

With big plans to be a “one-stop shop” for laboratory services, as well as a source of information and support for regional growers and their communities, ALTSA seems well placed to pass the most important test – the test of time. v

Below: General manager Ray Harris wants ALTSA to become a world-class lab and centre of excellence.

Opposite page: ALTSA’s specialist staff conduct a wide variety of testing and analysis.