A UNIQUE new vegetable processing and packaging plant will be operating at Parramatta Creek before the end of the year.
Tasmanian Pure Foods, a subsidiary of Bellamy's Organic Pty Ltd, will spend $8m over the next five years to upgrade a disused factory already on the site.
The project also received a $1.5m boost from the Federal Government yesterday.
The new plant will be equipped to deal with vegetables of all varieties and will create 50 jobs in the next three years.
Stage one of the project will process Bellamy's Organic products, which include a range of baby foods.
Tasmanian and interstate primary producers will then be invited to take up contracts with the plant to process a wide range of fruit and vegetable products.
Bellamy's Organic operator David Bellamy said the plant would be an Australian first in that Tasmanian primary producers would have their produce contract processed to their individual needs.
Producers could then reclaim the product before its distribution.
The concept grew out of problems Bellamy's Organic had in finding a suitable processing company.
"We got to a stage where we weren't able to produce good food ... so we could either give up or make it work," Mr Bellamy said.
"We chose to invest heavily in this infrastructure and set up a structure to benefit the whole industry."
The development announcement yesterday follows the Statewide Fair Dinkum Food Campaign, with farmers fighting to retain market share.
Campaign co-ordinator and Forth farmer Richard Bovill said yesterday the Bellamy's project showed "great courage".
"The world is created by people who are prepared to step outside the circle ... this is great news for North-West farmers," he said.
