Sustainability

Sustainability isn’t something we talk about as an add-on – it’s how we run our business from the ground up.

We use Australian ingredients to create top-notch smallgoods, applying sustainable, slow-production techniques. We start with quality Australian ingredients, we use natural probiotics and cultures to cure our goods, using less water than a standard large-scale factory production. The result is shelf-stable salamis and sausages sold directly from our Gold Coast factory to your home.

At Backa Australia, we consider ourselves a sustainable business because we don’t take short-cuts and we don’t waste the fine resources that we utilise in our processes. To make a good salami, you have to start with high quality ingredients. We purchase our beef from New South Wales and Tasmania, sourcing yearling grade, grass-fed beef. Our free-range pork comes from Queensland and we select shoulder meat for its consistent quality. We maintain a close relationship with our suppliers, because we believe that the way you spend your money is a reflection of the future you want to see, and we want to see a thriving, innovative Australian agricultural sector that provides not only for us, but feeds the world.

To create our products, we use cultures, a heritage process to cure the meats. Our founder, Richard Krstin, first started making his salamis “the old fashioned way,” using techniques handed down from his family, who immigrated to Australia in the 1970s. We use locally sourced red oak to smoke the meats as well, because we think it adds to the unique flavours of our products.

Fermentation and salt cure processes not only result in a delicious product, it has other benefits as well – it uses less water than large-scale factory processes, meaning we can be wise with our precious resources. Fermentation and salt curing takes a bit longer than most factory processes, but in the end you get a shelf-stable product that can be safely stored in your pantry and enjoyed at your pleasure. Because the majority of our smallgoods don’t need to be refrigerated, it reduces the associated costs of electricity through the supply chain. That’s a savings for you, and for our retail distributors, and a win for the environment.

Our approach to minimising waste and using our natural resources respectfully runs all through our system – we use modern, efficient machinery to make our goods, because this reduces waste and offcuts. Our factory power is offset by the use of solar panels.

There are no secrets in our process: it’s based on pride in buying local goods as much as possible. It’s taking the time to use those resources as thoughtfully as possible, taking the old techniques and adapting them using Australian innovation. It’s crafting a product that we are proud to sell, and we hope that you are proud to feed your family and friends.