New food safety standards for leafy greens, melons and berries have small growers worried about their future

Eliza Cannon grows produce on 1.6-hectares and supplies small buyers like greengrocers. (Supplied: Eliza Cannon)

Small-scale growers around the country are concerned tightened regulations for leafy greens, melons and berries could disadvantage them and in some cases potentially price them out of business.

Regulator Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) says several outbreaks of foodborne illness across the three sectors in the past decade highlighted the need for the new regulations, which it describes as a positive for the industry.