Food Regulation News

Posted on December 2, 2019

Food Regulation News

Current Consultations (as  of  23 February 2020)

 

AGENCY
CODE
NAME
SUBMISSION DATE

FSANZ

P1044

Plain English Allergen Labelling

27 February 2020
FSANZ P1052 Primary Production and Processing Requirements for High-risk Horticulture 18 March 2020
FSANZ A1184

Glucoamylase from GM Aspergillus niger (donor Trametes cingulata) 

 24 March 2020
FSANZ P1053 Food Safety Management Programs 20 March 2020
FSANZ A1185

Alpha-amylase from GM Aspergillus niger as a processing aid (enzyme) 

 24 March 2020

 


Information on FSANZ food regulation consultations can be found on the FSANZ website.
 
 
FSANZ is working on a proposal to make allergen labelling requirements clearer and more consistent, to help food allergen-sensitive consumers and food businesses.
 
The second call for submissions proposes draft amendments to the Food Standards Code. The purpose of these changes is to make allergen information clearer, more consistent and prominent for consumers.
 
In summary, these changes would require:
- the use of mandatory specified terms for allergen declarations
 
- the separate declaration of molluscs; individual tree nuts: almond, Brazil nut, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, pistachio and walnut; and wheat, barley, rye, oats or spelt or their hybrids
 
- for packaged foods: declaration of allergens in the statement of ingredients using bold font and in a separate emboldened allergen summary statement; and use of the terms ‘gluten’ or 'tree nut' in the allergen summary statement when these are present.
 
AIFST will be making a submission to this consultation and will be seeking input from interested members to inform the submission.  Please contact Fiona Fleming if you are interested in contributing to the AIFST submission.
 
 
FSANZ Regulatory Science Strategy
 
FSANZ published their Regulatory Science Strategy in October 2019.  The Regulatory Science Strategy is a core document under the FSANZ Corporate Plan. This forward-looking strategy ensures that FSANZ remains prepared to respond to the challenges of global trends and emerging risks in a dynamic food system. It provides a clear strategic direction to ensure that FSANZ continues to provide strong evidence-based scientific advice to inform decision-making.
 
The plan is available on the FSANZ website.
 
FSANZ Work Plan
The current FSANZ Work Plan (as of  21 February 2020) can be found on the FSANZ website.

 

Department of Agriculture and Water Resources – Failing Food Reports
Failing food reports identify foods that have failed analytical testing or do not meet the compositional requirements of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
The most recent Failing Foods Reports up to December 2019 can be accessed here.

 

Review of Australia’s food safety management standards (August 2019)
FSANZ is reviewing chapters 3 and 4 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) to ensure a consistent and current approach to through-chain food safety management in Australia. Requirements in chapters 3 and 4 only apply in Australia.

Administrative assessments for P1053 Food Safety Management Tools and P1052 Primary Production and Processing Requirements for High-risk Horticulture are now available from the website.

To stay up to date on the public consultation process for these proposals please email standards.management@foodstandards.gov.au.
 
The AIFST made a submission to FSANZ on the earlier consultation. The submission is available HERE.
 
 
Recalls and complaints: new videos on the FSANZ YouTube channel
FSANZ have two new videos available on their YouTube Channel. Check out the video about recalls for food businesses, video about how to make a food complaints and the video on product datemarking.