FOOD … · CONTENTS vii ANNUAL REPORT 2010-2011 Appendixes Appendix 1 – Gazetted amendments to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 103

FOODSTANDARDSAustralia New Zealand

Annual Report 2010-2011

© Food Standards Australia New Zealand 2011 ISSN 1329-38950

This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Information Officer, FSANZ, PO Box 7186, Canberra BC, ACT 2610.

An electronic version of this work is available on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) website at www.foodstandards.gov.au. This electronic version may be downloaded, displayed, printed and reproduced in unaltered form only for your personal, non-commercial use or use within your organisation.

Food Standards Australia New ZealandAustralia New Zealand PO Box 7186 PO Box 10559 Canberra BC The Terrace ACT 2610 Wellington 6036 Australia New Zealand Tel: 61 2 6271 2222 Tel: 64 4 473 9942 Fax: 61 2 6271 2278 Fax: 64 4 473 9855 [email protected] [email protected]

il e T T e R O F T R A N S m I T T A l

ANNUAL REPORT 2010-2011

Letter of Transmittal

Senator the Hon Catherine King mP

Parliamentary Secretary

for Health and Ageing

Parliament House

Canberra ACT 2600

Annual Report of Food Standards Australia New Zealand for the year ended

30 June 2011

I am pleased to present to you the Annual Report of Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

This report fulfils the reporting requirements of The Commonwealth Authorities and Companies

Act 1997, including the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies orders for report of

operations.

The report also fulfils the reporting requirements of Section 152 of the Food Standards

Australia New Zealand Act 1991.

The Annual Report is made in accordance with a resolution of FSANZ Board members

(Directors). They are responsible for the preparation and content of the report of operations in

accordance with the Finance minister’s Orders.

Yours sincerely

Philippa Smith Am

Food Standards Australia New Zealand

September 2011

ii l e T T e R O F T R A N S m I T T A l

FOOD STANDARDS AUSTRALIA NEW ZEALAND

iiiC O N T E N T S


Contents

Letter of Transmittal i

Guide to the Report 1

Compliance index 3

Chief Executive Officer’s Review 5

Corporate Overview 9

Highlights 2010-11 9

Role and responsibilities of FSANZ 9

Structure and processes 11

Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code 11

FSANZ’s risk analysis process 11

Summary of financial performance 15

Financial outcomes 15

Four-year financial plan 15

Priorities and Performance 2010–11 17

Outcomes 17

Performance 18

Regulatory Standards 22

Objectives 22

Outcomes 22


Introduction 23

iv C O N T E N T S


Summary of food regulatory activity 24

Applications and proposals gazetted 1 July 2010–30 June 2011 24

Amendments to the FSANZ Application Handbook 25

Standards Development Work Plan 25

Ministerial Council Reviews 28

ANAO audit 30

Ministerial Council Policy Guidelines 33

Additional Work requested by the Ministerial Council 33

Maximum residue limits 33

Code Interpretation Service 34

Standards development 34

Applications and Proposals 34

Other matters 37

Food labelling 38

Food standards for the primary industries 39

Public health and safety 41

Public health 41

Food safety 43

Imported foods 44

Food incidents and food recalls 45

Improving our standards development outcomes 50

Legislative audit of the code 50

Consumer and social sciences research 50

Project management 50

Enzymes—review of safety data requirements 50

Novel foods—determining the novelty 51

Monitoring and evaluating hazards 51

Implementation Sub-Committee Coordinated Food Survey Plan 51

Australian Total Diet Study 51

Survey of genetically modified ingredients in soy-based infant formula 52

Survey of chemical contaminants and residues in espresso, instant and ground coffee 52

vC O N T E N T S


Survey of iodine levels in beverages enriched with seaweed 52

Survey of iodine in seaweed and seaweed containing products 53

Survey of chemical migration from food contact packaging materials in Australian food 53

Strengthening our evidence base 53

Science evidence base 53

Accessing external expertise 57

Consumer and social sciences 60

Regulatory analysis 61

International networks 62

Relationships in the Asia-Pacific region 64

Stakeholder Relationships 68

Objectives 68

Outcomes 68


Introduction 69

Stakeholders and regulatory partners 70

Citizen involvement 70

Partnerships with other national agencies 73

Communication 76

Information for the community 76

Publications 77

Industry and consumer advice 78

Public awareness campaigns 78

People and Organisational Capability 80

Objectives 80

Outcome 80


vi C O N T E N T S


Introduction 81

Staff Forum 82

Organisational capability and capacity 82

Information and communication technology (ICT) 82

Attraction, development and retention of a skilled workforce 83

Encouraging a rewarding environment 86

Employment environment 86

Rewards and recognition 88

Organisational structure 88

Senior management 89

Accountability 92

Objectives 92

Outcomes 92


Introduction 93

Our role and priorities 94

Stakeholders and regulatory partners 95

Corporate governance arrangements 96

Government and Parliament 96

FSANZ performance 96

FSANZ Board 98

Business planning and management 100

viiC O N T E N T S


Appendixes

Appendix 1 – Gazetted amendments to the Australia New Zealand

Food Standards Code from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011 103

Appendix 2 – Applications received and Proposals prepared at 30 June 2011 106

Appendix 3 – FSANZ procedures for assessing Applications 116

Appendix 4 – External FSANZ committee members 121

Appendix 5 – Financial Statements 132

Appendix 6 – Functions and powers 164

Appendix 7 – Current publications 167

Appendix 8 – Categories of documents held 173

Appendix 9 – Consultants 176

Appendix 10 – FSANZ representation 179

Appendix 11 – FSANZ Board members, attendance, qualifications and experience 188

Food Standards Australia New Zealand Board expertise and experience (2010-2011) 189

Appendix 12 – FSANZ Strategy Map 2009-12 194

Acronyms and Abbreviations 195

Index 198

viii C O N T e N T S


1G U I D e T O T H e R e P O R T


Guide to the Report

In preparing this report we have followed the requirements of the Commonwealth Authorities

and Companies Act 1997 and Section 152 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Act 1991.

The Chief Executive Officer’s review provides a perspective on the past year and an outlook

for the year ahead.

The Corporate overview provides a snapshot of our role and functions, how we are

organised and the processes involved in our decision making. It also refers to our key

outcomes and provides a summary of our financial performance.

Under Priorities and performance, we summarise the year’s activities against the key

strategic imperatives and performance measures identified in the FSANZ Corporate Plan

2009–12.

The main text of the report details outputs and outcomes in 2010–11 under the four strategic

imperatives of our Corporate Plan—regulatory standards, stakeholder relationships, people

and organisational capability, and accountability.

Regulatory standards describes the outputs associated with the development of new, or

variations to existing, food standards. It also provides details of other activities that support

regulatory measures for the sale of food in Australia and New Zealand.

Stakeholder relationships documents our community consultation and communication

processes, including our engagement with stakeholders.

People and organisational capability reports on the ability of the agency to meet

stakeholder expectations and on initiatives for fostering and encouraging a rewarding work

environment.

Accountability refers to our corporate governance arrangements and initiatives.

Appendixes to the report contain detailed information on a number of mandatory reporting

requirements and other areas of interest.

2 G U I D e T O T H e R e P O R T


Additional information

You can obtain information on the projects and activities described in this report from the

Communication manager, lorraine Belanger, on +61 2 6271 2147 or

[email protected]. For information on the FSANZ Annual Report

2010–11, please contact the managing editor, Dr michael Dack, on +61 2 6271 2239 or

[email protected]. An electronic version of this report and other FSANZ

publications can be accessed from the FSANZ website www.foodstandards.gov.au.

3C O m P l I A N C e I N D e x


Compliance index

The checklist below, based on the Report of Operations Schedule of the Commonwealth

Authorities and Companies (Report of Operations) Orders 2008, summarises FSANZ’s

compliance with essential reporting requirements in this annual report.

Topic Requirement met

Comment

Preliminaries

Director’s sign-off Yes letter of Transmittal

Subsidiaries included n/a

Operations

legislation/objectives/functions Yes Corporate Overview; Our roles and priorities (p.9); Appendices 1, 2 and 6

Name of minister in financial year Yes Corporate Overview

Organisational structure and locations

Yes Corporate Overview; Organisational structure (p.13)

Review of Operations and Future Prospects

Performance against targets in Portfolio Budget Statements

Yes Priorities and performance; Standards Development Work Plan (p.25); Appendices 1 and 2

Risks, opportunities and strategies

Yes Science Strategy (p.53); Citizen involvement (p.70); Corporate risk management (p.70)

Significant changes during 2010-11

Yes Regulatory Standards

Financial results Yes Appendix 5; Corporate overview

Developments since 30 June 2010

Yes Throughout this annual report

Reviews

Judicial decisions and administrative tribunals

Nil

4 C O m P l I A N C e I N D e x


Topic Requirement met

Comment

Reports–Auditor-General, Parliamentary Committee, Ombudsman

Nil ANAO report (p.30, 102)

ministerial directions Yes ministerial Council Reviews (p.28); Work requested by the ministerial Council (p.33)

Government policies Yes COAG Review of Food labelling Policy and law (p.38)

Corporate Governance

Directors: names/meetings/attendances

Yes Appendix 11

Corporate governance practices Yes Corporate Overview (p.14; p.96)

Board committees (including Audit) and attendance

Yes Finance, Audit and Risk management Committee (p.99)

Indemnities and insurances Yes

Financial statements Yes Appendix 5

miscellaneous

Other matters in legislation Yes FSANZ Act (Corporate Overview); FOI Act (p.95); OH&S Act (p.86); Public Service Act (Corporate Overview)

National Disability Strategy Yes National Disability Strategy (p.87)

5C H I e F e x e C U T I v e O F F I C e R ’ S R e v I e W


Chief Executive Officer’s Review

In the context of food regulation, 1991 was an auspicious year for two reasons: the

establishment of the National Food Authority to develop food standards for the whole of

Australia and the creation of the World Wide Web.

Since then, food regulation in Australia (and New Zealand) and the internet – as we now know

this communication technology – have developed in some predictable, but many unexpected,

ways, the latter providing novel opportunities for a government agency like FSANZ.

The Australian Government, through its Gov 2.0 approaches, has been quick to recognise

the benefits of the internet and related technologies to respond to citizens’ needs, both in

service delivery and in the exchange of information. Departments and agencies throughout

the Australian Public Service have risen to the challenge of testing the value of the new

technologies in helping them meet organisational goals.

While not an early adopter, FSANZ was one of the first small agencies to set up a website in

the late 1990s. Today, our website acts as the hub of our information programs. It contains

factual information on our programs, including details of applications to change the Food

Standards Code, submissions and assessment reports. It also contains consumer information

on matters relating to the Code in food safety, nutrition and general awareness about FSANZ

and its work.

From this information hub, we have built communication spokes to our various audiences,

using Facebook, Twitter and other communication channels in the social media. These

channels have not only strengthened our ability to disseminate information to a wider range

of audiences, but also stimulated real-time feedback on issues of the day. For example, in

response to a spate of undeclared allergens in food products, we began issuing Allergy Alerts

as well as food recall announcements.

The Japan nuclear incident is another case in point. Our social media links allowed us to

contact journalists, consumers and food businesses as soon as the incident occurred

to reassure them that the government had put processes in place to assess the risk to

consumers of Japanese food imports and to regularly provide updates. Our Facebook and

Twitter sites are now an integral part of our communication strategies for all food incidents.

These recent developments in communication technology have arrived just in time. The food

supply is more complex than ever, thanks to an innovative food industry. Consumer eating

habits have changed significantly over the past 20 years. And consumer expectations about

6 C H I e F e x e C U T I v e O F F I C e R ’ S R e v I e W


absolute safety in food and the government’s ability to protect and inform them have also

escalated.

Allied to this, information and communication systems – known as ICT – have improved

efficiencies in the way we do our business and how we, as a bi-national agency, interact with

our colleagues in New Zealand. It has reduced the costs of maintaining relationships with our

regulatory partners overseas. It has enabled us to at least maintain our productivity with finite

resources.

So, the convergence of a national food agency in Australia and the internet and its off-shoots

is a case of serendipity – a ‘happy accident’.

Just as it is virtually impossible to predict where the internet will be in ten years, it is difficult to

imagine the challenges that will confront FSANZ in 2020, except the certainty that they will be

complex and involve community debate.

We learned a long time ago that communication should not be simply bolted onto the end

of our projects. It should permeate all our processes and should be a true two-way process.

For this reason, the internet and its products will continue to be a powerful weapon in our

communication armoury.

Significant events of the year

Two events received a great deal of media and community attention in 2010–11—the

release of the Labelling Logic report following the Review of Food labelling law and Policy

and the agency’s contribution to a whole-of-Australian Government response to the nuclear

incident in Japan.

many of the recommendations in Labelling Logic have implications for FSANZ’s work. Some

important projects, such as nutrition and health claims and pregnancy advisory statements

on alcohol products, have been delayed until the government’s response is known. We are

working with other agencies to help the government develop this response.

On the matter of the safety of food imported from Japan, we provided advice to the

Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service on the potential risk associated with foods

originating from a number of prefectures in Japan. We assessed that the risk of Australian

consumers being exposed to higher than internationally acceptable levels of radionuclides

was negligible. We sought technical assistance on this from the Australian Radiation

Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority, and had timely access to test results from Japan,

Singapore and Hong Kong through our extensive bilateral relationships.

7C H I E F E x E C u T I v E O F F I C E R ’ S R E v I E w


Other events of note included a request by the COAG for FSANZ to establish a Code

Interpretation Service, on a cost-recovered basis, to provide users with interpretations

of Chapters 1 and 2 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. This service

commenced on 1 July 2011.

The Board has recently taken a special interest in identifying an appropriate role for FSANZ

in the public health arena. FSANZ established contacts with the Chair of the new Australian

National Preventive Health Agency during the year and set up a Consumer and Public Health

Dialogue to provide strategic advice on relevant public health issues. we also welcomed

the Australian Government’s Food and Health Dialogue, which will enhance collaboration

between the food industry and government on nutrition and public health.

we implemented new arrangements for maximum residue limits (MRLs) in 2011, whereby

legislative amendments to the FSANZ Act empower the Australian Pesticides and veterinary

Medicines Authority (APvMA) to vary certain MRLs in the Food Standards Code. FSANZ

retains responsibility for the dietary exposure component of the risk assessment.

FSANZ also increased its engagement with the public by becoming a participant in social

media. This allows us to share information with individuals and to receive immediate

feedback on our approaches and regulatory decisions.

Regulatory highlights

FSANZ made significant progress on a number of food safety standards for the primary

industries during 2010–11. A primary production and processing standard for eggs and egg

products was gazetted. Standards for seed sprouts and meat products were put on hold to

allow associated work to catch up.

In developing a standard for raw (unpasteurised) milk products, we determined that category

3 products—including raw drinking milk—presented too high a risk for us to recommend

their sale in Australia. we instead recommended approving category 1 products (those that

do not support pathogen growth) for sale and commencing a closer examination of the risks

of category 2 products (those that may support pathogen growth).

we continued to assess the safety of foods requiring pre-market approval by FSANZ (that is,

GM foods, food additives, processing aids and irradiated foods). we also continued to refer

foods to our Advisory Committee on Novel Foods to determine the extent of novelty in the

foods. No applications were made for us to assess foods produced using nanotechnology

during the year.

8 C H I e F e x e C U T I v e O F F I C e R ’ S R e v I e W


One of FSANZ’s responsibilities is to conduct surveys of the safety of food with our

regulatory partners. We released survey reports on the level of iodine in seaweed, chemical

contaminants in coffee and packaging materials, and Gm substances in infant formula. We

also commenced the 24th Australian Total Diet Study—a survey measuring the levels of

acrylamide, aluminium, sodium/salt, bisphenol A and other compounds in foods.

Another of our roles is to coordinate a national food recall system in Australia. We were

concerned during the year at the proportion of recalls involving undeclared allergens

in products, mostly for imported foods. To provide greater protection for susceptible

consumers, we have put an Allergy Alert notification on our social media sites.

Other regulatory activities described in this report represent our considerable breadth of

work with limited resources. We have maintained our commitment to, and participation in,

the important work of Codex Alimentarius. This is one way of ensuring our scientific staff

maintain professional contacts with counterparts overseas. This has allowed us to remain a

highly competent and progressive agency.

I am indebted, as always, to the dedication of our staff to the goals of food regulation. I am

also grateful for the support of the Board, through its Chair, ms Philippa Smith. It has been

a pleasure being part of this productive culture for another year—a culture that ensures we

continue to support the core business of the agency in a fully professional, rigorous and

comprehensive way.

During the year, we welcomed mr Tony Nowell to the Board as a nominee of the

Government of New Zealand. We farewelled ms Dianne Yates, Associate Professor Peter

Williams and Associate Professor Winsome Parnell—all of whom served on the Board with

distinction for a number of years. The former CeO of the (former) New Zealand Food Safety

Authority, Dr Andrew mcKenzie, joined the Board in may as a nominee of the New Zealand

Government.

I commend this annual report to you as an accurate representation of the diversity of work

undertaken by FSANZ in 2010–11 to meet its legislative responsibilities.

STeve mCCUTCHeON

Chief executive Officer

9C O R P O R A T E O v E R v I E w


Corporate Overview

Highlights 2010-11

• gazetted 11 amendments to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code arising from applications and five amendments from proposals, including four GM foods, and a primary production and processing standard for eggs and egg products

• assessed the dietary exposure of Australians to radionuclides from food imported from Japan as part of a whole-of-government response to the nuclear incident in Fukushima

• commenced the 24th Australian Total Diet Study, focusing on food additives and nutrients, and launched NuTTAB 2010—the latest edition of our reference database on the nutrient content of Australian foods

• received and commenced work on applications from 14 countries to have their bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) status assessed, as part of an Australian Government approach to assessing food safety risks for imported beef and beef products

• coordinated four food incidents under the National Food Incident Response Protocol, including the recall of, and consumer information about, a weight loss product containing oleander seed

• introduced a fee-for-service Code Interpretation Service for industry under the Intergovernmental Agreement for Food Reforms

• established a Consumer and Public Health Dialogue to advise FSANZ on broader public health aspects of standards setting

• commenced publishing applications and submissions to amend the Food Standards Code on our website under the Australian Government’s Information Publication Scheme

• established a FSANZ presence in the social media to optimise community use of information on our website.

Role and responsibilities of FSANZ

Legislative responsibilities

FSANZ is a statutory authority established by the Australian Parliament to develop and maintain

food standards for Australia and New Zealand. FSANZ has three main objectives for standard

setting under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. In descending order of

priority they are:

1. Protection of public health and safety.

2. Provision of adequate information to consumers.

3. Prevention of misleading or deceptive conduct.


10 C O R P O R A T e O v e R v I e W


Other objectives include being mindful of the competitiveness of the Australian food industry and

using the best available science in making our regulatory decisions.

The FSANZ Act requires us to undertake functions in addition to standard setting, including

achieving consistency between domestic and international food standards, coordinating food

monitoring and surveillance activities in Australia and providing information to the public. These

functions are carried out in collaboration with state and territory food agencies and with the New

Zealand ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Under a treaty between Australia and New Zealand, food standards in the Australia New Zealand

Food Standards Code, developed by FSANZ, apply to New Zealand, with exceptions. Food

safety provisions in Chapters 3 and 4 of the Code do not apply to New Zealand.

Food regulatory framework

FSANZ operates within an integrated food regulatory system involving all levels of

government. The three elements of the system are policy development, standards setting and

implementation/enforcement.

Standards settingFSANZ (consistent with Codex)

EnforcementStates/Territories/MAF (NZ)

Local GovernmentAQIS (imported foods)

PolicyMinisterial Council

(States/Territories/Aust/NZ)(health/agriculture portfolios)

The food regulatory system involves the Australian and New Zealand governments, the

states and territories of Australia and local government in both countries. FSANZ works

closely with the policy development programs of the Department of Health and Ageing

and, through an Implementation Sub-Committee (ISC) of the Food Regulation Standing

Committee (FRSC), with jurisdictions to ensure that food standards can be enforced

consistently across the country.

11C O R P O R A T e O v e R v I e W


The Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation ministerial Council

provides policy guidance to the food regulatory system. This ministerial

Council is chaired by the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing,

the Hon. Catherine King, mP. ms King also provides government oversight

of FSANZ. FRSC provides policy advice to the ministerial Council.

Other government guidelines

Broader government policies and guidelines, such as Australian Dietary Guidelines and alcohol

strategies, are also taken into account during standard setting. COAG and the New Zealand

Government are committed to removing unnecessary regulation on businesses. FSANZ liaises

with the Office of Best Practice Regulation to ensure that its food standards are the minimum

impost necessary to achieve the desired outcomes.

Structure and processes

Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code

Any organisation or individual can apply to have provisions in the Food Standards Code

amended. Applicants must provide the information set out in the Application Handbook.

FSANZ assesses applications according to the procedure outlined in Appendix 3.

Recommendations to amend the Code, once approved by the FSANZ Board, are notified

to the Food Regulation ministerial Council, which has 60 days to request a review of the

Board’s decision. If no request is received, the amended or new food standard is gazetted

(published) and attains the status of food law.

FSANZ can also initiate changes to the Code. These are usually matters of public safety (for

example, production and processing requirements for primary industries) or long-term public

health issues. The ministerial Council usually requests the latter.

FSANZ’s risk analysis process

We have adopted a risk-based approach to assessing applications and proposals to change

the Code. We use a risk analysis process developed by Codex Alimentarius, the international

body responsible for setting guidelines for national food regulatory systems.



There are three components to our risk analysis process:

• riskassessment—determiningthelikelihoodandseverityofhazards

• riskmanagement—identifyingmeasurestominimisetherisk

• riskcommunication—ensuringallstakeholdersareawareof,andunderstand,therisk

being addressed and the control measures.

This process allows the public, food businesses and government to provide advice and

views to FSANZ at various stages of standards development.

Organisational structure

FSANZ is a small government agency with 141 people employed in Canberra and

Wellington. There is a six-person executive management team, led by the Chief executive

Officer, who is also an ex officio member of the 12-person FSANZ Board (see Appendix 11).

The Australian and New Zealand governments nominate Board members.

Staff members are mainly located within one risk assessment branch and two risk

management branches (see Figure 1). The Office of the Chief Scientist is responsible for

coordinating scientific activity in the agency. Supporting this core business are sections

involved in regulatory affairs, communication, legal counsel, economic analysis, social

science, planning, information technology and administration.



Figure 1: FSANZ organisation chart as at 30 June 2011

Steve McCutcheonChief Executive

Officer

Kerry MessnerCorporate Executive Assistant

Paul BrentChief Scientist

Lucinda StewartExecutive Assistant

Shelley CorkeryExecutive Assistant

Treza JensenExecutive Assistant

Utz MuellerRisk Assessment – Chemical Safety

Duncan CraigRisk Assessment – Microbiology

Janine LewisRisk Assessment – Public Health

Nutrition

Scott CrerarRisk Assessment

– Production Process

Robyn Cleland (A/g)

Public Health Nutrition

Standards

Amanda HillPrincipal Advisor

Food Safety

Jason MarchRegulatory

Analysis

Audrey GormleyChief Finance

Officer

Tony SingerOperations

John AstridgeChief Information

Officer

Michelle Gosse(A/g)

Consumer & Social Sciences

Maureen WempeExecutive Assistant

Leigh HendersonProduct Safety

Standards

Cain SibleyOffice of Legal

Counsel

VacantStrategy & Audit

Cathie HumphriesRegulatory Affairs &

Parliamentary

Barbara ButowFood Safety

Section

Lorraine BelangerCommunication& Stakeholder Engagement

Debra FletcherExecutive Assistant

Jenny HazeltonLabelling and Information Standards

Andrew Bartholomaeus

General ManagerRisk Assessment

Leanne LaajokiScientific Strategy,

International & Surveilance

Dorothy MackerrasChief Public

Health Nutrition Advisor

Steven Crossley(A/g)

Food Composition, Evaluation &

Modelling

Melanie FisherDeputy Chief

Executive OfficerGeneral ManagerFood Standards

(Canberra)

Dean StockwellGeneral ManagerFood Standards

(Wellington)

Peter MayGeneral Manager

Legal and Regulatory Affairs

Felicia NashExecutive

Assistant to Chief Executive Officer



Core governance framework

Top-level reporting and accountability arrangements for FSANZ are depicted in Figure 2.

The Board and executive work within this framework to ensure that the agency discharges

its responsibilities effectively. Figure 2 does not show our interactions with other Australian

Government agencies, international regulatory agencies such as Codex and consumer and

public health bodies.

Figure 2: FSANZ’s governance framework

State & Territory Governments

MinisterialDirection

Ministerial Council (inc sub-committees: FRSC, ISC)

Inter-governmental agreement; COAG

Ministerial Council Direction

Strategic Direction

Portfolio and Policy Direction

Treaty

Portfolio Budget Statement

NZ Government Reporting

Annual Report

Management Reporting

Business Plan

Section Plans

Education Incident Response & Recall Co-ord

Policy Inform-ation & Advice

Support Harmon-isation

Food Risk Assess-ments

Policies and Procedures

Legend: Governance & FSANZ Bodies

Reporting

Legislated or Policy Driven Accountability Bodies

Outcomes and Outcome Recipients

Legislation & Plans

Australia New Zealand Food Standards CodeCodes of PracticeCode guidance

Australian and New Zealand Population

Performance Mgt

Board Reporting

Internal Audit

Corporate PlanCharters

Various Legislation (Constitution, FSANZ Act,

CAC Act, PS Act etc)

DoHA

Australian Government

Parl Sec Health

CEO

FSANZ Executive

FSANZ Staff

FSANZ Board (inc sub-committees: FARMC) Statutory AuthorityFSANZ

FellowsExpert Advisory Groups

Working Groups

Minister for Health

New Zealand Government



FSANZ has a well-developed corporate planning process based on the three-year Corporate

Plan 2009–12. The FSANZ Strategy map 2009–12 in Appendix 12 summarises the main

features of the Corporate Plan. We provide input to the annual Portfolio Budget Statements

and ensure that planning throughout the agency is linked to strategic goals through an annual

business plan.

Summary of financial performance

In 2010–11 we received $19.296 million appropriation funding from the Australian

Government. Of this, $0.05 million was paid to the Australian Pesticides and veterinary

medicines Authority to reflect functions that were transferred during the year dealing with

mRls. We also received a further $0.3 million capital injection for the remodelling of dietary

modelling and nutrition databases.

As part of the bilateral partnership agreement with New Zealand, the New Zealand

Government contributed $1.528 million towards the cost of joint activities undertaken for both

countries. We also received $0.464 million from the Australian Bureau of Statistics for work

on the National Nutrition Survey, $0.453 million for fee-for-service activities and $0.12 million

from the Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research to fund nanotechnology

activities.

In managing FSANZ’s finances the Board, through its Finance, Audit and Risk management

Committee, works to a four-year financial plan.

Financial outcomes

During the year, operating revenue—including revenue from the Australian and New Zealand

governments—was $22.434 million and operating expenses were $22.384 million. This

resulted in an operating surplus of $0.05 million.

Four-year financial plan

The four-year plan has a number of assumptions relating to future income, changes in

expenditure and the accrual of liabilities. We have assumed revenue from the Australian

Government is known from the Portfolio Budget Statements 2011–12. The New Zealand

Government has made a proportional contribution.

The four-year plan for 2011–12 and the following years assumes that FSANZ will operate a

balanced budget over that period. We expect inevitable changes to both revenue and the level



of expenditure as new priorities emerge and workloads change. The Finance, Audit and Risk

management Committee and the Board regularly review the four-year plan to ensure our future

financial position remains sound.

Certificate of Compliance

The 2010–11 Certificate of Compliance was sent to the Department of Finance and

Deregulation before 15 October, as required.

17P R I O R I T I e S A N D P e R F O R m A N C e 2 0 1 0 - 1 1


Priorities and Performance 2010–11

We have summarised our activities against the performance information for FSANZ contained

in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2010–2011: Health and Ageing Portfolio. more detailed

accounts of projects and services appear later in this report.

Outcomes

FSANZ’s reporting outcomes are linked with those of the Department of Health and Ageing,

in particular, the Department’s Outcome 1—Population Health. FSANZ’s contribution to the

departmental outcome is through Program 1.1: Food regulatory activity and services to the

minister and Parliament.

Agency Outcome

Department of Health and Ageing Outcome 1: A reduction in the incidence of preventable mortality and morbidity in Australia, including through regulation and national initiatives that support healthy lifestyles and disease prevention

Food Standards Australia New Zealand Program 1.1: A safe food supply and well-informed consumers in Australia and New Zealand, including through the development of food regulatory measures and the promotion of their consistent implementation, coordination of food recall activities and the monitoring of consumer and industry food practices

Through Program 1.1 the Australian Government aims to:

• managethedevelopmentandmaintenanceofeffectiveevidence-basedfoodstandards

contributing to the provision of a safe food supply

• ensureeffectiveengagementwithregulatorypartnersintheimplementationofthese

standards to protect the health and safety of consumers

• strengthenengagementwithindustry,consumersandthegeneralcommunityto

increase awareness of the food regulatory system.


18 P R I O R I T I e S A N D P e R F O R m A N C e 2 0 1 0 - 1 1


Performance

Deliverables

As described in the Portfolio Budget Statements, FSANZ has overall responsibility for the

deliverables that contribute to Program 1.1. In 2010–11 FSANZ achieved the following

performance against the qualitative and quantitative deliverables:

Qualitative deliverables 2010-11 target Status / page

Effective evidence-based food standards

Redevelopment of dietary modelling and nutrition databases

Delivered in a timely manner

Final test of Harvest July 2011 Project to be completed Oct/Nov 2011 (p.54)

Conducting evaluation surveys:

•Fortifiedfoods—tomeasureconsumerunderstanding of fortified foods and their consumption behaviour patterns

Timely completion and report delivery

In progress (p.60)

•Foodlabelmonitoring—demonstrationofshelfstock consistency with Food Standards Code labelling requirements

Timely completion and report delivery

Survey not conducted due to resource constraints (p.39)

Protect health and safety

management of National Food Incident Response and Industry Food Recall Protocols

Delivery of an efficient and effective incident management and recall process

Summary of 2010–11 food incidents and recalls (p.47)

Citizen and stakeholder engagement

Provide access to publications and information on the food regulatory system

Conduct media events with information for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples

No media events—continuing activities with jurisdictions to make information available to Indigenous people (p.77)

19P R I O R I T I e S A N D P e R F O R m A N C e 2 0 1 0 - 1 1


Quantitative deliverables 2010-11 target

2010-11 actual

Citizen and stakeholder engagement

Number of international forums attended by FSANZ ≥ 29 47

Number of foreign language consumer information videos available from FSANZ’s website

8 14 videos in each of 8 languages (p.76)

Key performance indicators

The following key performance indicators measure the impact of Program 1.1:

Qualitative indicators 2010-11 target Status / page


The redeveloped dietary modelling and nutrition database will be interactive, web-based and have multi-user capability

Increased number of website hits on the dietary modelling and nutrition database

NUTTAB website hits increased from 41,515 to 176,959 (326%) (p.55)

Increased knowledge on food fortification

Consumer survey on fortification indicates increased knowledge

Survey commenced (p.60)

Negligible risk to Australian consumers through FSANZ contribution to the implementation of the BSe Imported Food Safety policy

Conducting timely risk assessments in response to requests from applicant countries

14 requests received (p.41)

Quantitative indicators 2010-11 target

2010-11 actual


Percentage of applications and proposals prepared which meet statutory timeframes

100% 80% (8 out of 10 applications)

Number of BSe risk assessments completed ≤ 5 0 (14 requests received) (p.41)

20 P R I O R I T I e S A N D P e R F O R m A N C e 2 0 1 0 - 1 1


Regulatory Standards

22 R e G U l A T O R Y S T A N D A R D S


Regulatory Standards

Strategic imperative

• enhancingthequalityofregulatorystandards.

Objectives

• clear,easytounderstandstandards

• standardssoundlybasedonevidence

• standardsthatanticipateinnovationandnewtechnologies.

Outcomes

• readyacceptanceofstandardsbyjurisdictionsandindustry

• easierimplementationbyjurisdictionsandindustry

• standardsthatareusefultoconsumers(understandableandbeneficial).

Highlights 2010-11

• gazetted11applicationsandfiveproposalstoamendtheAustralia New Zealand Food

Standards Code — amendments included four Gm foods, an extension to the interim

maximum level for tutin in honey and a primary production and processing standard for

eggs and egg products (Australia only)

• rejectedanapplicationtoapprovetheuseofaconjugatedlinoleicacidformulationin

certain foods

• coordinatedfourincidentsundertheNationalFoodIncidentResponseProtocol

• assessedthedietaryexposureofAustralianstoradionuclidesfromfoodimportedfrom

Japan in a whole-of-government response to the nuclear incident in Fukushima

• commencedthe24thAustralianTotalDietStudyfocussingonfoodadditivesand

nutrients

• launchedNUTTAB2010,thelatesteditionofourreferencedatabasethatcontainsdata

on the nutrient content of Australian foods

23R e G U l A T O R Y S T A N D A R D S


• receivedandcommencedworkonapplicationsfrom14countriestohavetheirBSE

status assessed

• madescientificandregulatoryexpertsavailabletoparticipateinnearly50international

forums, including Codex committees.

Introduction

It is often assumed, even within the food regulatory system, that FSANZ automatically

resorts to food standards to address a food issue in the marketplace. In fact, there are many

examples of where we have encouraged voluntary schemes or solutions (such as an Australian

Standard on the definition of ‘organic’) or worked with industry to achieve desired outcomes

(for example, collaboration on the reduction of trans fats in foods).

The mandatory nature of food standards remains a strong incentive to industry to do the right

thing. However, during our assessment of applications and proposals to amend the Food

Standard Code, we consider all other options before taking this course of action. This is to

ensure that the measure taken provides the community with the greatest net benefits.

The flow chart in Figure 3 provides an example of our decision-making process, as applied to

our current review of food safety risks in horticulture production and processing.

Figure 3: Flowchart of FSANZ decision-making process

Are certain commodities linked to risk factors for foodborne illness?

E.g presence of pathogenic bacteria, chemical contamination etc.

Would existing voluntary schemes reduce the risk to acceptable levels?

Do nothingNo

Yes

No

Yes

No

Yes

Promote a voluntary scheme

Other approaches:targeted voluntary

Would regulation provide the greatest benefit for the community?

Consider developing a standard



We examine risks and the systems in place to manage those risks. If the risks remain

unmanaged, we may look at approaches such as targeted voluntary schemes. Development

of a standard would only occur if the known risks from particular commodities could not be

managed using existing food safety schemes and if regulation provides net benefits.

The concept of net benefit is important. While there may be public health and safety benefits to

consumers, sometimes added costs to industry of changes to agricultural and manufacturing

practices or labelling requirements, and to government for auditing compliance with

regulations, may exceed these benefits.

FSANZ is required to prepare a regulatory impact statement (RIS) providing a detailed analysis

of the costs and benefits of a food standard. The standard should be the minimum regulatory

burden necessary to achieve the stated objectives. For major projects, the Office of Best

Practice Regulation then reviews this analysis.

Foodborne illnesses impact on consumers and the wider community through medical

expenses, lost productivity and a reduction in overall health. Impacts are usually quantified so

that benefits from a food standard can be compared with the costs incurred elsewhere.

We use estimates for ‘quality adjusted life year’ and ‘value of statistical life’ to assess the

average cost of illness (or death) associated with, for example, food poisoning from cracked

and dirty eggs. We estimate that there are probably about 12 800 cases of egg-related

salmonellosis a year in Australia. At $2866 a case, the cost to the community from these

events is about $36.68 million a year. This includes health-related costs, loss of income or

leisure, and a monetary value for pain and suffering.

In this way, the benefit to egg consumers of regulatory measures that reduce illness can be

calculated, using conservative assumptions of effectiveness, and compared with industry and

government costs.

Summary of food regulatory activity

Applications and proposals gazetted 1 July 2010–30 June 2011

We gazetted (published) 11 variations to food standards arising from applications (10 in 2009–

10) and five variations from proposals (four in 2009–10). Please refer to Appendix 1 for details.



Amendments to the FSANZ Application Handbook

Under section 23 of the FSANZ Act, FSANZ can make guidelines setting out mandatory

information and format requirements for applications. If these requirements are not met, then

an application can be rejected. These guidelines are a legislative instrument for the purposes

of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003, but are not subject to sunsetting or disallowance.

We have compiled these mandatory requirements in Part 3 of the FSANZ Application

Handbook. Part 1 provides an overview of the food standards system. Part 2 provides general

information to help with application procedures including information on fees, assessment and

food standard-setting processes.

We undertook work on a number of amendments to the handbook during the year, with a

round of public comment. The amendments will take effect on 1 August 2011.

Standards Development Work Plan

New assessment procedures for applications and proposals took effect on 1 October 2007.

Applications received, or proposals prepared before 1 October 2007, continue to be assessed

under the procedures in place at that time.

Tables 1 and 2 provide statistics for the two types of procedures. Table 3 shows trends in

projects being placed onto the Work Plan, and Table 4 gives details of Board decisions over

the same four-year period.

Table 1: Applications and Proposals on the Work Plan (received or prepared before

1 October 2007)

As at 30 June 2008 30 June 2009 30 June 2010 30 June 2011

Group 1 9 8 7 6

Group 2 19 9 5 5

Group 3 8 1 0 0

Under review 2 1 1 1

TOTAL 38 19 13 12




With the ministerial Council or awaiting notification to the ministerial Council

10 3 0 0

estimated waiting time Group 2

12 months 12 months Only 4 applications remain with

assessment work to commence—3 are to be dealt with as part of a proposal

Only 4 applications remain with

assessment work to commence—3 are to be dealt with as part of a proposal

Group 1 is for applications or proposals raising health and safety issues being progressed as a priority or identified by jurisdictions as warranting priority.

Group 2 is for unpaid applications or proposals placed on a three-year rolling work plan scheduled for commencement in order of receipt.

Group 3 was for paid applications.

Table 2: Applications and Proposals on the Work Plan (received or prepared from

1 October 2007 onwards)*


General procedure 8 (4 paid)

15 (8 paid)

17 (5 paid)

14 (7 paid)

minor procedure 0 0 0 0

major procedure 1 (1 paid)

5 (2 paid)

8 (4 paid)

9 (5 paid)

Urgent applications or proposals

1 0 1 0

Under review 0 0 0 0

TOTAL 10 20 25 23

With the ministerial Council or awaiting notification to the ministerial Council

1 2 4 3

estimated waiting time for unpaid applications

12 months 9 months 24 months for labelling applications

9 months At least 24 months

for labelling applications

6 months

*This does not include potential applications and proposals for which an Administrative Assessment has commenced but not been completed, as these have not yet been placed on the Work Plan.



General Procedure applies to all applications or proposals, unless they are being considered

under either the minor or major procedures or are considered urgent under Division 4 of the

FSANZ Act.

Minor Procedure applies to applications or proposals for the variation of a food regulatory

measure that, if made, would not directly or indirectly impose, vary or remove an obligation on

any person, or create, vary or remove a right of any person, or otherwise alter the legal effect

of the measure.

Major Procedure applies to applications or proposals that involve such scientific or technical

complexity that it is necessary to adopt this procedure in considering it; or involves such a

significant change to the scope of the food regulatory measure that it is necessary to adopt

this procedure in considering it.

Urgent applications or proposals are considered urgent under Division 4 of the FSANZ

Act. Under these provisions, FSANZ is required to assess the variation to the Code within

12 months of the date of effect of the gazetted variation. FSANZ may then either re-affirm its

original decision or prepare a proposal for a further variation or replacement variation.

Our capacity to manage cost-recovered applications (as indicated in Table 2) also affects our

ability to manage our workloads, as it is difficult to forecast the number and complexity of

cost-recovered applications we are likely to receive.

Table 3: Total applications received and accepted onto the Work Plan and proposals prepared

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Applications 16 14 21 9

Proposals 9 4 5 2

TOTAL 25 18 26 11

Table 4: Applications and proposals finalised

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Final assessments made by the FSANZ Board before 1 October 2007

29 10 2 1



2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Approvals made by the FSANZ Board (from 1 October 2007)

2 8 12 16

Applications withdrawn or rejected* or removed from the Work Plan

5 9 16 9

Proposals abandoned 9 16 9 6

TOTAL completed 40 34 23 23

Applications or proposals gazetted

24 25 14 16

Collections of editorial notes gazetted

0 2 0 0

This includes potential applications rejected at Administrative Assessment

Further information on the above, including the time taken to process individual applications

and proposals, can be found in Appendix 2. There may be some inconsistencies between

Tables 4 and 5 where decisions have been made in one financial year and the notification of

that decision is made in the next financial year.

Ministerial Council Reviews

FSANZ received no requests for reviews from the ministerial Council during the year. Requests

must be sought by a majority of six out of 10 council members. more details on the review

process are in Appendix 3.



Table 5: Notification outcomes

2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11

Final assessment decisions notified (applications received and proposals prepared before 1 October 2007)

28 10 2 1

Approval decisions notified (applications received and proposals prepared from 1 October 2007)

1 8 11 15

Requests for 1st review

6 (21%) 8 (44%) 1 (8%) 0 (0%)

1st review decisions notified

4 8 3 N/A

Requests for 2nd review

1 (25%) 0 0 N/A

*The figures in this column may differ from those provided in the 2009–10 Annual Report as review requests for matters notified in 2009–10 may be received by FSANZ after the deadline for publication.

Under the 2008 Inter-Governmental Food Regulation Agreement, ministers can only request

reviews of FSANZ decisions based on one or more of the following criteria:

(i) it is not consistent with existing policy guidelines set by the ministerial Council

(ii) it is not consistent with the objectives of the legislation that establishes FSANZ

(iii) it does not protect public health and safety

(iv) it does not promote consistency between domestic and international food standards

where these are at variance

(v) it does not provide adequate information to enable informed choice

(vi) it is difficult to enforce or comply with in both practical or resource terms

(vii) it places an unreasonable cost burden on industry or consumers.



ANAO audit

FSANZ was audited by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) in 2010–11. In relation to

the assessment of applications and proposals, the ANAO recommended that FSANZ:

• assessoptionstoobtainamoreappropriatebalancebetweenmeetingtheregulated

timeframes for paid applications, while also complying with the legislative requirement

that paid applications must not displace unpaid applications or proposals in its

Work Plan

• publiclyreportitscompliancewiththislegislatedrequirement.

In response, we have amended the Work Plan to provide more information on any delays in

the commencement of work on unpaid applications or proposals. In addition, more information

is being provided about any delays once work has commenced, including on requests for

further information from an applicant and other delays. This information will also be reported in

the annual report (see Table 6).

Table 6: Reasons for delays in consideration of applications and proposals in 2010–11

Application / proposal

Delay Length of delay Reason

A1005—exclusive Use of Tonalin® ClA as a Novel Food

Assessment 27 months

Clock stopped for 10 months

Complexity of the application and need for expert reviews

Two requests for further information from applicant

A1012—exclusive Use of Clarinol™ ClA as a Novel Food

Assessment 26 months

Clock stopped for 7 months

Complexity of the application and need for expert reviews

Two requests for further information from applicant

A1026—minimum Alcohol Content for Wine (Unpaid)

Start clock 4 months Additional data collection required and consultation to satisfy OBPR requirements

A1030–Calcium lignosulphonate (40-65) as a food additive

Assessment Clock stopped for 4.5 months

Request for further information from applicant





A1034—Advantame as a high intensity sweetener

Approval 2 months Additional time required to ensure a thorough consideration of the risk assessment issues, seek a peer-review of the first assessment report and undertake further discussions with state/territory agencies

A1039–low THC hemp as a food (unpaid)

Start clock

Assessment

3 weeks

6 months

Delayed as project manager was involved with other non-standards development work

An additional round of public comment was sought before the assessment due to the complexity of issues raised by the application

The complexity of issues raised by submitters necessitated a further delay

A1041—Food derived from SDA Soybean line mON 87769

1st assessment Clock stopped for 2 months


A1042—Food derived from herbicide-tolerant Corn line DAS-40278-9



A1043–World Health Organization limits for packaged water (unpaid)

Start clock 7 months + Commencement initially delayed as issues were considered as part of P1013—Code maintenance Ix, but issue removed and not considered

A lack of resources caused further delays

A1046—Food derived from herbicide-tolerant Soybean line DAS-68416-4


Request or further information from applicant

A1047—Sodium Carboxymethyl Cellulose as a food additive in wine (unpaid)

Assessment 1 month Delayed as project manager was required to assist with Japan nuclear issue





A1049 –Food derived from Herbicide-tolerant, High Oleic Acid Soybean line mON87705

Approval 3 weeks Additional time and resources were necessary to complete the safety assessment because of the new technology used by the applicant to introduce the genetic traits

A1051—Food derived from herbicide-tolerant Soybean event FG72

Assessment Clock stopped for 2 months


A1055–Short-chain Fructo-oligosaccharides

Assessment Clock stopped for 1 month


A1059—exclusive use of pectin-derived Oligosaccharides

Assessment Clock stopped for 6 weeks


P1004—Primary Production & Processing Standard for seed sprouts

Approval 16 months Delayed due to complex assessment and significant change to existing measures requiring extensive consultation with affected parties

P1005—Primary Production & Processing Standard for meat & meat products

2nd Assessment 13 months + On hold, while a new proposal on minor species is prepared and then both proposals will be progressed together

P1007—Primary Production & Processing requirements for raw milk products

2nd Assessment 18 months + Technical work needed to progress category 2 raw milk products

This work will now be done under a new proposal allowing P1007 to progress

P1011—Country of origin labelling—unpackaged meat products

Assessment 12 months Delay due to need for significant work on the RIS which required input from external consultancies

m1005—maximum Residue limits (April–September 2009)

Approval 1.5 months Delay due to complexity and extent of dietary exposure assessment

m1006—maximum Residue limits (October 2009– march 2010)

Approval 1 month Delay due to complexity and extent of dietary exposure assessment and impact of transition phase for 2010 amendments to FSANZ Act



Ministerial Council policy guidelines

The Australian Government, state and territory governments and the New Zealand

Government are generally represented by their health ministers on the Australia and New

Zealand Food Regulation ministerial Council. Other ministers from relevant portfolios such as

agriculture, industry, or consumer affairs, also participate on the ministerial Council to ensure a

whole-of-government approach to food regulation.

The ministerial Council is responsible for developing food regulatory policy for domestic and

imported foods and developing policy guidelines for setting food standards for domestic and

imported foods. In developing or reviewing food regulatory measures and variations to these,

FSANZ must adhere to any written policy guidelines formulated by the ministerial Council and

notified to FSANZ for these purposes.

FSANZ was notified of a Policy Guideline on the Regulation of Infant Formula Products on 19

may 2011 (see Appendix 2).

Additional work requested by the Ministerial Council

The ministerial Council did not request any additional work.

Maximum residue limits

Since 1 march 2011 the Australian Pesticides and veterinary medicines Authority (APvmA)

has had the power to amend mRls in the Food Standards Code. This change implemented

the ‘early harvest’ reform of the COAG to streamline the food standards development process

for mRl standards. Before these amendments were made, a chemical could be approved for

agricultural use by APvmA, but there were significant delays between gazettal of variations to

the APvmA mRl standard and the relevant changes to the Code.

We are required by the FSANZ Act to provide advice about applications and variations being

considered by APvmA that may result in an amendment to the Code. We retain the power to

make amendments to the Code in relation to specific mRls as and when necessary.

APvmA estimates that the time delay between approval for use of a chemical product

by APvmA and the inclusion of the appropriate mRls in the Code will be reduced from

approximately nine to four months.



Code Interpretation Service

In December 2009 COAG agreed to a number of steps towards making food regulation in

Australia nationally consistent. One key step was developing a system to streamline food

regulation advice to avoid the need for industry to seek advice from each jurisdiction. On 13

February 2011, COAG agreed to the Intergovernmental Agreement for Food Reforms (IGA) to

give effect to the new system from 1 July 2011.

In consultation with Australian state and territory food regulatory agencies, FSANZ established

the Code Interpretation Service. This provides interpretive advice for the standards in Chapters

1 and 2 of the Code. It will be available to all food industry stakeholders on a fee-for-service

basis and the advice will be adopted and applied by Australian state and territory food

regulatory agencies in the course of their monitoring and enforcement activities.

In accordance with the IGA, the Code Interpretation Service will operate in a transparent,

accountable, efficient, effective and fair manner; have regard to fair access and be relevant in

its scope of interpretive advice; and undertake appropriate consultation and have due regard

to timeliness in providing quality interpretive advice.

Standards development

Applications and Proposals

Genetically modified foods

The Code now contains 46 approvals for genetically modified (Gm) foods derived from canola,

corn, cotton, lucerne, potato, rice, soybean and sugarbeet. FSANZ does not expect this

crop range to broaden in the next few years, although field trials of other crop species are in

progress around the world and it is likely that many of these will reach commercialisation.

most of the Gm foods or food ingredients currently available in Australia and New Zealand

are derived from Gm crops grown and processed overseas. These crops have mostly been

modified to improve their agricultural qualities, such as protection against pests and tolerance

to herbicides. However, there have been a number of more recent approvals that have

assessed traits such as drought tolerance and compositional changes such as increased

content of oleic acid. No Gm fresh fruit, vegetables or meat have been approved for sale in

Australia or New Zealand.



During 2010–11, FSANZ gazetted four Gm foods, derived from soybean, cotton and corn.

Low THC hemp

FSANZ received an application to permit the use of low THC hemp foods in Australia

and New Zealand. Hemp is a type of cannabis sativa that contains little or no delta

9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC)—the active component of cannabis associated with

psychotropic effects. At present, the Code prohibits all cannabis species from being used

as food.

Hemp is not considered to have psychotropic effects because it contains very low levels of

THC. We have conducted a safety assessment of hemp foods and have not identified any

concerns resulting from their consumption. We released a consultation paper in march and

received over 180 submissions. We will continue assessing the application during 2011–12.

Steviol glycosides

Steviol glycosides are the high intensity sweeteners extracted from the leaves of the stevia

(Stevia rebaudiana) plant and are approved for use in a number of countries. They have been

used in Japan as the main intense sweetener for over 30 years.

The safety of steviol glycosides has been the subject of comprehensive reviews by FSANZ,

the FAO/WHO Joint expert Committee on Food Additives (JeCFA), the european Food Safety

Authority (eFSA) and the US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA). eFSA concluded in

April 2010 that steviol glycosides complying with JeCFA specifications were not carcinogenic,

genotoxic or associated with any reproductive or developmental toxicity.

We assessed the risks of increasing the allowed maximum permitted level of steviol glycosides

in ice-cream, water based beverages, brewed soft drinks, formulated beverages and flavoured

soy beverages up to 200 mg/kg and in plain soy beverages up to 100 mg/kg. We concluded

that use of steviol glycosides at the proposed levels does not raise any public health and

safety concerns, is technologically justified and could result in a better taste benefitting both

food manufacturers and consumers.

Irradiation

Irradiated foods cannot be sold in Australia and New Zealand unless they have been assessed

and approved. They must be safe, nutritionally adequate and there should be a technological

need for the irradiation process, such as providing an effective alternative to the use of

chemicals.



The Food Standards Code permits the irradiation of herbs, spices, herbal infusions and

selected tropical fruits for food safety or quarantine. Before approvals are granted, FSANZ

undertakes a comprehensive review of the safety and nutritional adequacy of the foods

following irradiation. Any food that has been irradiated must be clearly labelled, allowing

consumers to make informed choices about the product they buy.

In June FSANZ allowed the irradiation of persimmons as a quarantine measure.

Conjugated linoleic acid triglycerides

FSANZ received two applications seeking approval for specific brands of conjugated linoleic

acid (ClA) triglycerides preparations as novel foods. The applications sought exclusive

permission for fifteen months for their own brands of very similar ClA preparations to be

added to various types of foods.

The companies involved indicated the purpose of adding ClA preparations was to assist

‘in weight control programs and diets’ and ‘to assist healthy people as part of their weight

management or weight loss regimes’. The levels of ClA to be added were greater than what

naturally occurs in the diet.

We assessed the two applications in parallel due to their similarities. One company withdrew

its application before we finalised our assessment.

After careful consideration of the evidence, including submissions from the applicant, FSANZ

decided to reject the remaining application. There was insufficient evidence to demonstrate the

safety of adding the ClA preparation at the applicant’s recommended level. We posted our

reasons for rejection in an assessment report available on our website.

The applicant has filed an application for the Administrative Appeals Tribunal to review

FSANZ’s decision.

Nanotechnology

FSANZ has not yet received an application to amend the Code for a novel nanoscale material.

We have, however, strengthened requirements in the Application Handbook to ensure

applicants provide enough information for us to conduct a risk assessment on a product

manufactured using nanotechnologies.

We are aware of a number of reports that estimate that food packaging accounts for the

largest share of the current and short-term market applications for nanotechnology in the food

sector. Therefore, as part of a broader initiative, we have set up an Industry Advisory Group to

provide factual information about food packaging.



The agency continued to be an active participant on the Health Safety and environment

Working Group established under the National enabling Technologies Strategy for which the

Department of Innovation, Industry Science and Research has primary responsibility. We

also participate at meetings of the Australian Consortium of the OeCD Sponsorship Program

for safety testing of manufactured nanomaterials to ensure that we are aware of the latest

toxicological research on nanoscale materials.

FSANZ contributed to a review of New Zealand’s regulatory framework for manufactured

nanomaterials commissioned by the New Zealand ministry of Research, Science and

Technology. This review was based on the monash Report, A review of possible impacts

of nanotechnology on Australia’s regulatory framework. The review concluded that existing

regulatory instruments in New Zealand are generally adequate to manage potential risks

associated with manufactured nanomaterials arising from their use in food.

Other matters

Review of the regulatory management of food allergens

Food allergy affects approximately one to two per cent of adults and five to eight per cent of

children. Reactions can range from mild to severe, and can be life threatening. To help allergy

sufferers avoid at-risk foods, the Food Standards Code requires a declaration on labels of

certain foods and their products—cereals, crustacea, egg, fish, milk, peanuts, soybeans, tree

nuts and sesame seeds.

In response to a request by the ministerial Council in 2006, FSANZ undertook a review of the

regulatory management of food allergens. As a first step, we consulted with stakeholders

and identified a number of issues to be considered in the review. We then initiated several

projects to gather information and build an evidence base that would guide the development

of regulatory and non-regulatory options. We also analysed information from medical literature,

food industry sources and international regulatory developments.

The review was completed in December 2010 and the ministerial Council endorsed the

outcomes in may 2011.

We are responding to the review recommendations and have already established a Scientific

Committee, made up of 10 allergy specialists and scientists, to advise us on food allergen-

related issues. By working closely with the Scientific Committee, we intend to integrate

emerging findings into the regulatory management of food allergens.



Food labelling

Review of food labelling law and policy

Labelling Logic, the final report from the independent review of food labelling commissioned by

the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation ministerial Council, was released in January

2011. The report includes 61 recommendations ranging from a conceptual framework to

guide decision making on government intervention on food labelling issues, through to specific

technical recommendations.

The Department of Health and Ageing is coordinating the whole-of-government response to

the recommendations. The ministerial Council will consider the recommendations in December

2011. FSANZ is providing input to this response and technical advice on specific topics.

Pending this whole-of-government response, we have not commenced any new labelling-

related work, but have continued activity on nutrition, health and related claims and on

an extension to country-of-origin labelling requirements in the Code. Since one of the

recommendations in Labelling Logic concerns health-warning statements about drinking

alcohol during pregnancy, we have deferred further work in this area until the response has

been considered.

Country of origin labelling

In October 2009 the Australian Government announced a change in Australia’s bovine

spongiform encephalopathy (BSe) food safety policy for imported beef and beef products

setting new requirements for exporters of these products to Australia. The new policy came

into effect on 1 march 2010, allowing previously ineligible countries to access the Australian

market, subject to meeting specific animal health and food safety requirements.

Current country-of-origin labelling provisions in the Food Standards Code do not include

requirements for labelling of unpackaged beef, causing some community concern. To

address these concerns the government, in march 2010, asked FSANZ to consider extending

these labelling requirements to beef, since present requirements apply to unpackaged pork

products, fish and fruit and vegetables.

We are considering extending country-of-origin provisions in the Code to include unpackaged

beef, veal, lamb, hogget, mutton and chicken. We commissioned the Australian Bureau

of Agricultural and Resource economics and Sciences to report on current and potential

penetration of imports of beef, lamb and chicken into Australia and have undertaken targeted

consultations with major industry and retail stakeholders.



Nutrition and health claims

In may 2011 the ministerial Council deferred consideration of our response to its request for

us to review our decision on a nutrition and health claims standard for Australia and New

Zealand until the whole-of-government response to Labelling Logic has been considered.

ministers requested that we provide an interim report on the review response for their meeting

in December 2011.

With the support of the Implementation Sub Committee’s Health Claims Working Group, we

have been considering a new approach for regulating general level health claims. The working

group is scheduled to complete this work in the second half of 2011.

Monitoring food labelling

The third phase of a project monitoring food labelling scheduled for this year has been delayed

pending the outcome of labelling logic and for resource priority reasons. Following the

government’s response to this review, we may resume the next phase of the label monitoring

survey to provide a more recent overview of the consistency of food labels. This would provide

evidence to support any future amendments to labelling provisions in the Food Standards

Code.

Food standards for the primary industries

FSANZ is developing food safety standards for Australia’s primary industries called primary

production and processing standards. The aim is to strengthen food safety practices and

help traceability in the food industry by covering the entire food supply chain, from paddock

to plate.

Eggs and egg products

In 2010–11 primary production and processing requirements for eggs and egg products

were approved by the FSANZ Board and introduced into the Code. They will take effect in

November 2012.

The new provisions, which are legal requirements, will ensure the safety of eggs in Australia

by prohibiting the sale of cracked and dirty eggs unless these eggs are being sold to an egg

processor for pasteurisation. They place legal obligations on egg producers to identify and

control food safety hazards, and obligations on processors to identify and control the food

safety hazards associated with processing eggs and egg products. Individual eggs on sale



must be stamped with the producers’ unique identification so all eggs can be traced in case of

food safety concerns.

Raw milk products

We assess raw milk products as belonging to one of three categories, based on the relative

risk they pose.

Category 1 products are defined as those products for which the properties or processing

factors eliminate pathogens that may have been present in the raw milk. This would include

curd cooked cheeses such as very hard grating cheese.

Category 2 products are those for which the properties or processing factors may allow the

survival of pathogens that may have been present in the raw milk but do not support the

growth of these pathogens. These products would include Roquefort-style blue cheeses and

hard cheeses such as cheddar.

Category 3 products are those for which the intrinsic characteristics or processing factors are

likely to allow the survival of pathogens that may have been present in the raw milk and may

support the growth of these pathogens, including raw drinking milk and soft mould-ripened

cheeses.

FSANZ has concluded that category 3 products present too high a risk to public health and

safety to be permitted. Following consultation with our industry, government and consumer

advisory group, we have decided to limit the scope of our current work to category 1 products

only, deferring consideration of category 2 products because of the need for further technical

work. We intend to release an assessment report on category 1 raw dairy products for public

comment in August 2011.

Meat and meat products

FSANZ has developed primary production and processing requirements for meat and meat

products covering products from farmed cattle, pigs, sheep and goats using extensive and

intensive farming, and harvested goats and rendered products for human consumption.

We had intended to consider other animals—covered under existing Australian Standards

(for example, buffalo, antelope, camels, deer, rabbits, ostrich, emu, wild game and crocodile

meat)—at a later stage. However, following concerns over the possibility of confusion for

regulators and industry operating under two sets of standards, we have started a new project

to cover animals not considered to be major species.



We have placed a hold on our work on major species while risk assessments are carried out

on the remaining meat species. Our industry, consumer and government advisory group has

supported this staging of the work, which will enable the development of a draft standard and

implementation package covering all species.

Seed sprouts

Seed sprouts are a germinated form of seeds and beans, such as alfalfa sprouts, onion

sprouts, radish sprouts and mung bean sprouts. They are eaten either raw or cooked.

Contaminated seed sprouts present an unacceptable health risk to consumers. In recent

years, outbreaks of foodborne illness both in Australia and overseas have been associated

with eating seed sprouts. The cost to the Australian community from outbreaks in 2005 and

2006 was estimated to be $1.19 million.

FSANZ is working with the seed sprouts industry, governments and consumers to develop a

primary production and processing standard. We have held two rounds of public comment

and expect the FSANZ Board to consider new provisions in the Code later in 2011.

Horticulture

During the year, we commenced a project to establish whether there are unmanaged risks

in the horticulture industry and how these risks might best be managed. We released a

stakeholder consultation paper outlining FSANZ’s proposed approach to fresh horticultural

produce. We sought feedback from farmers, packers, processors and wholesalers, as well

as state and territory departments and other interested parties. This consultation will help us

to develop the most practical, evidence-based and cost-effective measures to manage food

safety risks in horticulture.

Public health and safety

Public health

Bovine spongiform encephalopathy

In march 2010 a new policy for importing beef and beef products came into effect in Australia.

Under the policy, beef and beef products may be imported from countries assessed by

FSANZ as having effective control measures to ensure that beef and beef products for human

consumption are derived from animals free of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSe).



FSANZ’s assessment to determine a country’s BSe risk status is based on methods adopted

by the World Organisation of Animal Health, with a major part of the assessment conducted

through desk-based examination of information submitted by the applicant country. The

assessment also includes an in-country verification visit conducted by the FSANZ BSe team

and food production specialists. Only countries that are assigned a favourable BSe risk

categorisation will be permitted to export beef or beef products to Australia.

To date, we have received applications from New Zealand, the United States, the Netherlands,

lithuania, Croatia, Brazil, Argentina, mexico, vanuatu, Turkey, Taiwan, lebanon, Chile and

latvia. We have completed the New Zealand assessment, including the in-country verification

visit, and results will be finalised in the coming months. The desk-based assessment of the

United States application has been completed, but further progress is pending an animal

health risk analysis by Biosecurity Australia and agreement from the United States for an in-

country verification visit.

We have commenced desk assessments of the Netherlands and lithuania and are

communicating with country authorities about arrangements for in-country verification visits.

Assessments of the remaining applicant countries are in the initial stages.

Nutrient reference values

In July 2010 we released a consultation paper inviting comment from interested parties on

underlying principles, relevant issues and potential approaches to revising the regulatory

nutrient reference values (rNRvs) in the Code. We also consulted with key stakeholders

through a series of webinars attended by representatives of the food industry, jurisdictions,

health professionals and academics.

Stakeholders indicated general support for a revision of the rNRvs to reflect current nutritional

science. However, changes to the rNRvs could potentially result in significant re-labelling and

re-formulation impacts for industry. Stakeholders also identified some issues for consideration

and there was a range of views on particular technical aspects of a revision, for example the

basis of the rNRv for sodium and fibre.

A review of the rNRvs by the Department of Health and Ageing and the National Health and

medical Research Council will commence later in 2011.

FSANZ has decided that a revision of the rNRvs should align with other potential labelling

changes and that a review of the rNRvs should be deferred until details of the government

response to Labelling Logic are known late in 2011.



Food safety

Bisphenol A

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical found in polycarbonate plastic items or containers such as

drink bottles. FSANZ recognises there is public concern over the presence of BPA in food,

particularly foods that babies and small children eat.

On the basis of the extensive research done to date (over 800 studies), FSANZ remains of the

view that BPA does not present a significant human health risk at the current very low levels of

exposure. This opinion is shared by national and international authorities, Health Canada, the

european Food Safety Authority and the United States Food and Drug Administration.

Nonetheless, we are keeping a close watch on the situation. The Australian Competition and

Consumer Commission conducted a survey in January 2010 and found no detectable BPA in

infant formula, tap water, infant feeding bottles and sip cups in Australia.

FSANZ carried out a targeted analytical survey of the levels of BPA in food in Australia in the

same year. This survey supported our previous conclusions that Australian consumers are

exposed to extremely low levels of BPA through food consumption.

We are not proposing any changes to our risk assessment at the moment, but we support

the reasonable steps being taken by industry to reduce human exposure to BPA. We are

making arrangements to include a further analysis of BPA (and other food packaging contact

chemicals) in foods as part of the 24th Australian Total Diet Study. A detailed total dietary

exposure to BPA will be included.

We are also monitoring additional research being undertaken in the United States by the Food

and Drug Administration.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids are a family of plant-derived toxins found in a number of plant species

from around the world. When present at high levels they can have serious adverse effects on

animals and humans. In Australia and New Zealand, these plants can contaminate pasture,

feed and foodstuffs.

In 2000 FSANZ established a provisional tolerable daily intake for pyrrolizidine alkaloids at

1 microgram/kg bodyweight/day. Since that time, additional toxicological data has been

published and we have been updating our risk assessment. We have identified some critical

gaps in the data that would be needed for us to set a new and more appropriate health

standard for Australia and New Zealand.



To bridge this deficiency, we are currently pursuing a research strategy for characterising

pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicity and have had various discussions with industries that may be

affected by these alkaloids.

Tutin

Tutin is a naturally occurring plant toxin that can occasionally be found in New Zealand honey,

as a result of bees collecting honeydew from insects feeding on Coriaria arborea (tutu bush).

Consumption of affected honey can cause serious neurotoxicity.

In 2009 an interim maximum level for tutin was introduced into the Food Standards Code for

honey and comb honey, following a serious poisoning incident in New Zealand. This interim

standard was set to lapse on the 31 march 2011. We have concluded that the existing

maximum levels are practical and achievable and protect human health. The FSANZ Board

supported extending the interim standard for two more years to enable us to gather additional

evidence for a more comprehensive risk assessment. FSANZ is liaising with the New Zealand

ministry of Agriculture and Forestry on the commissioning and analysis of further studies to

assist this assessment.

Migration of chemicals to food from contact packaging material

We are currently reviewing our regulatory approach to packaging materials that come into

contact with food. This has included reviewing regulatory requirements in comparable

countries, analysing levels of BPA and other food chemicals that may migrate into Australian

foods and beverages, and establishing an Industry Advisory Group on packaging materials.

This group will advise us on scientific and technical aspects of food packaging including, but

not limited to, manufacturing and quality assurance processes. Our review will continue into

2011–12.

Imported foods

Imported food must comply with domestic food legislation including the Food Standards

Code. Foods imported for sale in Australia are also subject to the Imported Food Control Act

1992, which is implemented through the Australian Government’s Imported Food Inspection

Scheme (IFIS). Under this scheme FSANZ advises which foods pose a medium to high risk to

public health. The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) inspects and samples

foods as it reaches our border.

Rates of inspection of foods under the IFIS are risk-based, with higher rates of inspection for

foods with the greatest risk to public health. When food is imported into Australia, it is placed



into one of two inspection categories—‘risk’ (100 per cent inspected) or ‘surveillance’ (5 per

cent inspected).

In may 2011 an independent expert review began looking into the arrangement between

FSANZ and AQIS where risk assessment advice is provided by FSANZ for all foods. This

review is timely, as the current inter-agency arrangements have been in place for some time.

Safety of food from Japan

Following the devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear contamination event in Japan,

the Australian Government formed an inter-departmental emergency task force to coordinate

agencies’ response, including potential risks to the Australian food supply chain.

As a member of the task force, FSANZ liaised closely with the Australian Radiation Protection

and Nuclear Safety Agency and AQIS to monitor developments in Japan, including potential

dietary exposure to radionuclides in food imported into Australia.

Australian Government agencies concluded that the risk of Australian consumers being

exposed to radionuclides in food imported from Japan was negligible. FSANZ determined

that imports of food from Japan were limited to a small range of specialty products, including

seaweed and seafood. Japanese authorities also adopted provisional regulatory limits and

monitored and restricted the distribution of potentially implicated foods.

FSANZ advised AQIS that foods from certain prefectures in Japan could potentially be

contaminated with radionuclides. Consequently, AQIS began testing some Japanese food

imports to ensure levels of the radionuclides I131 and Cs134/135 were below international guideline

levels. This testing is ongoing. To date, results have found that all foods tested contain either

no detectable levels of radionuclides or levels well below international guidelines.

Food incidents and food recalls

The National Food Incident Response Protocol provides guidance on responding to national

food incidents linked to microbiological, chemical, radiological, physical or unknown hazards in

the food supply chain. It outlines an integrated, whole-of-government response for an incident

involving food sold within two or more jurisdictions.

Under the protocol, FSANZ has responsibility for coordination, information gathering, risk

assessment and communication. In February, FSANZ engaged independent consultants to

review existing processes and practices under the protocol. The review will consider practical

improvements to make better use of available resources and these will be written into standard



operating procedures. The proposed improvements will be aimed at being prepared, improving

response, minimising emergency impacts and decreasing recovery time.

During the year FSANZ coordinated a number of food incidents under the National Food

Incident Response Protocol.

Listeria in fresh fruit salad

Between February and July 2010 there was an increase in notifications of listeria

monocytogenes infection. These were above nationally expected levels. OzFoodNet

investigated all jurisdictions and the protocol was triggered in mid-July 2010. environmental

investigations identified honeydew melon and rockmelon in prepared fruit salad as the source

of the outbreak strains.

Weight loss products containing prescription medication

In October 2011 the protocol was activated when test results of several weight loss products

revealed the presence of sibutramine, a prescription-only appetite suppressant that should

only be used under medical supervision. This investigation also revealed breaches of the Food

Standards Code. FSANZ coordinated five recalls involving nine products.

Peanut in soy flour

In January FSANZ coordinated four national recalls of six imported frozen crumbed seafood

products containing an undeclared peanut allergen. Trace-back investigations revealed

the allergen in the soy powder used for crumb coating and found a common link to a

manufacturer in China. The protocol was activated in late January to facilitate information

sharing, particularly with industry and consumers through Anaphylaxis Australia and Allergy

New Zealand.

Latin Seed

The protocol was activated in march when test results showed that two weight-loss products,

labelled as Brazilian candlenut, were in fact seeds of the yellow oleander, a prohibited botanical

under the Food Standards Code. Yellow oleander is highly toxic and several cases of illness

were reported. FSANZ coordinated a national recall and issued a national media release

advising consumers of the risks associated with these products.



Review of food recall activities

FSANZ engaged a consultant to analyse our internal recall coordination procedures during

the year and assisted the Australian National Audit Office in conducting an independent

performance audit of food recall processes. Following these recall reviews and consultation

with stakeholders, FSANZ identified a number of areas for improvement, including making

better use of technology to speed up the process.

FSANZ has established an alert system for at-risk consumers on food recalls associated with

allergens and streamlined the verification of recall data to improve evaluating and monitoring of

recalls. The new FSANZ food recall system was introduced on 30 march 2011 and has greatly

reduced the time taken to process information.

We are currently updating the Industry Food Recall Protocol (6th edition 2008) to provide

more information on the distribution of information required during a recall, methods for

communicating recall information to consumers, the difference between a recall and a

withdrawal and mandatory reporting requirements.

Mandatory reporting

On 1 January 2011 new mandatory reporting requirements came into effect under the

Australian Consumer law (ACl), which is set out in Schedule 2 of the Competition and

Consumer Act 2010. Under the ACl, all participants in the supply chain of a consumer goods

(including food), which have been associated with a death, serious injury or illness are required

to provide a written report to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

within two days of becoming aware of the incident. This includes a retailer, distributor, importer,

manufacturer and/or exporter.

The ACCC forwards mandatory reports related to food to FSANZ where permission has been

granted by the notifier. FSANZ is currently working with the states and territories and the

Department of Health and Ageing to consider the best way to manage these reports.

Recall statistics—overview

The number of food recalls per year has remained relatively stable during the last 10 years,

with the exception of 2003 when new labelling requirements came into effect. Figure 4 shows

the number of recalls during this period.



Figure 4: Food recalls notified to FSANZ (2000–10)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

110

120

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Number of recalls

2007 2008 2009 20102001

Per

cent

age

of

emp

loye

es

microbial contamination accounted for 36 per cent of all food recalls notified to FSANZ

between January 2000 and December 2010. Of the 260 recalls resulting from microbial

contamination during this period, 125 (48 per cent) were due to listeria monocytogenes

contamination; 50 (19 per cent) were due to salmonella contamination and 32 (12 per cent)

were as a result of high levels of E. coli.

The main reason for non-compliant food labels was undeclared allergens including nuts,

dairy, egg, soy, wheat and others. This accounted for 90 per cent of labelling recalls during

this period.



Food recalls—current

FSANZ coordinated 70 recalls during the year. As shown in Figure 5, the most common

reason for a recall was an undeclared allergen on food labels with 23 recalls (33 per cent) in

this category. Some 63 per cent of allergen-related recalls were for imported products from

countries including China, India, malaysia, Taiwan, Korea, the United States and Belgium, with

10 of these recalls due to peanut contamination.

Figure 5: Food recalls notified to FSANZ, by category 2010–11

0

5

10

15

20

25

Microbial

conta

minatio

n

Labelli

ng

Forei

gn matt

er

Biotoxin

Chemica

l/conta

minant

Other



Improving our standards development outcomes

Legislative audit of the Code

FSANZ began a legislative audit of the Code in early 2009. We engaged the Office

of legislative Drafting and Publishing (OlDP) to conduct the audit and provide

recommendations on how to improve the Code. The audit involved assessing the Code for

clarity and consistency, the inter-operability of the Code and state and territory food laws

and consistency with best practice drafting techniques. The audit considered issues raised

by states and territories and New Zealand.

FSANZ is in the process of making incremental changes to the Code as opportunities arise.

We are working with the OlDP on some of their more complex recommendations. FSANZ

released a consultation paper on the recommendations and received generally positive

feedback from jurisdictions.

Consumer and social sciences research

FSANZ commissioned a Sampling design and survey administration guide containing best

practice protocols for social science surveys. The content of the guide drew on Australian

Bureau of Statistics and Statistics New Zealand protocols and will help ensure high quality

surveys and experimental research. This project was initiated as a result of advice received

from the FSANZ Social Science expert Advisory Group.

Project management

In 2010–11 FSANZ reviewed its internal project management system and changed its

procedures to improve internal governance processes. The impact of these changes will

be most pronounced for internal projects and proposals, but will also assist with managing

complex applications.

Enzymes—review of safety data requirements

Data requirements for the safety assessment of enzyme processing aids currently in place

around the world rely extensively on traditional toxicological testing. This is reflected in

FSANZ’s assessments and we are reviewing this approach.

We have already decided that toxicological testing may not be warranted in all cases. We

have also identified that submitting data on the allergenicity of a new enzyme is not specified



in FSANZ’s Application Handbook, yet it is considered as part of the risk assessment process.

The Application Handbook should therefore be amended to include a requirement to submit

allergenicity data on the enzyme to allow potential toxicity to be determined using the same

approach used for new proteins in Gm foods.

In the second phase of the review, we intend to consider whether a less prescriptive system

of regulation for well-characterised enzymes and source organisms with a long history of safe

use is warranted.

Novel foods—determining the novelty

The FSANZ Advisory Committee on Novel Foods (ACNF) was established in 2008 to provide

recommendations on whether a food is non-traditional and whether an assessment of

public health and safety considerations is required. The ACNF includes representatives from

enforcement agencies in Australia and New Zealand and makes recommendations using the

definition of novel food in the Food Standards Code.

The ACNF met several times during the year and provided a number of recommendations

which were published on the FSANZ website.

Monitoring and evaluating hazards

FSANZ’s surveillance is critical for sound risk assessment and risk management. Information

obtained from surveillance activities is fundamental in identifying chemical, microbiological or

other hazards in foods which may present a risk to health or safety.

Implementation Sub-Committee Coordinated Food Survey Plan

The Implementation Sub-Committee (ISC) Coordinated Food Survey Plan is a three-year plan

outlining cross-jurisdictional food survey activities of significance to Australia and New Zealand.

FSANZ is the sponsor for Component 1, ‘Surveillance and monitoring’.

In 2010–11, under this component, FSANZ completed and published a national coordinated

survey of melamine in food and beverages, a survey of iodine levels in beverages enriched with

seaweed and a survey of packaging migration chemicals.

Australian Total Diet Study

The Australian Total Diet Study provides a comprehensive assessment of the dietary exposure

of the Australian population to a range of food chemicals. The ATDS has traditionally



monitored pesticide residues and contaminants in food; however, more recent studies have

focused on a wider range of food chemicals such as additives and nutrients.

The 23rd ATDS examined dietary exposure to 214 agricultural and veterinary chemicals, 12

mycotoxins, nine contaminants and 11 nutrients found in food and beverages commonly

consumed in Australia. FSANZ coordinated the study and all states and territories participated

by collecting food samples. The final report will be published in the second half of 2011.

Sampling and analysis for the 24th ATDS commenced in 2010–11 and is investigating

alternative priority substances, including acrylamide and some food contact packaging

migration chemicals, determined in consultation with the states and territories.

Survey of genetically modified ingredients in soy-based infant formula

In September 2010 FSANZ initiated an independent analysis of a single brand of soy-based

infant formula, following consumer concerns and several media reports suggesting the

presence of unlabelled Gm ingredients in this product. Samples of the soy-based infant

formula were analysed by two independent accredited laboratories.

The results of the survey were inconclusive as one laboratory did not detect Gm DNA in any

of the six samples, while the second laboratory detected Gm in all samples at very low levels,

close to the lowest amount that can be measured with accuracy. The levels detected by that

laboratory were all below the threshold level of one per cent required for mandatory labelling.

Survey of chemical contaminants and residues in espresso, instant and ground

coffee

A variety of coffee types (cappuccino, latte, flat white, mocha, short black, long black, instant

and ground) were collected from food service and retail outlets in melbourne and Sydney.

A total of 133 chemicals were analysed, including metals, acrylamide, furan, polycyclic

aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), ochratoxin A and a range of pesticide residues. No detectable

levels of pesticide residues, PAH, beryllium, mercury and ochratoxin A were found.

Survey of iodine levels in beverages enriched with seaweed

FSANZ, in consultation with Australian states and territories, conducted a national survey

investigating iodine levels in soy and cereal-based beverages containing seaweed or seaweed-

derived products. The results of this survey reassured consumers that iodine levels in the

beverages analysed were well within the safety margin and pose a negligible risk to Australian

consumers.



Survey of iodine in seaweed and seaweed containing products

Again in consultation with Australian states and territories, FSANZ conducted a survey of

iodine in seaweed and products containing seaweed. The findings indicated that there are

some seaweeds with very high iodine levels that may be unsafe for human consumption at

high levels. This advice has been provided to the relevant jurisdictions and AQIS for follow-up

action. The survey report has been peer-reviewed by two international experts and the final

report will be published on the FSANZ website in the second half of 2011.

Survey of chemical migration from food contact packaging materials in Australian food

FSANZ commissioned an analytical survey to determine the levels of a range of chemicals

associated with potential migration from packaging into food. The results showed that dietary

exposure to chemicals from food packaging is generally very low. exposure at the estimated

dietary exposure levels does not pose a human health and safety risk.

Strengthening our evidence base

Science evidence base

Supporting decision making with a strong evidence base is fundamental to FSANZ. The

quality of this evidence depends heavily on FSANZ’s regulatory science. Improvements in this

area, therefore, contribute significantly to agency outcomes aimed at meeting stakeholder

expectations.

FSANZ Science Strategy 2010–15

Our Science Strategy identifies seven key strategic areas for our food regulatory science to

address current and emerging challenges. It also contains annual implementation plans with

specific objectives and deliverables.

Under the 2010 Implementation Plan we increased our scientific capability in nanotechnology,

BSe and risk assessment of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. We extended our evidence base by

developing a software platform and a consolidated data storage system (Harvest). We also

engaged in activities that improved systematic data collection and reporting, including work

with the Implementation Sub-Committee (ISC) on surveillance and work with the Department

of Health and Ageing and the Australian Bureau of Statistics in the design of the Australian

Health Survey.



The 2011 Implementation Plan builds on the achievements and evaluation of the 2010 plan.

major initiatives include using collaborative partnerships to seek funding and undertake

research in areas such as plant toxins, monitoring and evaluating data on tutin, plant toxins

and food contact packaging materials, and building our capacity to respond to emerging risks.

Developments in our risk analysis approach

For most food chemicals—including additives, contaminants and agricultural and veterinary

chemicals—the estimated dietary exposure of the population is generally well below the

reference health standard. However, on some occasions, the estimated dietary exposure of

certain food chemicals may exceed reference health standards for the general population, or

for some population subgroups.

During the year, FSANZ developed a draft set of working principles for risk analysis in cases

where estimated exposure transiently or slightly exceeds the reference health standard.

Analysis of Food-Related Health Risks

FSANZ published The Analysis of Food-Related Health Risks and made it available on the

website in 2009. This publication outlines the approach we use under our primary

objective—the protection of public health and safety—to analyse health risks associated

with food and will be reviewed and updated approximately every two years. The first review

began during the year focusing on nutritional risk analysis, economic analysis and cost–benefit

analysis. This review will continue into 2011–12.

‘Harvest’ database and modelling tool

FSANZ has received funding from the Australian Government to redevelop our scientific

database systems. The overall objective is to support our risk analysis capabilities through a

software platform and data storage system that effectively meets current and future needs.

The new platform has been named Harvest and will replace the existing DIAmOND modelling

capability and the Australian Nutrient Databank. Harvest has been designed to enhance

current capabilities by combining existing databases. It will also incorporate additional detailed

functions and will reduce the current need for labour intensive data processing and report

writing, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing costs.



A major feature will be a system that can be used by almost anyone in FSANZ and, in time, by

other agencies. The system will also allow the data to be presented in graphs, which was not

possible with previous databases.

Work commenced in march 2010 and is being carried out under tender by Fujitsu Australia.

The core features of the system have been installed and are being tested. The final test version

was released in July 2011 and a set of validation steps will follow before Harvest can be

accepted for final release in October or November 2011.

NUTTAB 2010

In may the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, launched NUTTAB

2010, the latest edition of our reference database that contains data on the nutrient content

of Australian foods. This sees the culmination of more than three years’ work in generating,

checking and compiling data for over 2500 foods and up to 245 nutrients.

Foods included in NUTTAB 2010 tend to be staple foods or commonly used ingredients. many

of the nutrients included are those of particular interest to consumers for maintaining a healthy

lifestyle such as fat, saturated fat, sugars, sodium and dietary fibre. A full range of vitamin and

mineral data is provided.

NUTTAB 2010 is available free of charge either online with sophisticated search features or as

an electronic database. The latter format is useful for those who want to download and use

the nutrient data in their own software applications.

NUTTAB is an important tool for people working in food related areas including dietitians,

nutritionists and food technologists, as well as those involved in food research, industry and

innovation. In 2010–11, NUTTAB received 177 000 website hits—an increase of 326 per cent

from the previous year. Users are free to copy, communicate and adapt NUTTAB 2010 under

Creative Commons licensing arrangements. Figure 6 shows a typical output from

NUTTAB 2010.



Figure 6: Generating nutrient information for roast lamb via NUTTAB 2010

Nutrition Panel Calculator

The Nutrition Panel Calculator (NPC) is an online labelling tool for food labels first released on

the FSANZ website in 2001. The NPC helps food manufacturers calculate nutrition information

panels. It has proven to be the most used feature on our website, attracting 10,000 unique

visitors per month.

The ingredient database that supports the NPC and the web interface have both remained

virtually unchanged since 2001. Accordingly, we have commenced a comprehensive upgrade

of the system, incorporating the most recent ingredient data and web tool technology.

Features of the new system include updated ingredient and food data, new ingredient data on

a range of manufacturing ingredients and new saving and cloning functions for recipes. We

expect to release the upgraded NPC later in 2011.

Dietary exposure assessments

FSANZ undertakes dietary exposure or intake assessments as an integral part of its risk

assessment process. This provides an estimate of the magnitude, frequency and duration of

exposure to the food chemical of interest. This work is primarily undertaken using bespoke

computer software and an associated database, called DIAmOND, and is sometimes referred

to as ‘dietary modelling’.

In 2010–11 we carried out dietary exposure assessments for a range of food standards

projects and other purposes, including for the assessment of new food additives (advantame,

calcium lignosulphonate), and the extension of use of existing food additives




(steviol glycosides). We also used dietary exposure assessments to provide data for

surveillance activities (23rd ATDS, nitrites and nitrates and food packaging chemicals) and

food incidents.

FSANZ is also responsible for dietary exposure assessment on APvmA assessments of

uses of agricultural and veterinary chemicals and the associated residues in food. FSANZ

responded to international requests for dietary exposure assessments and other dietary data

for a range of food additives from the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health

Organization expert Committee on Food Additives.

Australian Health Survey

FSANZ was contracted to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) to help with customising

the computer program used to collect information about what Australians are eating, as part of

the Australian Health Survey (AHS). We were contracted to develop the nutrient database for

estimating food and nutrient intakes from the AHS—a huge undertaking given we anticipate

preparing data for approximately 5000 foods, each with about 45 nutrients.

FSANZ assisted the ABS in a major review of all the foods, response options, question

sequences and measures information in the computer program to be used for collecting food

consumption information, to ensure adequate information is collected to generate high quality

food and nutrient intake estimates.

FSANZ also developed the underlying survey nutrient database that will be the basis for

developing new nutrient profiles for additional foods and dietary supplements consumed

throughout the survey collection period.

Accessing external expertise

FSANZ Fellows

The FSANZ Fellows program has continued to strengthen our links with experts in scientific

and professional fields related to food regulation. We value the contributions made by the

Fellows in providing peer reviews of assessments and professional training for staff. In

2010–11 they also contributed to scientific articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals

and participated in a number of the agency’s scientific advisory committees.

During the year, the FSANZ Board approved the reappointment of nine of our Fellows for

a further three-year term and appointed two new Fellows. Five Fellows’ terms will continue

through 2012. membership of the FSANZ Fellows program is listed in Table 7.



Table 7: FSANZ Fellows 2010–11

FSANZ Fellow Background/expertise Affiliated institution

Reappointed Fellows (December 2010–December 2013)

Professor John Cary Social sciences victoria University

Professor lyn Cobiac Nutrition and dietetics Flinders University

Professor Graham Giles Cancer epidemiology Cancer Council and University of melbourne

Professor Peter langridge Genomics University of Adelaide

Professor Brian Priestly Health risk assessment monash University

Professor Richard Shepherd Consumer behaviour University of Surrey, United Kingdom

Professor murray Skeaff Nutrition University of Otago

Professor Anthony Smith Complementary medicines Newcastle mater Hospital/ University of Newcastle

Professor mark Tamplin microbiology and food safety University of Tasmania

New Fellows (December 2010–December 2013)

Dr laurence eyres Food technology eCG ltd

Dr Heather Greenfield Food composition University of NSW & University of Canberra

Continuing Fellows (May 2009–May 2012)

Professor Ken Buckle Food science, processing and microbiology

University of New South Wales

Professor Nigel French molecular epidemiology and risk research

massey University

Professor Stephen Goodall Health economist Centre for Health economics Research and evaluation (CHeRe) and University of Technology

Professor John mcNeil epidemiology and cardiovascular health

monash University



FSANZ Fellow Background/expertise Affiliated institution

Professor Seppo Salminen Intestinal microbiota and health, probiotics and prebiotics, health claims

University of Turku, Finland and vienna University of life Science, Austria

Fellows (until December 2010)

Professor Julie Byles Clinical epidemiology University of Newcastle

Professor mike Gidley Food structure and nutritive value University of Queensland

Dr John Huckerby Project management of technically-based projects

Power Projects ltd

Dr Rob loblay Immunologist Royal Prince Alfred Hospital/University of Sydney

Engagement with academic institutions

Throughout 2010–11 FSANZ continued to operate a student project program to support our

links with Australian and New Zealand academic institutions. The program also promotes the

role of FSANZ across various academic disciplines. The student project program encourages

students at the undergraduate and postgraduate level to undertake a project that underpins

food regulation or the scientific work of the agency. Project titles and participating universities

are listed in Table 8.

Table 8: FSANZ student projects for 2010–11

Project Title University

Investigating the motivation of consumers to purchase and consume breakfast cereals fortified with vitamins and minerals

Royal melbourne Institute of Technology (RmIT) University

Plant sterol-enriched foods—consumer perceptions and behaviours Royal melbourne Institute of Technology (RmIT) University

Investigation of consumer perceptions of beverages with a special focus on sports drinks

Royal melbourne Institute of Technology (RmIT) University



During the year we hosted two nutrition and dietetics undergraduate students from the

University of Wollongong who were completing their final year community nutrition placements.

One of the projects developed a graphical framework that can be used by nutrition risk

assessors to gauge the quality of research studies provided as evidence for establishing a

relationship between a food nutrient and body composition. Two other projects quantified the

serving sizes of sandwiches consumed by adults away from home and at home and recorded

information on amounts of vitamin D present in fortified milk products on the Australian market.

Case study: Staff exchange with jurisdictions

Food regulation is a partnership across a number of government sectors. FSANZ

operates a staff exchange program to foster closer collaboration and improved

networks with our partners. In 2010–11 we entered into an informal arrangement with

the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in Tasmania.

Several years ago, a FSANZ officer undertook a secondment at DHHS. This year, as

part of FSANZ’s ongoing engagement with jurisdictions, Tasmanian nutritionist/dietitian

ms Jen Savenake completed 18 months in the Public Health Nutrition Standards

Section at FSANZ. ms Savenake contributed to ongoing work on infant formula,

fortification and various applications and made a valuable contribution to some of the

more difficult issues facing FSANZ.

Consumer and social sciences

Consumer and social sciences advice continues to be an important component of the

evidence base supporting the development of food standards. major activities undertaken in

2010–2011 were in the areas of formulated supplementary sports foods and sports drinks,

and the fortification of food.

In 2010 FSANZ commissioned qualitative research into formulated supplementary sports

foods and sports drinks. This has been followed up by a quantitative sports foods consumer

survey to estimate the prevalence of sports food use in Australia and New Zealand and the

activities and practices associated with consumption. While the quantitative survey was

initiated in 2010–11, the data will not be available for analysis until next year.



Similarly, we have commissioned the collection of information about consumer attitudes,

knowledge and behaviour towards the voluntary and mandatory fortification of food. This

project will contribute to the monitoring and evaluation of food fortification. We have used a

mix of in-house and outsourced capabilities with this project. Data analysis and reporting will

be performed internally by FSANZ to ensure that the survey outcomes can be tailored to the

risk analysis process used for developing standards.

During the year we transformed the FSANZ market Research Panel—used to commission

external research—into a new Social Research Panel. We selected providers through an

open tender process. From 1 June 2011 the Social Research Panel contained five of the

seven market research companies on the previous panel, but expanded to 26 organisations,

covering a more diverse range of capabilities.

Regulatory analysis

Regulatory analysis ensures that regulatory changes address public health and safety issues,

and determines whether adopting new standards or regulations will deliver a net benefit to the

community.

FSANZ conducts its regulatory analysis in consultation with the Australian Office of Best

Practice Regulation (OBPR) and the New Zealand Treasury. OBPR has been strengthening

its review processes to ensure the effectiveness of regulatory intervention and to reduce

unnecessary regulatory burdens on the economy. In 2010–11, FSANZ continued to develop

more sophisticated analyses to achieve these goals. The results of this analysis have become

increasingly important to FSANZ’s approach to risk management.

FSANZ prepared regulatory impact analyses for a number of projects in the primary production

area— for eggs and egg products, sprouts and raw milk products. We commissioned a paper

from Professor Jim Butler from the Australian National University to allow us to better take into

account high-impact low-probability disease events associated with some types of primary

produce. We also commissioned work from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource

economics and Sciences to help us understand the drivers behind meat imports, now and in

the future, when considering issues of country of origin labelling.



International networks

Codex Alimentarius Commission

The Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) is the international food standards-setting body,

recognised by food regulatory agencies, industry and consumers around the world. The

CAC is also recognised by the World Trade Agreements on the Application of Sanitary and

Phytosanitary measures and Technical Barriers to Trade.

The Australian Government provides a number of experts from various government agencies

to attend the meetings of Codex Committees, including physical and electronic working

groups. During the year FSANZ actively led and participated in a number of Codex committees

as listed in Table 9. Details of staff attending appear in Appendix 10.

Table 9: FSANZ participation in the work of Codex 2010–11

Codex committee FSANZ participation

33rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, Geneva member of Australian delegation

66th Session of the Codex Alimentarius executive Committee, Geneva member of Australian delegation

11th Session of the Codex Committee for North America and the South West Pacific (CCNASWP), Tonga

member of Australian delegation

32nd Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU), Chile

led Australian delegation and co-chaired working group on Revised vitamin and mineral Reference values for labelling

Codex Committee on Food labelling (CCFl) facilitated Workshop on Genetically modified (Gm) labelling, Belgium

member of Australian delegation

39th Session of Codex Committee on Food labelling (CCFl), Canada member of Australian delegation

42nd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene (CCFH), Uganda

led Australian delegation

43rd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA), China led Australian delegation and chaired working group on endorsement of the Food Additive Provisions of Certain Commodity Standards

5th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF), The Netherlands

led Australian delegation



World Health Organization/Food and Agricultural Organization

During the year FSANZ continued to support the work of WHO/FAO by participating in a

number of meetings and expert consultations, as well as through submitting surveillance

information and data.

Case study: Contributing to WHO/FAO workshop on food emergencies

FSANZ was invited to the Global Food Network/Asia FoodNet Workshop on National

Food Safety emergency Response Planning in collaboration with WHO/FAO, held in

Thailand. The workshop provided information and assistance to developing countries in

the Asia region on designing or refining food emergency response plans.

FSANZ presented on emergency response arrangements in Australia and provided

advice and feedback to participants on their own country’s existing or proposed plans.

Participation in this workshop strengthened our networks in the region and may lead to

opportunities to enhance our capacity to share food incident information more rapidly

and to detect emerging issues earlier.

FSANZ staff attended the workshop of the Quads Social Research Coordination Group

(QSRCG) in Canada in may. Representatives of each of the Quads countries (Australia,

Canada, New Zealand and the United States) were present, as well as the United Kingdom

Food Standards Agency and the United Kingdom Department of Health. members of the

QSRCG and the Quads Food Safety Regulatory economics Working Group also met to

facilitate connections between the two groups.

FSANZ continued to chair the Quads Social Research Coordination Group, with representation

from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, United States and the United Kingdom. We gave

presentations at the technical workshop in Ottawa on consumer research into eggs and

fortification and chaired a session on social science evidence for food regulation.

The Quads Food Safety Regulatory economics Working Group, initiated by FSANZ, had

two workshops in 2010–11. Issues covered in these meetings included a comparison of

how we do our work and our regulatory systems, behavioural economics, valuation issues

underpinning cost benefit analysis including costing disease, the use of evaluation, food

labelling and the presentation of a range of case studies.



International Food Chemical Safety Liaison Group

The International Food Chemical Safety liaison Group provides a platform for food regulators

in different countries to exchange information on chemical risk assessment work, emerging

issues and food surveillance activities. membership is drawn from Health Canada, the

Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the european Food Safety Authority, the european

Commission, the United States Food and Drug Administration, the Japan Food Safety

Commission, the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency, the New Zealand Food Safety

Authority (now the ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries), the French Food Safety Agency

and FSANZ.

In 2010–11 the group continued to share information on BPA and exchanged information

on testing of food for radionuclides as a result of the damage to the nuclear power plants in

Japan. Other matters discussed included the use of pharmaceuticals in weight-loss products

and the presence of phthalates—another chemical migrant from packaging materials—in food

and beverages produced in Taiwan, at levels higher than would normally be expected.

WHO Collaborating Centre for Food Contamination Monitoring

FSANZ has been designated as a WHO collaborating centre for food contamination

monitoring. FSANZ participates in the WHO Global environment monitoring System/Food

Contamination monitoring and Assessment Program (GemS/Food) by providing monitoring

data on levels of priority contaminants in food and total diet. In 2010 we participated in the

trial conducted by the WHO of a new web interface for submitting data to GemS/Food and

reported on a number of surveillance activities.

Relationships in the Asia-Pacific region

In 2010–11 FSANZ continued to take a lead role in food safety in the region, including

co-chairing the APeC Food Safety Cooperation Forum, establishing new international

collaborative relationships in food safety capacity building and providing training to visiting food

safety officials.

APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum

FSANZ continued to act, with China, as the co-chair of the Food Safety Cooperation Forum

(FSCF), with the third meeting being held in may 2011, in the United States. Over 80 delegates

from 18 member economies attended the meeting and noted the progress that has been

made since the establishment of the forum, particularly in:



• raisingtheprofileoffoodsafetyintheregionresultinginincreasedhigh-levelsupport

for related activities

• improvingcommunicationandinformationsharing,includingestablishingtheFSCFand

its Partnership Training Institute Network (PTIN) websites

• advancingfoodsafetystandardsandsystemsasaresultoftheforum’sactivities—

for example food safety incident management, recognising standards for pesticide

maximum residue levels, supply chain management and export certificates.

The PTIN was established in 2008 to expand the FSCF network to include industry and

academia and to establish sustainable training modules. Some 35 capacity building activities

have been undertaken, with participants from 21 member economies, held in 11 economies

in the APeC region. This activity has involved food safety stakeholders from government, the

private sector, academics, international government organisations and donors.

The FSCF and the World Bank signed a memorandum of understanding for collaboration

on food safety capacity building in the APeC region. This agreement will provide a valuable

opportunity for further developing the working relationship with the World Bank.

The FSCF will meet again in Indonesia in 2013.

Capacity building activities in the region

FSANZ has continued to be recognised in the Asia-Pacific region as a centre of excellence in

food safety regulation and as a provider of quality food safety capacity building assistance. In

recent years, we have provided a number of food safety capacity building activities, primarily

under the umbrella of the FSCF. These activities have covered microbiological risk assessment/

risk analysis, chemical risk assessment, risk communication, the development of food laws/

food regulatory frameworks and managing food safety incidents.

As part of the recent FSCF meeting, FSANZ organised the FSCF PTIN Food Safety

Incident management Workshop attended by approximately 100 delegates from 18 APeC

economies representing government, industry, academic and other organisations. The major

recommendations from the workshop were:

• toestablishtheAPECFSCFFoodSafetyIncidentNetwork,consistingofseniorofficials

from APeC economies

• toimproveinformationsharingintheeventofanincident

• todevelopandimplementFSCF-agreedapproachestoimprovedfoodsafetyincident

preparedness, response and recovery mechanisms within APeC

• tostrengthenparticipationofAPECeconomiesinINFOSANandotherinternationalnetworks.



Stakeholder Relationships

68 S T A K e H O l D e R R e l A T I O N S H I P S


Stakeholder Relationships


• buildingstrongerstakeholderrelationships.

Objectives

• asharedunderstandingofFSANZ’srole

• FSANZhavingareputationforbeingproactiveandalert

• stakeholdersseeingFSANZascredibleandtrustworthy.

Outcomes

• professionalandconstructiverelationshipswithallstakeholders

• astrongsenseofengagementwithFSANZamongstakeholders.

Highlights 2010-11

• establishedaconsumerandpublichealthdialoguetoadvisetheBoardonbroader

public health aspects of standards setting

• co-chaired,withChina,the3rdmeetingoftheAPECFoodSafetyCooperationForum

in the United States

• collaboratedwiththeDepartmentofAgriculture,FisheriesandForestry,theDepartment

of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Attorney-General’s Department to ensure a

coordinated approach on the import of beef into Australia

• launchedFacebookandTwittersocialmediasitestopromotetheflowofinformation

on food regulation

• commencedpublishingapplicationsandsubmissionstoamendtheFoodStandards

Code under the Australian Government’s Information Publication Scheme

• continuedtosupporttheFoodSafetyInformationCouncil’spromotionalactivities,

particularly Food Safety Week in Australia.

69S T A K e H O l D e R R e l A T I O N S H I P S


Introduction

The nature of stakeholder relationships has changed markedly over the past decade,

particularly in the past five years.

Stakeholder relationships were considered synonymous with consultation in the early 1990s

and government agencies, including FSANZ, developed strategies for identifying target

audiences and the best way to communicate messages. FSANZ set up a comprehensive

advisory committee system, strengthened its public comment processes, conducted

satisfaction surveys and started placing information on our website.

These activities enabled us to highlight our decision making and processes, but advances

in telecommunications are rapidly changing our notions of stakeholder relationships and the

adequacy of these programs.

We are now being encouraged by government and the ubiquitous nature of social media to

consider stakeholders as individual citizens rather than groups. It is now possible to establish

interactive, ongoing contacts with people interested in the regulation of food. We no longer

have to wait to assemble a stakeholder committee or invite submissions on assessment

reports to obtain feedback on our work. Social media provides us with tools that complement

our traditional ways of consulting.

In 2010 an advisory group delivered to the Australian Government a blueprint for reform of

the public service called Ahead of the game: blueprint for reform of Australian Government

administration (may 2010). The report called for improved service delivery for citizens.

Providing information is a key service that we provide to the community, so improving

accessibility to this resource addresses this Blueprint goal.

During the year FSANZ developed a strategy for harnessing the power of social media to

connect people.

We launched our Facebook site in October and our Twitter site in December, providing links

to our own information and that of our regulatory partners. The response from the community

has been very supportive and encouraging. We have already adopted one suggestion made

on Facebook to introduce an allergy alert to accompany food recalls involving undeclared

allergens.

The potential of social media is limited only by our imagination. There are 10.3 million

Facebook users over the age of eighteen in Australia and New Zealand and we are

investigating using this audience for recruitment advertising and grassroots surveys.



Stakeholders and regulatory partners

Citizen involvement

Advisory and liaison committees

FSANZ maintains a wide range of advisory committees and expert panels who provide advice

from the community, the food industry, individual citizens, public health groups and other

arms of government. This advice feeds into the decision-making processes of standards

development.

In 2010–11 the advisory and liaison committees listed in Table 10 continued to provide a

valuable service to FSANZ.

Table 10: Advisory and liaison committees

Advisory Committee Number of meetings

Advisory Committee for Fortification monitoring Bread Analysis Project 0 (contact via email only)

Advisory Committee on Novel Foods 7

Advisory Group for Food Composition 0

Consumer and Public Health Dialogue 3

Consumer liaison Committee 3

Food Allergy and Intolerance Scientific Advisory Committee 1

Food Surveillance Network 2

Jurisdictional Forum 3

Nga Kaitohutohu Kounga Kai 3

Retailers and manufacturers liaison Committee 3

Scientific Advisory Group for epidemiology 1

Social Sciences expert Advisory Group 2

Standard Development Committee for Raw milk Products 1

Standard Development Committee for eggs and egg Products 0

Standard Development Committee for meat and meat Products 1

71S T A k E H O L D E R R E L A T I O N S H I P S


Consumer Liaison Committee

The Consumer Liaison Committee (CLC) is made up of representatives from consumer

groups, Maori and indigenous organisations and private individuals. The committee provides

grassroots advice to FSANZ on consumer publications and a consumer perspective on

standards-development activities. Issues addressed during the year included food labelling,

including updates on warning labels on alcoholic beverages for pregnant women and the

independent review of food labelling law and policy, and the standard being developed to

regulate health and nutrition claims.

Indigenous representatives briefed FSANZ on Aboriginal issues and committee members

provided feedback on a number of communication tools including a food labelling poster being

proposed for Indigenous and non-English speaking people. Members also provided feedback

on our website.

A number of CLC members left during the year. As a result, we initiated a public campaign

to recruit new members using the website, Food Standards News and social media. New

members will be appointed in the new financial year.

Consumer and Public Health Dialogue

The Consumer and Public Health Dialogue was establised during the year to enhance our

high-level engagement with key public health and consumer stakeholders. By engaging more

effectively with peak consumer and public health bodies and public health academics, we

hope to better understand community attitudes to food safety and public health issues.

This group met three times in 2010–11. Items discussed included the possible role of health

impact assessment methodology in our assessment process, the issue of food sustainability

as it relates to food regulation, the recommendations of the Labelling Logic report and

engaging with the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry on issues including public

health issues as part of the Australian National Food Plan.

Members developed four priority task areas for further consideration—informing the

regulatory impact process, articulating the relationship between public health and food

sustainability, influencing the national food policy agenda and engaging with higher public

health policy areas.



Public Health Nutrition Agencies Forum in New Zealand

In September FSANZ hosted a forum for representatives of major public health nutrition

agencies in New Zealand. The forum aimed to provide a New Zealand perspective on the role

of food regulation in achieving broader public health outcomes.

Themes identified included emerging food-related public health issues, economic and

trade issues, assessing the effectiveness of prevention strategies, the role of regulation and

the challenges of achieving public health objectives through food regulation. The forum

acknowledged FSANZ’s role in the current regulatory environment and considered that, where

appropriate, FSANZ could provide data to contribute to policy making in New Zealand through

the Harvest integrated food composition database and modelling program.

New Zealand representatives from this forum are contributing to the FSANZ Consumer and

Public Health Dialogue to ensure ongoing engagement with public health stakeholders in both

countries.

Consultation with Mãori

Ngã Kaitohutohu Kounga Kai (the mãori reference group) considered a broad range

of standards development issues. These issues included an assessment of eight new

applications and proposals against criteria that considered public health, nutrition, cultural,

economic and consumer impacts from a mãori perspective. Three of the eight projects were

deemed to have potential significance to mãori and were added to the Kaitohutohu

watching brief.

Ngã Kaitohutohu Kounga Kai continued to publish the mãori Network newsletter, with

information on Kaitohutohu and FSANZ activities, the regulatory environment in New Zealand

and Australia and specific labelling issues such as Gm foods, the nutrition information panel

and intense sweeteners. The newsletter alerts mãori Network participants when certain

projects identified on the Kaitohutohu watching brief are available for public consultation.

At the start of the year, members of the group agreed to extend their participation in the

group’s work beyond their original appointment period.




Partnerships with other national agencies

BSE consultations

We continued to collaborate with the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry

(DAFF) to ensure that a coordinated approach is taken in assessing both the food safety and

animal health risks for imports of beef and beef products under the amended BSe policy.

Our joint working group with DAFF officers has expanded to include officers working on trade

issues from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Attorney-General’s

Department.

We also liaised with DAFF and DFAT to ensure a smooth changeover from the transitional

BSe arrangements which ceased on 30 June 2011. The dedicated BSe email address

allowed questions and concerns to be brought to our attention and we have responded to

numerous inquiries from consumers, importers, food industry personnel, foreign embassies

and government representatives from exporting countries during this transition period.

Case study: Participating in the work of Standards Australia

FSANZ’s Dr Robyn Cleland was accepted as a member of the joint Standards

Australia/ Standards New Zealand Risk management Committee in may 2011.

The committee consists of a group of recognised experts in risk management with

different specific areas of expertise. The committee wrote the Risk management

Standard (originally AS/NZS 4360:2004, now AS/NZS ISO 31000:2009) that has been

recognised internationally as the ISO standard. Work is currently underway to develop

a handbook to provide guidance on how to apply the new standard.

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

Under a memorandum of understanding we cooperate with the ACCC on areas of the Food

Standards Code dealing with misleading or deceptive conduct to ensure a consistency

between the Code and trade practices legislation. This cooperation extends to food recalls

and sharing information on social media.



Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

AQIS administers the Imported Food Inspection Scheme for Australia. We continued to

provide advice to AQIS on risk levels for imported food, determining the level at which they

are tested at the border. Because AQIS enforces food standards, representatives from AQIS

participate on many of FSANZ’s advisory committees.

Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority

legislative amendments allow the APvmA to vary certain mRls in the Code. FSANZ retains

responsibility for the dietary exposure component of the risk assessment and retains its power

to vary the mRl standard. The APvmA consults on any proposed mRl changes through its

Gazette. Consultation documents are available through the FSANZ website.

Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, New Zealand

The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA) now forms part of the ministry of Agriculture

and Forestry, New Zealand (mAF)— the national food regulator for New Zealand. We have a

memorandum of understanding with NZFSA and a partnership agreement with mAF.

National Health and Medical Research Council

We collaborated with the NHmRC during the year on a range of public health matters,

including the development of regulatory nutrient reference values for the Food

Standards Code.

National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme

Increasing engagement with NICNAS during the year provided mutual benefits. We finalised

a memorandum of understanding to continue exchanging information related to evaluations,

assessments, reviews and emerging issues.

National Measurement Institute

FSANZ has a memorandum of understanding with NmI which facilitates sharing information

on emerging food issues and developments in methodologies for food analysis. We supported

the NmI Food Sector Advisory Committee by presenting at meetings.


ANNUAL REPORT 2010-2011ANNUAL REPORT 2010-2011

Office of Best Practice Regulation

Under COAG arrangements, OBPR assists agencies with developing regulatory impact

statements and provides guidance on the adequacy of the analysis. We have a continuing

close working relationship with OBPR on the benefits and costs of all major projects.

Office of the Gene Technology Regulator

We continued to share information on biotechnology matters with OGTR during the year.

Standards Australia

Under a memorandum of understanding with Standards Australia, we collaborate on standard

setting and other joint activities, provide expertise on technical committees, take steps to

reduce overlap and share information on food industry and consumer needs.

Therapeutic Goods Administration

We continued to consult with the TGA on the designation of products as foods or medicines.

FSANZ is also a member (as is the TGA) of an implementation sub-committee working group

set up to develop a trans-Tasman process to assist in determining the appropriate regulatory

status of products at the food–medicine interface.

Case study: Food Surveillance Network

The Food Surveillance Network was established in 2003 to provide a technical

forum for our food regulatory partners to undertake the detailed planning and

implementation of food surveillance activities. The network includes representatives

from food regulatory agencies in all Australian states and territories, the AQIS Imported

Food Program and the New Zealand mAF. The Department of Health and Ageing,

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, the National Residue Survey and

some state primary industry and food agencies are also represented.

FSANZ chairs meetings of the network. These meetings provide an effective

mechanism for sharing and discussing food survey results, as well as fostering a

consistent approach to managing outcomes. The network also plays a significant role

in supporting the Implementation Sub-Committee (ISC) Coordinated Food Survey Plan.



Communication

In 2010–11 FSANZ continued to develop and refine its traditional media tools, while further

exploring social media, with a particular focus on Twitter and Facebook. While our website

remains our primary means of communication, Facebook and Twitter have shown to be an

effective way of further communicating our information and educating consumers about

important issues and the role of FSANZ.

Following the introduction of the Information Publication Scheme, FSANZ began publishing

applications and submissions, documents of public interest and documents released under

Freedom of Information requests.

Information for the community

Website

The FSANZ website is a vital tool for communicating with people about our work. Over the

course of the year, the website attracted between 61 295 and 119 523 visits per month. The

figures were lower in December and January reflecting the holiday season. The number of

visits appears to be increasing, most likely reflecting the promotion of the website using social

media and a revamped Food Standards News.

We undertook a review of the website and user testing during the year. The results of this

work will feed into a possible redesign and the implementation of a new content management

system to ensure we can more efficiently deliver communication via the website. We also

commenced a content review, focusing initially on material targeting consumers. This will

ensure that all content is current.

Social media

We continued to explore opportunities offered by new media. In January the Parliamentary

Secretary for Health and Ageing, the Hon. Catherine King mP, officially launched our social

media tools. Since revamping our Facebook page and launching a Twitter site, our presence

has grown and feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Over 880 people receive daily

updates from our Facebook site and about 800 people and organisations follow our posts

on Twitter.

These social media tools are proving to be an effective method of informing people of the

information on our website, thereby extending our communication to consumers who may not

otherwise be informed about our role and activities.



Print and electronic media

media inquiries continued to cover most food issues, including BPA, food additives, date

marking, Gm foods and our progress on current applications to amend the Food Standards

Code. Unexpected events, however, such as floods in victoria and Queensland and the

earthquake and nuclear plant crisis in Japan, caused a large increase in media calls from

journalists concerned about food safety in floods and the testing of imported food from Japan.

During these events, FSANZ worked closely with national, state and territory agencies and

departments and with the Food Safety Information Council to provide consistent information.

We did not hold any media events for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as

indicated in the Portfolio Budget Statement. However, we continued to liaise closely with

our jurisdictional partners to explore ways of promoting food safety material to Indigenous

Australians.

Publications

Food Standards News

This newsletter, which has more than 6000 subscribers, is now delivered as an e-newsletter

each month with short stories that allow people to click through to a web page with further

information. The number of subscribers has grown since the move to the new format.

Food Surveillance News

This publication provides information on food surveillance activities, such as food analytical

surveys, food recalls, imported food matters and food incidents in Australia and New Zealand.

It also includes information on international food conferences and meetings, as well as global

food surveillance activities. The newsletter is managed by FSANZ, with articles contributed

from many of the agencies represented on the Food Surveillance Network.

Monitoring of Emerging Issues Newsletter

The newsletter is published fortnightly, providing a global snapshot of recent food safety issues.

It is circulated to interested stakeholders including Australian and international government

agencies, industry and academia. The newsletter is published on our website and circulated

through social media. It captures emerging issues such as microbiological outbreaks, labelling

and packaging, food safety policy, chemical food safety issues, surveillance and monitoring

activities, scientific and technical activities and food product recalls.



Industry and consumer advice

FSANZ information service

FSANZ helps food businesses, government agencies and other stakeholders navigate the

Food Standards Code and responds to consumer inquiries on a range of issues. Between 1

July 2010 and 30 may 2011, we received nearly 6000 inquiries though our website, of which

around 2000 were from consumers.

Our staff also attended conferences and conventions to respond to questions about the Code

and to conduct seminars. These events included the Australian Institute of Food Science and

Technology Convention and the 3rd Australian Food Safety Conference, both in melbourne,

and the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology Conference held in Rotorua.

Industry site visits

One of our challenges is to find ways of obtaining information from stakeholder groups. To gain

an appreciation of manufacturing processes in the food industry, FSANZ organises site visits

for people involved in food regulation, in association with the Australian Food and Grocery

Council.

This year, the visits were to Streets, National Foods, Sanitarium and mars Foods. Staff from

state and federal government agencies took part in the visits, including representatives from

FSANZ, the Department of Health and Ageing and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries

and Forestry.

Public awareness campaigns

Food Safety Week

FSANZ is a founding member of the Food Safety Information Council, whose role is to educate

consumers in safe food handling. The council manages the annual Australian Food Safety

Week. The theme for 2010 was ‘myths and mastery’. The week focused on debunking

incorrect food safety beliefs held by consumers and highlighting good food safety practices.

media coverage of Food Safety Week included all major press and radio in all states and the

7pm Project (Channel 10). Regional newspaper and radio coverage was also excellent. It is

estimated the campaign reached a total audience of eight million people.

The council also ran campaigns with ‘back to school’ and Christmas themes.

People and Organisational Capability

80 P e O P l e A N D O R G A N I S A T I O N A l C A P A B I l I T Y


People and Organisational Capability


• continuingtostrengthenthecapabilityandcapacityofFSANZ.

Objectives

• increasedefficiencyofourorganisationalprocesses

• anenhancedreputationforbeingasafe,professionallyrewardingandproductive

workplace.

Outcome

• apositivecultureinFSANZwherestafffeelmotivatedintheirwork,arevaluedand

respected.

Highlights 2010-11

• appointedanewGeneralManagerLegalandRegulatoryAffairs

• awardedtheChair’sAnnualDevelopmentAwardtoMsGillianDuffyandtheAustralia

Day Achievement medallion to Dr Judy Cunningham

• maintainedourcoreICTsystemswithminimaloutagesandhighavailability

(over 95 per cent)

• installedaSharePoint2010environmenttoallowgreateraccessbystafftodocuments

and files

• employedagreaterproportionofpeopleover55yearsofage(24.2percent)thanthe

APS average (13.6 per cent)

• achievedanaverageemployeeabsenceof6.25days,comparedwith10.5daysforall

APS agencies

• receivednoformalcomplaintsforbullyingandharassment.

81P e O P l e A N D O R G A N I S A T I O N A l C A P A B I l I T Y


Introduction

FSANZ is a small agency with family-friendly policies and a highly productive and pleasant

working environment. There are frequent opportunities for staff, even at APS6-levels to be

given management of projects and opportunities to represent the agency to stakeholders.

FSANZ enjoys high retention rates (>90 per cent) and a reservoir of corporate knowledge of

more than 15 years in some people.

While high retention rates may cause a career bottleneck at higher levels of an agency—an

issue identified in the 2010 staff survey—they also create an environment where more junior

members of staff have opportunities to develop their technical knowledge and inter-personal

skills at an accelerated pace.

Such high retention rates are essential in a science-based agency. Standard setting is

a labour-intensive activity; 70 per cent of our annual appropriation is spent on salaries.

Outcomes depend heavily on the quality of staff and on intangible criteria such as commitment

and motivation. We therefore invest heavily in professional development. We also provide

opportunities for staff to represent Australia, involving overseas travel to attend international

conferences and meetings. In this way, we extend our bilateral relations with other national

food regulators and this has proven invaluable during food incidents.

In last year’s annual report, there were issues raised in the staff survey that required attention,

with reports of bullying and harassment showing a slight increase from previous years

compared to the APS average. A detailed examination of the survey results suggested this

had more to do with performance management than the more common causes of bullying and

harassment. Nevertheless, we have strengthened our team of harassment contact officers and

the issue is now a standing item on the Staff Forum’s agenda.

As with other departments and agencies, we are being asked to do more with less. With

non-ongoing contractors not having their contracts extended, remaining employees may

experience an increase in workload during 2011–12. This could affect morale in areas already

under pressure. The coming year, therefore, will likely test the consultation mechanisms put in

place for staff and management, particularly the Staff Forum.

The agency has gone through many cycles during the past 20 years, where particularly heavy

workloads in some years have placed pressures on our limited resources. We have usually

managed to conduct our core business within statutory timeframes. We have always been

able to reorganise our priorities to respond to requests for action from the ministerial Council

and to meet our obligations to jurisdictional partners in the areas of food emergencies and

surveillance.



If the past is any guide to the next twelve months, it will be the commitment of our staff to this

agency that will see us through the challenges ahead.

Staff Forum

In 2010–11 the Staff Forum continued as the major consultative mechanism facilitating

communication between staff and the executive on workplace issues. The forum progressed

discussion and outcomes on a number of issues raised in the 2010 staff survey. The forum

provided input to the executive on learning and development, the enterprise Agreement,

various policy documents, file management and electronic clearance. The forum also worked

on workplace wellness, engaging staff and communication across the agency.

Organisational capability and capacity

Information and communication technology (ICT)

ICT drives the effectiveness and efficiency of our business operations. We endeavour to get

the most value from our ICT investments and to continually improve FSANZ’s distributed

computer environment—desktops, security and servers.

In 2010 FSANZ:

• maintainedcoresystemswithminimaloutagesandhighavailability(over95percent)

• installednewvoicemailhardwareandsoftware,includingnewvideocapability

• builtonourexistingvirtualserverenvironment,enablingacloud-readyinfrastructure

• deliveredtheWindows7operatingsystemandMicrosoftOffice2010tothestandard

FSANZ desktop for use by Canberra and (soon) Wellington staff.

We accelerated a whole-of-government approach to procurement and gathered better

information on agency ICT costs. The coordinated ICT procurement has delivered efficiencies

in high volume, high cost areas such as microsoft licensing, telecommunications and shared

fee-for-service development costs. We also undertook a review of our systems to ensure that

the base infrastructure was performing at peak levels. The minor findings of the review have

now been addressed and we are confident that we are running at peak performance.

Rapid changes in technology—including the growth in the use of SharePoint technology,

mobile services, video conferencing and disaster recovery—influence how services are

delivered and ICT investments are made. With this in mind, we have installed a



SharePoint 2010 environment that will allow greater access by staff to document management

systems, electronic forms, the applications management system, the food recall system and

other functions.

Facilitating Web 2.0 reforms

FSANZ is increasingly turning to Web 2.0 to deliver better services by engaging more

effectively with internal and external stakeholders and making better use of the information

arising from interactions.

We upgraded the communication link between our Canberra and Wellington offices from

2mb to 10mb and improved video conferencing facilities to further enhance national and

international communication. We upgraded mobile communication devices for staff, increased

the capabilities of remote services to include the latest security measures and installed video

phones for staff who regularly communicate between our two offices.

Disaster recovery

An external consultant helped us produce disaster recovery and business continuity plans

and a gap analysis. We installed and configured a second uninterrupted power supply for the

server room, along with a second air conditioning system in the server room in case of failure.

The agency’s backup software and hardware has also been upgraded.

Improved security

In 2010–11 FSANZ established a Cisco ASA firewall for network security. This system helps

with intrusion protection from external sources and other critical security functions. We

also established a threat management gateway to replace the existing ISA server. This will

handle web security and monitoring as a secondary defence system. We gained full Fedlink

accreditation and now have the ability to send in-confidence emails to all other government

departments.

Attraction, development and retention of a skilled workforce

At 30 June 2011 FSANZ employed 141 people—126 in Canberra and 15 in Wellington. A

small number of people are outposted. Of these, 22 were employed on a non-ongoing basis,

including 2 employees on long-term leave and one seconded to the UK Food Standards

Agency. Tables 10, 11 and 12 provide a snapshot of the employee profile and movement for



the year. Table 13 contains equal employment Opportunity information for about 70 per cent

of Australian staff members.

Table 10: Distribution of APS employees by level, location and gender at 30 June 2011

Classification

Female Male Total

Full time Part time Full time Part time Full time Part time

PeO 1 1

SeB2 1 1

SeB1 4 4

exec2 15 3 14 29 3

exec1 24 6 15 1 39 7

APS6 15 7 8 23 7

APS5 5 3 1 5 4

APS4 10 3 2 12 3

APS3 1 1 1 1 2

APS2

Total 71 23 44 3 115 26

Agency total: 141

Table 11: Employee commencements and cessations

Male Female Total Total

Ongoing Non-ongoing

Ongoing Non-ongoing

Ongoing Non-ongoing

Commencements 3 5 4 10 7 15 22

Cessations v 2 12 8 16 10 26

Compared to the APS, FSANZ has a larger proportion of its workforce in the 55 and older age

group, but has less in the critical feeder group in the 45–54 group.

Personal/carers leave usage is 8.47 days per employee; the APS average is 10.7 days per

employee. The average for small agencies is 8.7 days; the large agencies average is

12.6 days.



Table 12: FSANZ average age versus APS average age

Age range FSANZ % APS %

Under 25 2.59 4.0

25–34 19.15 24.3

35–44 26.28 28.3

45–54 27.82 29.9

55 and older 24.16 13.6

Table 13: Representation of EEO groups by classification 2010–2011

Staff with EEO data

Salary classification

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people

People of non-English speaking background (1)

People of non-English speaking background (2)

People with a disability

Male Female Total

APS level 1-6 0 5 0 0 11 29 40

exec level 1 0 7 1 0 11 21 32

exec level 2 0 3 0 0 7 12 19

SeS 0 0 0 0 2 0 2

Totals 0 15 1 0 31 62 93

(1) includes people born overseas whose first language was not english and who came to Australia after the age of five

(2) includes people born overseas who came to Australia before the age of five and whose first language was not english, or people born in Australia with one or both parents born overseas and whose first language was not english

86 P E O P L E A N D O R G A N I S A T I O N A L C A P A B I L I T y


Encouraging a rewarding environment

Employment environment

Enterprise Agreement

Our current enterprise agreement (EA) expired on 30 June 2011. Following the Government’s

decision in December 2010 to allow agencies to negotiate their own agreements, FSANZ

commenced discussions with staff and the relevant unions on a new three-year agreement. A

series of meetings was held between management, staff and the unions, at which a wide range

of issues affecting terms and conditions were discussed. The Government requires all EA cost

increases to be fully offset from within existing budgets by productivity improvements.

At 30 June 2011, a new enterprise agreement had not been finalised for consideration by staff.

while our New Zealand employees are not eligible to be included in the Australian EA, their

individual agreements generally mirror the terms and conditions of those contained in the Australian

agreement, subject to variations imposed by New Zealand workforce legislation.

Occupational Health and Safety

we use a broad range of strategies and programs aimed at increasing OH&S awareness and

education, identifying and removing potential risks and protecting the safety and wellbeing of all

employees and visitors. The Occupational Health and Safety Committee continued to meet on a

regular basis to discuss various minor issues and to ensure that all OH&S requirements were

being met.

There were no reported accidents or injuries to the occupational health and safety committee or to

the Staff Forum during the year and, importantly, there were no incident reports filed with Comcare.

In 2010-11, we continued to support an Employee Assistance Program, which provides

employees with access to confidential professional counselling to assist with work and personal

issues. In addition, employees are able to access a range of flexible working arrangements that

promote work-life balance. Part-time employees represent about 18.6% of all staff. This is higher

than the APS average of 13.7% as at 30 June 2010.

we provided free on-site influenza vaccinations and eyesight testing and corrective lenses (up to

the specified amounts) to all personnel required to operate screen-based equipment.

87P E O P L E A N D O R G A N I S A T I O N A L C A P A B I L I T y


Workplace wellness

The workplace wellness Program, funded by FSANZ and actively supported by staff, encourages

employees to become more health conscious, physically active and to achieve an appropriate

work-life balance. Activities focus on health, physical activity, nutrition and psychological health.

Throughout the year, staff supported wellness initiatives such as yoga, walking and jogging. we

provided pedometers to all interested people to participate in a walking challenge as a major

workplace wellness activity. Participants in the three-week challenge aimed to walk at least

10 000 steps each day. Some 65 staff members from Canberra and wellington participated in the

challenge.

For 2010–11 the average absence per employee was 6.24 days. This compares very favourably

with the average for all APS agencies as reported in the 2009–10 State of the Service Report of

10.5 days. The average for small agencies is 8.7 days per employee.

Workplace Harassment Policy

FSANZ has a well-developed workplace harassment policy with supporting training materials

available on the intranet. These documents and policies aim to educate, prevent and resolve

any issues that may arise. we increased the number of Harassment Contact Officers (HCOs) to

seven last year. This year, the newly appointed HCOs undertook formal training and existing HCOs

completed refresher courses. The team meets regularly and reports to the Staff Forum.

In 2010–11 there were no formal complaints of bullying and harassment within FSANZ.

National Disability Strategy and workplace diversity

we maintain a workplace diversity plan to enable us to maintain the organisational skills and

experience necessary to meet current and future obligations. we continued to ensure that all

employment matters were handled in accordance with APS requirements and principles of equal

employment opportunity.

This year we continued to develop our policies related to disability and completed the Disability

Recruitment Guidelines to ensure that any people with a disability seeking employment with FSANZ

are given every opportunity to compete for a position on the basis of merit.



Rewards and recognition

Our Staff Rewards and Recognition Scheme acknowledges individuals or teams who perform

their work over and above the expected. A panel of representatives from each branch of FSANZ

assesses nominations.

The Chair’s Annual Development Award is awarded by the FSANZ Chair on behalf of the Chief

executive Officer and executive team. This award is based on performance at level and potential.

It recognises significant one-off achievements or contributions by individuals or teams.

The recipient for 2010–11 was Gillian Duffy for her outstanding contribution to the work of the

agency during her five years in FSANZ. She consistently used her initiative and her dedication was

well above that expected for someone at her level.

The Australia Day Achievement medallion acknowledges an individual or team contribution

demonstrating achievements beyond the expectations of their role. In 2011 the recipient was

Dr Judy Cunningham for her dedication and scientific leadership in developing food composition

databases and dietary exposure modelling, nationally and internationally.

The CeO’s Half-Yearly Award acknowledges team or individual contributions to the corporate

goals of FSANZ. This year’s recipients were Brian Wright, Dr Janice Abbey, Dr Judy Cunningham

and Dr Janet Gorst.

Staff long Term Service certificates were awarded to six staff members for 10 years’ service to

FSANZ—Catherine Deeps, luisa Trevisan, valerie Carpenter, Jane Allen, Dr michael Dack and

Kate maurer.

Organisational structure

FSANZ’s six-member executive team includes the Chief executive Officer, the Chief Scientist,

General manager Risk Assessment Branch, Deputy Chief executive Officer and General

manager Food Standards (Canberra) Branch, General manager Food Standards (Wellington)

Branch and General manager legal and Regulatory Affairs Branch.

To separate the risk assessment and risk management functions of the agency, we conduct

these activities within different branches.

The Food Standards Branch in Canberra is largely responsible for risk management in

relation to food safety standards in the Food Standards Code, for coordinating Australia-

wide responses to food incidents and for nutrition and public health activities. The branch is

also responsible for corporate operations, finance, consumer and social sciences, regulatory



analysis and ICT. The corresponding branch in Wellington is responsible for developing

labelling and compositional standards (including product safety) and for information,

communication and stakeholder services.

Our Risk Assessment Branch carries out the scientific evaluation of risks to human health

through food, including collecting compositional information, dietary modelling and evaluations

of the effectiveness of food standards.

Our work is organised in sections, as set out on the organisational chart (Figure 1) in the

corporate overview.

Senior management

Working under the strategic directions established by the Board, the executive leads and

effectively manages the operations of the agency. The management group, comprising section

managers and the executive, meets weekly. Section managers, and their general managers,

are responsible for supervising staff to ensure they meet milestones, appropriately use

budgets and staffing resources and contribute effectively to our goals and outcomes.

During the year, six senior executive service staff received performance bonuses totalling

$93 050.15 and 19 employees received performance payments totalling $187 478.32.

At 30 June 2011 our executive team included the following:

Steve McCutcheon—Chief Executive Officer

mr mcCutcheon is responsible to the FSANZ Board for the efficient administration of the

agency and, in conjunction with the Board, for the corporate and strategic directions of

FSANZ. He is also an ex officio member of the Board.

Melanie Fisher—Deputy Chief Executive Officer and General Manager Food Standards

(Canberra)

ms Fisher is responsible for risk management associated with the development of food

standards that primarily address health and safety matters, including standards for the primary

industries, as well as for the agency’s social sciences, regulatory impact and economic

analysis activities. In addition, she has senior management responsibility for corporate

services, including a library, human resources and ICT functions and financial management.



Dr Paul Brent—Chief Scientist

Dr Brent has executive responsibility for FSANZ’s scientific work, data collection activities

(including dietary modelling) and development of collaborative relations with scientific

institutions and the program that evaluates the impact of our standard setting activities. He

also coordinates our scientific relations with international agencies, especially Codex.

Dr Andrew Bartholomaeus—General Manager (Risk Assessment)

Dr Bartholomaeus has executive oversight of the agency’s risk assessment activities involving

chemical, microbiological and nutritional analyses and the assessment of the BSe status of

overseas countries.

Dean Stockwell—General Manager Food Standards (Wellington)

mr Stockwell is responsible for the risk management functions associated with the

development of food standards that address labelling and information matters, food

contaminants, food composition, food additives and foods requiring pre-approval such

as novel foods. He oversees the agency’s communication and stakeholder engagement

functions. mr Stockwell is the senior FSANZ representative in New Zealand and is

responsible for managing our relationships with consumers, industry, government and other

stakeholders there.

Peter May—General Manager Legal and Regulatory Affairs

mr may is responsible for corporate governance, oversight of the Office of General Counsel

(an independent provider of internal legal advice) and standards development processes,

maintenance of the Code, and Parliamentary liaison.

Accountability

92 A C C O U N T A B I l I T Y


Accountability


• complyingwithrelevantgovernanceandaccountabilityrequirements.

Objectives

• acontinuedcultureofexcellentgovernance

• appropriatesystemsinplaceandregularlychecked.

Outcomes

• totalcompliancewithlegislativeandreportingrequirements

• governmentconfidenceinFSANZ’sabilitytomanageitsworkandresources.

Highlights 2010-11

• compliedwithgeneralpoliciesissuedbytheAustralianGovernmentunderSection

48A of the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act) and with

Finance minister’s Orders

• metthereportingrequirementsoftheCACActandSection152oftheFood Standards

Australia New Zealand Act 1991

• achieveda100percentcompliancewithservicestandardsinourServiceCharter

• receivedthreerequestsforaccesstodocumentsundertheFreedom of Information

Act 1982

• respondedto100percentofministerialcorrespondence,minutesandbriefingnotes

on time

• appearedbeforetheSenateEstimatesCommitteeonthreeoccasionsandparticipated

in two inquiries held by the Senate Community Affairs Committee

• developedadisasterrecoveryplanforourWellingtonoffice,followingthe

Christchurch earthquake.

93A C C O U N T A B I l I T Y


Introduction

FSANZ receives funding from the Australian and New Zealand Governments to carry out

functions according to the FSANZ Act. Activities, priorities and the level of funding are

approved by the Australian Parliament and appear in the Portfolio Budget Statements. We

have a responsibility to demonstrate that these funds are spent for the designated purposes,

that we achieve our performance targets and that we carry out our business in an efficient and

effective manner.

Other elements of accountability include transparency, ethical governance and communicating

our roles and responsibilities to the community.

Transparency is an essential component of our business as a bi-national food regulator. It

creates trust in our decision-making processes, which contributes to community confidence in

the government’s ability to keep food safe. As part of this transparency, we began publishing

all applications and submissions to change the Food Standards Code on our website

(excluding commercial-in-confidence documents) in may 2011. To ensure the accessibility and

transparency of these documents we provided summaries and graphics to explain concepts,

used social media to reach all segments of society and used senior spokespeople for media

commentary.

The FSANZ Board has been especially concerned that FSANZ should articulate its role in

the food regulatory system as widely as possible. In particular, the Board has identified that

the community might expect FSANZ to have a broader role than the one defined by law. For

example, some public health and consumer groups have expressed the view that FSANZ

should give greater weighting to long-term health issues.

ethical accountability—involving probity and due diligence—must be embedded in an

organisation’s culture to be credible. The FSANZ Board exercises ethical responsibilities

rigorously through such things as conflict of interest declarations. This attitude permeates

the agency and, according to a major survey of stakeholders in 2009, has gained FSANZ a

reputation for professionalism and fair play.

Notwithstanding our accountability to parliament, our ultimate accountability is to the people

of Australia and New Zealand through providing a safe food supply and information to make

informed decisions about food.



Our role and priorities

FSANZ’s main and subsidiary objectives for developing food standards are set out in Section

18 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. Our functions are outlined in

section 13 of the Act. These legislative requirements determine the way in which we do our

core business.

Our goal is to achieve a high degree of public confidence in the safety and quality of food. This

goal is shared by all elements of the food regulatory system. Our outputs—food standards—

provide the food industry with the regulatory framework for conducting business, but the

ultimate beneficiaries of our work are the Australian and New Zealand populations.

FSANZ has developed a Strategic map for 2009–12 which appears in Appendix 12. The map

describes how the FSANZ Board has translated the agency’s legislative responsibilities into a

strategic approach to guide our work into the future.

Central to this approach are the four strategic imperatives of the agency:

• enhancingthequalityofregulatorystandards

• buildingstrongerstakeholderrelationships

• continuingtostrengthentheorganisationalcapabilityandcapacityofFSANZ

• complyingwithrelevantgovernanceandaccountabilityrequirements.

These strategic imperatives provide the framework for our annual undertakings to parliament,

outlined in Portfolio Budget Statements (PBS), and reflected in the aims of Program 1.1 of the

Health and Ageing PBS. We report against the deliverables and key performance indicators of

Program 1.1 in the section on priorities and performance in this report.

FSANZ is one of three elements of the food regulatory system. The ministerial Council,

supported by the Food Regulation Standing Committee (FRSC), develops and provides policy

guidance on food regulation. The states, territories and New Zealand implement provisions

of the Code, increasingly through the coordination activities of the Implementation

Sub-Committee of FRSC, of which FSANZ is also a member.

FSANZ’s role, therefore, cannot and does not stop with the development of food standards.

We have a responsibility to ensure policy decisions are informed by relevant and high-quality

technical advice and that industry can comply with food standards and jurisdictional agencies

can enforce them. Both responsibilities require close, iterative working relationships with the

other two arms of the food regulatory system.

95A C C O u N T A B I L I T y


Stakeholders and regulatory partners

Australian states and territories

under a 1991 inter-governmental agreement, the states and territories agreed to adopt,

without variation, food standards recommended by the National Food Authority (now FSANZ).

The purpose of the 1991 agreement was to consolidate responsibility for developing food

standards into one specialist agency and to ensure the uniformity of food standards across all

states and territories.

New Zealand

On 1 July 1996, Australia and New Zealand agreed to establish a single joint food-standards

system. The joint arrangement (known as a treaty) aims to harmonise food standards between

the two countries, reduce compliance costs for industry and help remove regulatory barriers to

trade in food.

The treaty does not cover MRLs, food hygiene provisions, primary production standards

and export requirements relating to third country trade. It contains provisions that allow New

Zealand to opt out of a joint standard for exceptional reasons relating to health, safety, trade,

environmental concerns or cultural issues. In such cases, FSANZ may be asked to prepare a

variation to a standard to apply only in New Zealand. An amended treaty with New Zealand

was signed in July 2010.

The treaty to develop joint food standards requires that FSANZ and the New Zealand Minister

of Food Safety conclude a funding and performance agreement. The performance agreement

details the services FSANZ is to provide and includes quarterly performance reporting, details

of New Zealand’s contribution and the payment schedule.

On 1 July 2010 NZFSA was amalgamated with the New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and

Forestry, with full integration of the functions of the two departments completed by

December 2010.

Requests under FOI legislation

In 2010–11 FSANZ received three requests for access to documents under the Freedom of

Information Act 1982.

96 A C C O u N T A B I L I T y


FSANZ Service Charter

Our Service Charter sets out the service standards by which we wish to be judged and

describes complaints procedures for individuals or organisations if they believe we have not

met those standards. we received one complaint in 2010–11.

Corporate governance arrangements

Government and Parliament

The majority of contact with the office of our Parliamentary Secretary, the Hon. Catherine king

MP, related to information, parliamentary-related functions and the provision of public affairs

support.

FSANZ performance

Ministerial correspondence

Completed on time

1-2 days late

3-7 days late

8-14 days late

>14 days late

TOTAL for

action

For info / no

further action

2010-11 3441 0 0 0 0 344 38

100% 0% 0% 0% 0% 100%

2009-10 223 5 0 1 o 230 24

97.5% 2% 0% 0.5% 0% 100%

2008-09 168 4 1 0 0 173 24

97% 2% 1% 0% 0% 100%

1 This includes six responses that were provided by the due date, but were processed the next day



FSANZ provided input into correspondence on several matters relating to FSANZ

responsibilities. These formed part of overall responses from the Department of Health and

Ageing or other federal, state or territory departments.

Issues raised in the correspondence included palm oil labelling, general food safety issues,

BPA, food additives, raw milk, other labelling issues, low THC hemp, imported food and

Gm food.

Minutes

Sent Returned Unsatisfactory % Satisfactory or better

32 33 0 100%

Issues raised in minutes included FSANZ Board outcomes, imported food from Japan,

releases of surveys, BPA, Gm ingredients in infant formula and updates on progress with

specific applications being considered by FSANZ.

Briefing Note Requests

Received Sent Late % sent late

14 12 0 0%

FSANZ also provided input into briefings on a number of matters relating to FSANZ

responsibilities as part of overall responses from the Department of Health and Ageing or other

departments.

Parliamentary Questions on Notice

Received Sent Late % sent late

0 0 0 0%

FSANZ provided input into a number of answers being provided by the Department of Health

and Ageing to Questions on Notice.



Senate Estimates

Senior staff members appeared before Senate estimates on three occasions during the

year (October 2010 and February and June 2011). Issues raised during the hearings and in

subsequent Questions on Notice included safety and labelling of Gm food, testing of imported

food, food safety standards, melamine and imported food, nanotechnology, safety of BPA,

fortification and BSe issues.

Question Time Briefings (QTBs)

FSANZ prepared over 70 briefings, either preparing new QTBs or updating existing QTBs on

many issues. FSANZ provided input to numerous QTBs prepared by agencies in the portfolio,

or other departments, where the issues crossed portfolio or agency responsibilities. Issues

included low THC hemp, specific food recalls, alcoholic energy drinks, Gm food safety, thyroid

dysfunction, melamine, BPA, BSe, labelling issues, imported food and other general food

safety issues.

Senate Community Affairs Committee—inquiries into proposed legislation

FSANZ participated in two inquiries being held by the Senate Community Affairs Committee.

The inquiries were held into two Private members’ Bills—one on the labelling of Gm food and

the other on the labelling of food in which palm oil has been used. FSANZ lodged submissions

and attended hearings as a witness for both inquiries. FSANZ also responded to Questions on

Notice arising from the inquiry into the Gm food labelling Bill.

FSANZ Board

FSANZ has a 12-member Board appointed by the Australian Government minister for Health

and Ageing, following consultation with the Australian, state, territory and New Zealand

governments. members of the Board have been drawn from areas of expertise covering public

health, food science, medical science, consumer policy, primary industry, the National Health

and medical Research Council, the food industry and government.

All members are part-time, except for the Chief executive Officer. Details of the qualifications of

Board members and their attendance at meetings are summarised in Appendix 11.

Directors are appointed for varying terms. The four-year appointment term of the Chair, ms

Philippa Smith, Am, commenced on 1 July 2008. The three-year appointment of mr Tony

Nowell, CNZm, commenced on 1 July 2010. Dr Andrew mcKenzie commenced his three-year

appointment on 27 may 2011.



ms Dianne Yates resigned ahead of the cessation of her term on 28 February 2011. The terms

of Associate Professor Peter Williams and Associate Professor Winsome Parnell ceased on

30 June 2011.

The CeO of FSANZ is an ex-officio member of the Board. mr Steve mcCutcheon was

appointed to the position of Chief executive Officer on 29 October 2007.

The Board meets at least four times a year and also convenes through teleconferences to

discuss urgent issues and to meet statutory timelines for applications. Four Board meetings

and five teleconferences were held in 2010–11. members also considered matters out of

session. FSANZ provides secretariat services to the Board and publishes outcomes of its

meetings on its website.

We have well-established procedures to ensure that conflict of interest issues are addressed

before the Board considers any issues. We maintain a register of interests which is available for

public scrutiny on our website.

Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee

The Finance, Audit and Risk management Committee (FARmC) is a forum for communication

between the FSANZ directors, executive managers and the internal and external auditors. The

committee’s responsibilities are to enhance the control framework, improve the objectivity and

reliability of financial reporting and to assist the Board to ensure compliance and oversight of

the internal audit function.

In 2010–11 Dr michele Allan chaired FARmC and deepened the committee’s involvement in

corporate governance and risk management activities. The committee has had a key role

in developing a risk management framework while also reporting to the Board on financial

accountability, internal audit and compliance systems. The committee continues to have

a strong interest in occupational health and safety issues, ICT and HR matters in both our

Australian and New Zealand offices.

each year FARmC approves the updated three-year Strategic Internal Audit Plan. This plan is

based on a risk analysis and addresses both strategic and operational risks. Audits completed

in 2010–11 concerned compliance with the Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act

1997 obligations, food standards development processes, payment and recording of salaries

and entitlements and asset management.



Business planning and management

Business continuity management

FSANZ has a comprehensive business continuity management process. Its purpose is to

provide a framework to enable FSANZ to rebound from any unplanned and disruptive event,

providing continuity of service to stakeholders and protection for our reputation. Disruptive

incidents can arise from accidents, criminal activity or natural disasters.

As the current Business Continuity Plan was developed several years ago, a consultant

specialising in developing and testing continuity plans was appointed to evaluate our plan.

Their recommendation was to revise and simplify the plan and to make it more consistent with

current best practice. This work is currently being undertaken and should be completed by

September 2011.

Following the earthquakes that struck Christchurch, New Zealand on 4 September 2010

and later on 22 February 2011, in consultation with our New Zealand staff, we developed a

comprehensive disaster recovery plan for our Wellington office. This was developed using

information provided by the Wellington emergency management Office. Further work will

be done to ensure the plan is updated to include new information and advice provided by

emergency authorities in the region.

Chief Executive Instructions

much of the policy for day-to-day operations in FSANZ is governed by Chief executive

Instructions (CeIs). We have more than 60 CeIs, covering general administration, financial

management, human resources, information technology and security.

During 2010–11 we created a number of new CeIs, including guidelines for disability and

indigenous recruitment policies, encouraging a smoke-free office environment, and air

conditioning in the Canberra office. A number of existing CeIs were revised and updated,

including the use of hospitality, executive vehicles and corporate credit cards. We also

strengthened our procurement policy and are updating our travel policy in line with revised

government policies.

Strategic and corporate planning

Our annual planning schedule reflects the cycle for strategic planning for the Board and

FSANZ. It is based on our three-year Corporate Plan and annual Portfolio Budget Statements.

101A C C O u N T A B I L I T y


The 2009–12 Corporate Plan is structured around four strategic imperatives—regulatory

standards, stakeholder relationships, people and organisational capability and accountability.

we link section planning to strategic planning through our annual business planning process.

This year we finalised our enterprise governance and risk management frameworks which will

help us outline Board strategy and articulate management responses. They provide guidance

to staff in addressing their responsibilities for risk management in the public sector.

Portfolio Budget Statements and performance measurement

Our key Strategic Directions for 2010–11, as outlined in the Portfolio Budget Statements,

were:

• tomanagethedevelopmentandmaintenanceofeffectiveevidence-basedfood

standards contributing to the provision of a safe food supply

• toensureeffectiveengagementwithregulatorypartnersintheimplementationofthese

standards to protect the health and safety of Australians and New Zealanders

• tostrengthenengagementwithindustry,consumersandthegeneralcommunityto

increase awareness of the food regulatory system.

In the section on priorities and performance in this annual report (page 17), the deliverables

and key performance indicators listed in the Portfolio Budget Statements are listed, along with

targets. we have reported against these targets.

Internal audit program

FSANZ maintains a three-year internal audit program approved by the Finance Audit and Risk

Management Committee. we outsource our internal audit function, conducting four audits

annually. The current audit provider is Protiviti.

The audits conducted this year included a review of salaries and entitlements, the processes

for the design and control of food safety, compliance with the Commonwealth Authorities

and Companies Act 1997 and asset management. All findings are routinely communicated to

FARMC and the executive monitors our response activity.

The ANAO conducts an external annual audit of FSANZ financial statements.



Performance audit by the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)

In 2010–11 the ANAO finalised the performance audit of FSANZ which commenced in

2010. The objective of the audit was to assess FSANZ’s administration of its food standards

functions, as specified in the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991.

Particular emphasis was given to the effectiveness of our performance management and

reporting; the effective administration of our food standard development and variation function,

including stakeholder management; and our effectiveness in monitoring the implementation of

our standards and coordinating relevant jurisdictions to address market failures.

The ANAO made three recommendations and FSANZ has developed and acted on an

implementation plan to address these recommendations.

Consultants, competitive tendering and contractors

We spent $1.93 million on consultants and contractors during the year on services and

products costing more than $10 000 (see Appendix 9 for details).

103A P P E N D I x 1 – G A Z E T T E D A M E N D M E N T S


Appendix 1 – Gazetted amendments to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011

Gazettal and registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments of amendments to

the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code occurs throughout the year after the Ministerial

Council notifies FSANZ that it does not need to review its decision on a Standard or a variation

to a Standard; or if, after a review by FSANZ, the Ministerial Council accepts or amends the

Standards or variation to a Standard. Each series of amendments is sequentially numbered.

FSANZ gazetted (published) amendments to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code

relating to the following Applications and Proposals:

Amendment No. 117 (1 July 2010)

Application A603 – Red 3 Erythrosine in Food Colouring Preparations

To permit the use of Red 3 Erythrosine as a colouring for icing.

Application A1021 – Food derived from Herbicide-tolerant Maize Line DP-098140-6

To seek permission for food derived from maize genetically modified to provide tolerance to

herbicides glyphosate and acetolactate-synthase inhibitors.

Application A1032 – ß-Galactosidase as a Processing Aid (Enzyme)

To seek approval for a new microbial source for ß-Galactosidase produced from Bacillus

circulans, for use in the production of galactooligosaccharides.

Application A1033 – Maltotetraohydrolase as a Processing Aid (Enzyme)

To seek approval for maltotetraohydrolase, produced by fermentation using a non-toxigenic

genetically modified strain of Bacillus licheniformis, to reduce the staling process of baked goods.

Amendment No. 118 (2 September 2010)

Application A1029 – Food Derived from Drought-tolerant Corn Line MON87460

To seek permission for food derived from corn genetically modified to reduce yield loss under

water-limited conditions.

104 A P P e N D I x 1 – G A Z e T T e D A m e N D m e N T S


Application A1035 – Food Derived from Insect-protected Soybean line mON87701

To seek approval for food derived from insect-protected soybean genetically modified to provide

protection from feeding damage caused by Lepidopteran pests in tropical and subtropical

growing regions.

Amendment No. 119 (30 September 2010)

Application A1036 – lipase derived from Aspergillus niger as a Processing Aid (enzyme)

To approve a new microbial source for enzyme (lipase) produced from a genetically modified

strain of Aspergillus niger for use in bakery applications to enhance the gas holding capacity of

bread dough, to increase the stability of the dough upon proofing leading to an increased loaf

volume.

Proposal m1005 – maximum Residue limits (April–September 2009)

To amend maximum residue limits for a number of agricultural and veterinary chemicals.

Amendment No. 120 (20 January 2011)

Application A1040 – Food derived from Insect-resistant & Herbicide-tolerant Cotton line

GHB119

To seek permission for food derived from cotton genetically modified to provide resistance to

Lepidopteran insect pests and tolerance to the herbicide glufosinate ammonium.

Amendment No. 121 (10 February 2011)

Application A1025 – Classification of Dimethyl Dicarbonate

To address the current regulatory inconsistency relating to the status of dimethyl dicarbonate

which is currently permitted as a food additive, but is neither present, nor active, in the final food.

Application A1044 – Pullulanase from Bacillus subtilis as a Processing Aid (enzyme)

To permit the use of a new microbial source for pullulanase sourced from a genetically modified

strain of Bacillus subtilis for use in the starch and alcohol industry.

Proposal P1009 – maximum limits for Tutin in Honey

To review the maximum limits for tutin in honey and comb honey before the expiry date of 31

March 2011.

105A P P e N D I x 1 – G A Z e T T e D A m e N D m e N T S


Amendment No. 122 (5 May 2011)

Application A1048 – Co-extruded Polystyrene & PvPP as a Processing Aid

To permit the use of an extrudate from polystyrene and cross-linked polyvinylpolypyrrolidone

(PVPP) as a clarifying and adsorbent agent in beverages, specifically beer.

Proposal m1006 – maximum Residue limits (October 2009-march 2010)


Proposal m1007 – maximum Residue limits (April-June 2010)


Amendment No. 123 (26 May 2011)

Proposal P301 – Primary Production & Processing Standard for eggs & egg Products

To develop an Australia only primary production and processing Standard to provide mandatory,

nationally-consistent food safety measures that will apply to egg production and processing of

egg products.

106 A P P e N D I x 2 – A P P l I C A T I O N S A N D P R O P O S A l S


Appendix 2 – Applications received and Proposals prepared at 30 June 2011

Applications received and Proposals prepared before 1 October 2007

Section 69 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (as was in force prior to

1 July 2007) requires FSANZ to report on its processing of applications and proposals in the

following manner:

During 2010-2011, FSANZ progressed 5 Applications received prior to 1 October 2007:

(v) 0 were withdrawn;

(vi) 0 were rejected by FSANZ;

(vii) 0 were finalised and notified to the ministerial Council;

(viii) 0 were considered after a request for a review and notified to the ministerial Council;

and

(ix) 5 were still being progressed as at 30 June 2011.

During 2010-2011, FSANZ progressed 8 Proposals prepared prior to 1 October 2007:

(v) 0 were abandoned by FSANZ;

(vi) 1 was finalised and notified to the ministerial Council;

(vii) 0 were considered after a request for a review and notified to the ministerial Council;

and

(viii) 7 were still being progressed as at 30 June 2011.

(e) Any occasion during 2010-2011 that FSANZ, after preparing a draft standard or a

draft variation of a standard, failed to make a decision under section 18 of the FSANZ

Act (as was in force prior to 1 July 2007) within the period required under section 35 (as

was in force prior to 1 July 2007) and a statement of the reasons for that failure; and

Nil

(f) Extensions of time FSANZ granted under subsection 35(2) of the FSANZ Act during

2010-2011 and the reasons for those extensions:

Nil

107A P P e N D I x 2 – A P P l I C A T I O N S A N D P R O P O S A l S


(g) The number of applications made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal during

2010-2011 for a review of a decision made by FSANZ.

Nil

(h) The results of the applications made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that

were determined during 2010-2011:

Nil

(i) The number of standards made under the FSANZ Act during 2010-2011:

2 (this includes both standards and variations to standards gazetted)

(j) The number of draft standards and draft variations approved during

2010-2011 under:

(i) section 18 of the FSANZ Act (Final Assessment)

1

(k) The number of occasions during 2010-2011 when requests were made under

section 21 of the FSANZ Act (as was in force prior to 1 July 2007) for a review of a draft

standard or draft variation:

0

(l) The number of occasions during 2010-2011 when requests were made under

section 22 of the FSANZ Act (as was in force prior to 1 July 2007) for a review of a draft

standard or draft variation:

0

(m) The number of occasions during 2010-2011 when a draft standard or draft variation

was rejected under section 23 of the FSANZ Act (as was in force prior to 1 July 2007):

0

(n) The number of occasions during 2010-2011 when requests were made under

section 28A of the FSANZ Act (as was in force prior to 1 July 2007) for a review of a

standard or variation:

0

(p) The number of occasions during 2010-2011 when a standard or variation was revoked

or amended under section 28C of the FSANZ Act (as was in force prior to 1 July 2007):

Nil



Applications received and Proposals prepared from 1 October 2007 onwards

Section 152 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 requires FSANZ to report

on its processing of applications and proposals in the following manner:

(aa) The number of applications that were made under section 22 during

2010-2011:

11

(ab) The number of applications accepted under subsection 26(1) during

2010-2011:

11

(ac) The number of applications rejected under subsection 26(1) during 2010-2011

and the reasons for the rejections:

3

1 PA1052 – on the basis that it did not meet the mandatory format and information

requirements under subsection 22(2) of the FSANZ Act which are set out in Part 3 of

the FSANZ Application Handbook. The Admin Assessment does not consider the

merits of the Application.

2. PA1053 – on the basis that it did not meet the mandatory format and information

requirements under subsection 22(2) of the FSANZ Act which are set out in Part 3 of

the FSANZ Application Handbook. The Admin Assessment does not consider the

merits of the Application.

3. PA1058 – on the basis that it did not meet the mandatory information requirements

under subsection 22(2) of the FSANZ Act which are set out in Part 3 of the FSANZ

Application Handbook. The Admin Assessment does not consider the merits of the

Application.

(ad) The number of Applications withdrawn in 2010-2011 under subsection 24(1)

during the current year:

1

(ae) The number of applications accepted under subsection 26(1) during 2010-2011

that FSANZ had not begun to assess under section 29 during 2010-2011:

1



(af) The number of applications accepted under subsection 26(1) during a previous

financial year that FSANZ had not begun to assess under section 29 before the end

2010-2011:

0

(a) The number of applications that were considered under Subdivision D of Division 1

of Part 3 during 2010-2011

23

(b) The number of applications that were considered under Subdivision E of Division 1

of Part 3 during 2010-2011:

0

(c) The number of applications that were considered under Subdivision F of Division 1

of Part 3 during 2010-2011:

6

(d) Health claims

N/A

(e) For each of those Subdivisions, the number of applications considered under that

Subdivision that were disposed of during 2010-2011 and the manner of their disposal:

Subdivision D:

11 Approved

A1025, A1030, A1036, A1037, A1038, A1040, A1044, A1048, A1049, A1050

1 Withdrawn

A1012

1 Rejected

A1005

Subdivision E:

1 Approved

A1034

Subdivision F:

0



(f) For each of those Subdivisions, the average time taken to dispose of applications

during 2010-2011 (for Approval only):

Subdivision D:

8.5 months

A1025 7.5 months

A1030 9 months (does not include 4 months for further info)

A1038 8.5 months

A1044 8 months

A1036 8 months

A1037 8.5 months

A1040 9 months

A1048 9 months

A1049 9.5 months

A1050 8.5 months (does not include 2 weeks for further info)

Subdivision E:

N/A

Subdivision F:

20 months

A1034 20 months (includes 6 months extension of time but does not include

1 month for further info)

(fa) The number of applications accepted under subsection 26(1) during a previous

financial year that FSANZ had begun to assess under section 29 before the end of the

current year, but that the FSANZ had not disposed of before the end 2010-2011 and the

period that elapsed since the application was accepted under subsection 26(1):

4

(fb) For an application covered by paragraph (fa), the period that has elapsed since the

application was accepted under subsection 26(1)

A1026 24 months

A1039 18.5 months

A1045 14 months

A1047 13 months



(g) The number of applications made during 2010-2011 in relation to which a charge

fixed under section 146 was payable

7

(h) The number of applications made during 2010-2011 in relation to which no charge

fixed under section 146 was payable

2

(i) The average number of days that elapsed between the acceptance or rejection under

section 26 of an application made during 2010-2011 in relation to which no charge

fixed under section 146 was payable, and the commencement of the assessment of the

application under section 29

9.5 months

(j) Each occasion during 2010-2011 on which the consideration period under section

109 elapsed without FSANZ completing the procedure that FSANZ must, under

Subdivision C of Division 1, adopt in considering the application

A1005 Approval due: 13 Oct 2009. Rejected 5 May 2011

Due to the complexity of the Application and need for expert reviews

A1012 Approval due: 16 December 2009. Withdrawn 4 February 2011


A1034 Approval due: 18 April 2011. Approved 22 June 2011


A1049 Approval due: 20 April 2011. Approved 5 May 2011

Due to the complexity of the Application because of the new technology used to introduce

the genetic traits.

(k) Each occasion during 2010-2011 on which FSANZ extended the consideration

period under subsection 109(4), and the reasons for that extension

A1034 (6 months) In light of the complexity of the risk assessment, it was not practicable

to complete the Application within the 12-month timeframe and an extension of time was

approved to enable the completion of the assessment of an extensive toxicological data

set by FSANZ toxicologists, as well as external peer review. The additional time for this

Application was also required to ensure a thorough consideration of the risk assessment

issues and engagement with relevant stakeholders.



A1041 (6 months) Prior to completion of the 1st Assessment Report, additional

studies were sought from the Applicant to enable a thorough consideration of a

range of nutritional and technical issues, and this resulted in the need for additional

assessment time. In addition, several issues were raised in the first round of public

comment that required further contact with the Applicant, and minor amendments to the

Nutrition Assessment. While agreeing with the conclusions of the Safety and Nutrition

Assessments, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority sought clarification on several

technical matters, which required further research and analysis.

(ka) The number of applications declared under section 95 to be urgent applications

during 2010-2011:

0

(l) The number of proposals prepared by FSANZ under section 55 during 2010-2011:

1

(la) The number of proposals prepared under section 55 during 2010-2011 that FSANZ

had not begun to assess under section 59 during that year:

0

(lb) The number of proposals prepared under section 55 during a previous financial

year that FSANZ had not begun to assess under section 59 before the end of 2010-

2011:

0

(m) The number of proposals made by FSANZ under section 81 during 2010-2011:

(n) The number of proposals that were disposed of during 2010-2011 and the manner

of their disposal:

5 Approved

(o) The average time taken to dispose of proposals under each of Subdivisions D, E, F

and H of Division 2 of Part 3 during 2010-2011:

8.2 months

P1009 7 months

P1013 8 months

M1005 10.5 months

M1006 10 months

M1007 6 months



(p) The average number of days that elapsed between the preparation of a proposal

during 2010-2011 under each of sections 55 and 81 and the commencement of the

assessment of the proposal under section 59:

23 days

P1013 46 days

M1007 0 days

(pa) The number of proposals prepared under section 55 during a previous financial

year that FSANZ had begun to assess under section 59 before the end 2010-2011, but

that FSANZ had not disposed of before the end of 2010-2011:

5

(pb) For a proposal covered by paragraph (pa), the period that has elapsed since the

proposal was prepared under section 55:

P1004 25 months

P1005 27.5 months

P1007 36 months

P1009 18 months

P1011 14 months

(pc) The number of proposals declared under section 95 to be urgent proposals during

2010-2011:

0

(pd) The number of occasions during the current year when the 12 month period

referred to in subsection 101(1) ended with no decision having been made under that

subsection and the reasons for no decision having been made:

0

(q) The number of applications made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal during

2010-2011 for review of decisions of FSANZ:

1

An application was lodged in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal on 6 June 2011 seeking

review of the decision to refuse approval for Tonalin® as a novel food (Application A1005).



(r) The results of the applications made to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that were

determined during 2010-2011:

N/A

(s) The number of standards made during 2010-2011:

14

(t) The number of draft standards and draft variations approved during 2010-2011

under each of the following:

(i) section 33:

16

(ii) section 41:

0

(u) The number of occasions during 2010-2011 when requests were made by the

Ministerial Council under Division 3 of Part 3 for a review of a draft standard or draft

variation:

0

(v) The number of occasions during 2010-2011 when a draft standard or draft variation

was rejected by the Ministerial Council under Division 3 of Part 3:

0

(w) The number of occasions during 2010-2011 when requests were made by the

Council under Division 3 of Part 3 for a review of a standard or variation:

0

(x) The number of occasions during 2010-2011 when a standard or variation was

revoked or amended by the Ministerial Council under Division 3 of Part 3:

0

In relation to applications or proposals declared to be urgent under section 95, either

in 2010-2011 or in previous financial years, the number which were disposed of under

section 101 and the manner of their completion:

0



In relation to applications or proposals declared to be urgent under section 95, either in

2010-2011 or in previous financial years, the number of occasions where disposal did

not occur within 12 months of the date of effect of the publication of a standard under

section 97:

0

(y) A summary of policy guidelines notified to FSANZ during 2010-2011:

Updated Policy Guideline on the Regulation of Infant Formula Products (notified to FSANZ

on 19 may 2011). This Policy Guideline is intended to cover infant formula, follow-on

formula and infant formula for special dietary uses for infants from 0 to 12 months of

age.

(z) Such other matters (if any) as are specified in the Regulations:

Nil

116 A P P e N D I x 3 – P R O C e D U R e S F O R A S S e S S I N G A P P l I C A T I O N S


Appendix 3 – FSANZ procedures for assessing Applications

Information on these procedures can be found on the FSANZ website at

www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandards/changingthecode

Processes for assessing applications

FSANZ’s primary role is developing or amending food standards to ensure the safety of

food sold in Australia and New Zealand, to ensure the provision of adequate information to

consumers and to prevent misleading or deceptive conduct.

FSANZ work is open for public scrutiny. When developing or changing a food standard, there

is generally at least one round of public consultation.

Anyone can make an application to change a current standard or develop a new food

standard or code of practice. FSANZ can also initiate the development or review of a standard

by preparing a proposal. Both follow the same steps (as set out below). Guidelines on how to

make an application are available from our Standards management Officer or from the FSANZ

website.

FSANZ maintains an Application Handbook which includes information to assist potential

applicants. FSANZ is able to reject an application on the basis that it has not met the

mandatory information requirements set out in Part 3 of the Application Handbook. This

ensures that applications contain sufficient information to enable them to be properly

assessed, thus minimising delays in the completion of assessments where further information

from an applicant is required to enable an assessment to proceed.

The Application Handbook also includes information covering cost-recovery, confidentiality,

application templates and minimum data requirements to complete an assessment. The

Application Handbook is updated as required to ensure currency of FSANZ’s information

needs.

FSANZ continually looks at ways to improve its assessment processes. In recent years a

number of changes have been adopted to improve the format of reports and to place greater

emphasis on impact or cost-benefit assessment of regulatory options.

many documents such as applications and submissions are being progressively made

available on our website. All applications and submissions made after 1 may 2011 will be

117A P P e N D I x 3 – P R O C e D U R e S F O R A S S e S S I N G A P P l I C A T I O N S


uploaded as soon as possible after acceptance or processing. For access to documents

prior to this date or for more information about the detailed matters to do with food standards

development, contact FSANZ’s Standards management Officer in Canberra on (02) 6271 2280

or email [email protected].

The steps are:

Administrative Assessment

The purpose of this assessment is to determine whether an application includes certain

minimum mandatory requirements (as outlined in the Application Handbook) and the

Procedure by which it should be assessed. Fees are payable after FSANZ has determined

whether or not to accept the application and the assessment Procedure. FSANZ has 15

working days to complete this process. A report is prepared which is available to the public.

An ‘early bird’ public notification is subsequently made by FSANZ, advising of the acceptance

of the application and its placement on the Work Plan. Proposals are treated in a similar

fashion.

Procedures for the assessment of applications and proposals

General Procedure (Default) (9 months to complete assessment) – This Procedure is the

default process for variations to a food regulatory measure and generally involves one round

of public consultation only. most applications and proposals will be assessed under this

Procedure, although more can be held as required.

Minor Procedure (3 months to complete assessment) – This Procedure applies to

minor variations to food regulatory measures including, but not limited to, correction of a

typographical error or minor editorial changes. It involves one round of limited consultation with

government agencies only, and if relevant, affected parties.

Major Procedure (12 months to complete assessment) – This Procedure applies to the

development of a new Standard or a major variation to a food regulatory measure involving

such scientific or technical complexity that it is necessary to adopt this procedure in

considering it or such a significant change to the scope of the food regulatory measure that

it is necessary to adopt this procedure to consider the application. This Procedure generally

involves two rounds of public consultation, although more can be held as required.



Assessment

The purpose of this assessment is to determine whether to proceed to develop a food

regulatory measure. FSANZ will then either prepare a draft food regulatory measure

or variation or reject (in whole or part) the application, or abandon the proposal. In this

assessment, FSANZ must have regard to the s 18 objectives of the FSANZ Act (see below)

and other relevant matters, including matters under s 29 (see below). A report is prepared and

publicly released for consultation. Calls for public comment are made via the Food Standards

Notification Circular, email alerts to interested stakeholders and on our website.

If an application or proposal is being considered under the major Procedure, the Assessment

is carried out in two parts (1st and 2nd Assessments) with an additional round of consultation

between. The 2nd Assessment Report includes proposed draft variations to the Code.

Section 18 Objectives

In descending order of priority:

(a) The protection of public health and safety; and

(b) the provision of adequate information relating to food to enable consumers to make

informed choices; and

(c) the prevention of misleading or deceptive conduct.

In developing or reviewing food standards, the Authority is also required to have regard to

the following:

(a) The need for standards to be based on risk analysis using the best scientific evidence.

(b) The promotion of consistency between domestic and international food standards.

(c) The desirability of an efficient and internationally competitive food industry.

(d) The promotion of fair trading in food.

(e) Any written policy guidelines formulated by the ministerial Council and notified to FSANZ.

119A P P e N D I x 3 – P R O C e D U R e S F O R A S S e S S I N G A P P l I C A T I O N S


Section 29 matters

In assessing the application, the Authority must have regard to the following matters:

(a) whether costs that would arise from a food regulatory measure developed or varied as

a result of the application outweigh the direct and indirect benefits to the community,

Government or industry that would arise from the development or variation of the food

regulatory measure;

(b) whether other measures (available to the Authority or not) would be more cost

effective than a food regulatory measure developed or varied as a result of the

application;

(c) any relevant New Zealand standards;

(d) any other relevant matters.

Approval

After the submission period, FSANZ must either approve, approve subject to amendment, or

reject the draft standard or variation. FSANZ must have regard to all submissions made during

the submissions period. A report is prepared containing the decision, reasons, submissions

list, analysis of submissions, Regulation Impact Statement and if approved, the food regulatory

measure or variation of the Food Standards Code.

The report is publicly released. Advice on approvals is made via the Food Standards

Notification Circular, email alerts to interested stakeholders and on our website, as well as

in the newspapers. The newspaper notices appear nationally in The Australian and in New

Zealand, The New Zealand Herald.

Ministerial consideration of approved food standards

Decisions on food standards, once approved by the FSANZ Board are notified to the

ministerial Council. Within 60 days of this notification, a majority of jurisdictions on the

ministerial Council may ask FSANZ to conduct a review of its decision.

Alternatively, the ministerial Council may inform FSANZ that it does not intend to request

a review. In the latter case, the standards are gazetted in Australia and New Zealand and

registered as legislative instruments and become law at the date specified.



If the ministerial Council requests a review, FSANZ must conduct the review within three

months (or a longer period if allowed by the ministerial Council) and either re-affirm the

decision, with or without amendments to the standard, or withdraw its approval of the

standard.

Our decision is then notified to the ministerial Council. The ministerial Council, by a majority

decision, may then, within 60 days, approve, amend or reject the draft variation.

If the ministerial Council amends or does not amend the draft variation, the amendment is

gazetted in Australia and New Zealand and registered as a legislative instrument and becomes

law at the date specified.

Advice on gazettals is made via the Food Standards Notification Circular, email alerts to

interested stakeholders and on our website, as well as in the newspapers. The newspaper

notices appear nationally in The Australian and in New Zealand, The New Zealand Herald.

Once the amendment becomes law, it is the responsibility of state and territory governments

and the New Zealand ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to enforce the standard. The

Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) is responsible for enforcing standards

relating to imported food.

121A P P e N D I x 4 – e x T e R N A l F S A N Z C O m m I T T e e m e m B e R S


Appendix 4 – External FSANZ committee members

FSANZ maintains a number of committees with members selected for their skills and

knowledge, drawn from a wide range of industry, academia, consumer interests and

government bodies. We gratefully acknowledge the contribution of the committee

members listed below.

Advisory Group for Food Composition

mr Paul Adorno National measurement Institute

Dr Geoffrey Annison Australian Food and Grocery Council

Dr Jayashree Arcot University of New South Wales

ms Jane Barnes Foodsense

ms Annette Byron Dietitians Association of Australia

Professor lynne Cobiac Flinders University

ms marjolein Collins Home economic Association

ms vicki Deakin University of Canberra

ms Joanne Dellow NSW School Canteen Foundation

ms veronique Droulez meat and livestock Australia

Dr Andreas Dubs Australian Chicken meat Federation

mr Chester Goodsell xyris Software (Australia) Pty ltd

Dr Heather Greenfield University of Sydney

Dr lee Huffman Crop and Food Research, NZ

Dr Russell Keast Deakin University

mr Kim leighton Australian Food and Grocery Council

ms Sally mackay ministry of Health, NZ

ms Anne-marie mackintosh National Heart Foundation of Australia

122 A P P e N D I x 4 – e x T e R N A l F S A N Z C O m m I T T e e m e m B e R S


Dr Peter Nichols CSIRO Food Futures Flagship

Dr Yasmine Probst University of Wollongong

mr David Roberts ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NZ

Dr Pieter Scheelings Queensland Health

Dr Andrew Sinclair Deakin University

Dr Craige Trenerry Department of Primary Industries, vic

ms emily Walker meat and livestock Australia

ms Julie Woods monash University

Advisory Committee for Fortification Monitoring Bread Analysis Project

ms Peta Craig Australian Food and Grocery Council

ms elizabeth Dunford George Institute for International Health

Dr Pieter Scheelings Queensland Health

ms Kim Unwin Department of Health, WA

Advisory Committee on Novel Foods

mr michael Apollonov New South Wales Food Authority

mr John Bates Queensland Health

mr Gary Bielby Queensland Health

ms Janine Curll New South Wales Food Authority

ms Ursula egan ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NZ

mr David larkings Queensland Health

ms enita Ostojic Department of Health, WA

mr Terry Oughtred Department of Health, vic

mr John van den Beuken ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NZ

mr John Ward Department of Health, vic



Consumer & Public Health Dialogue

ms Kathy Chapman Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance

ms Sue Chetwin Consumer NZ

ms Nicola Chilcott Agencies for Nutrition Action

ms Christine Cook Dietitians NZ

Dr Danielle Gallegos Dietitians Association of Australia

ms Clare Hughes CHOICe

Assoc. Prof. mark lawrence Deakin University

Assoc. Prof. Cliona Ni mhurchu University of Auckland

Dr Rosemary Stanton Public Health Association of Australia

Assoc. Prof. Heather Yeatman University of Wollongong

Consumer Liaison Committee

ms Hean Bee Wee National Council of Women Australia

ms eileen Clark Private individual

ms Clare Hughes CHOICe

ms libby manley Consumer NZ

mr mark Robinson Private individual

mr George Seymour Private individual

ms Sharon Thorpe victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Office

ms Nicole Turner Durri Aboriginal Corporation medical Service

Food Allergy & Intolerance Scientific Advisory Committee

Dr Katrina Allen Royal Children’s Hospital, melbourne

Dr vincent Crump Auckland Allergy Clinic

Dr Robert loblay Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Sydney



Dr Raymond mullins John James medical Centre, Canberra

Professor Robyn O’Hehir Alfred Hospital, melbourne

Dr Jane Peake Royal Children’s Hospital, Brisbane

Dr Jan Sinclair Starship Children’s Hospital, Auckland

Dr Sofia Sipsas Consultant – lupin Research and Development

Dr William Smith Royal Adelaide Hospital

Dr martin Stuckey Alfred Hospital, melbourne

Food Surveillance Network

ms Natalie Collins ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NZ

ms Yvette Dethridge Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

ms Debra Gradie Department of Health and Ageing, Cwth

mr mark Hansen Queensland Health

mr edward Jansson New South Wales Food Authority

ms Fiona Jones Department of Health, vic

mr Radomir Krsteski ACT Health

ms Narelle marro Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Cwth

mr Glen martin Department of Health, SA

ms Olivia mcQuestin Department of Health and Human Services, Tas

mr Ian Reichstein Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Cwth

mr Russell Schultz Safe Food Queensland

ms Kim Unwin Department of Health, WA

ms Tracy Ward Department of Health and Community Services, NT



Jurisdictional Forum

ms elena Anear Department of Health, SA

mr Gary Bielby Queensland Health

mrs Tracie Brady Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Cwth

ms Nola Caffin Queensland Health

ms Joanne Cammans Department of Health, SA

ms Clare Chandler ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NZ

Dr Kerry Chant New South Wales Health

ms Candy D’menzie-Bunshaw Department of Health, vic

ms Yvette Dethridge Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

ms Tracey Duffy Department of Health and Ageing, Cwth

mr Chris etherton Primary Industry and Resources, SA

Dr Nora Galway Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

mr Stuart Heggie Department of Health and Human Services, Tas

mr edward Jansson New South Wales Food Authority

Dr Fay Jenkins Department of Health, SA

ms Fiona Jones Department of Health, vic

mr Alex Kusmanoff Department of Health, vic


ms Jenny Reid ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NZ

mr Craig Sahlin New South Wales Food Authority

ms Judy Seal Department of Health and Human Services, Tas

mr vojkan Stefanovic ACT Health Protection Service

Dr Roscoe Taylor Department of Health and Human Services, Tas

ms Samantha Torres New South Wales Food Authority



mr John van Den Beuken ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NZ

mr John Ward Department of Health, vic


ms emily White Department of Health, SA

ms Sophie Williamson Department of Health, WA

Ngã Kaitohutohu Kounga Kai

mr mason Ngawhika Te Hiringa ltd

mr Hayden Potaka Te Puni Kokiri (ministry of maori Development)

ms Ann Thompson Public Health South, Otago District Health Board

Retailers and Manufacturers Liaison Committee

ms marie Andonopoulos Australian Beverages Council ltd

Dr Geoffrey Annison Australian Food and Grocery Council

mr Tony Beaver Food and Beverage Importers’ Association

Dr Roger Bektash mars Food Australia

ms Katie Birch Department of Health and Ageing, Cwth

mrs Tracie Brady Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Cwth

mrs Yvette Dethridge Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

ms Tracey Duffy Department of Health and Ageing, Cwth

mr Justin Fromm Australian Food and Grocery Council

Dr Nora Galway Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

ms Kirsten Grinter Nestlé Health Care Nutrition Australia

ms Jackie Healing Coles Supermarkets

mr Barry Hellberg New Zealand Retailers Association



mr Ken Henrick National Association of Retail Grocers of Australia

ms melissa Hodd Foodstuffs (NZ) ltd

ms Carole Inkster New Zealand Food and Grocery Council

mr ed Klim Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Cwth

mr Kim leighton Australian Food and Grocery Council

ms Janet macdonald Goodman Fielder ltd

ms Jacinta mcDonald Department of Health and Ageing, Cwth

ms Julie Newlands Unilever Australasia

mr Steven Newton metcash Trading ltd

ms Angela O’Shea Aldi Stores

mr Geoff Parker Australian Beverages Council ltd

ms Stephanie Rajczyk Nestlé Australia ltd

ms linda Ralph mars Food Australia

ms Katherine Rich New Zealand Food and Grocery Council

ms Nadene Smith Woolworths Supermarkets

Dr Robert Solomon Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Cwth

Jennifer Thompson Confectionery manufacturers of Australasia

mr Kerry Tyack New Zealand Juice & Beverage Association

mr Benjamin Ward AlDI Stores

Scientific Advisory Group for Epidemiology

Professor Graham Giles Cancer Council of victoria

Assoc. Prof. Damien Jolley monash University

Assoc. Prof. Catherine Itsiopoulos University of Canberra

Professor Neil Pearce massey University



Professor murray Skeaff University of Otago

Clinical Assoc. Prof. David Sullivan University of Sydney

Professor Gary Wittert University of Adelaide

Social Sciences Expert Advisory Group

Professor John Cary victoria University

Professor John Coveney Flinders University

Professor David de vaus University of Queensland

Dr Phil mohr CSIRO Human Nutrition

Professor elspeth Probyn University of South Australia

Assoc. Prof. Ken Reed Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Inc

Professor Chris Ryan University of Waikato management School

Professor Richard Shepherd University of Surrey, UK

Professor Carlene Wilson Flinders University, Cancer Council of South Australia

Standard Development Committee for Raw Milk Products

Dr Anne Astin Dairy Food Safety victoria

ms Karen Armitage Dairy Australia

ms Carol Bate Fonterra

mr Tony Beaver Food and Beverage Importers Association

mr Bill Calder Department of Health, WA

mr Tony Coope Parmalat Australia limited

ms Helen Dornom Dairy Australia

mr Doug eddy Dairy Food Safety victoria

ms Corrie Goodwin Dairy Food Safety victoria

mr Ross Greenaway murray Goulburn Co-op ltd



mr Wes Judd Queensland Dairy Farmers


mr John O'Regan murray Goulburn Co-Op ltd

mr Phil Pond Safe Food Production Qld

ms Jane Raupach Department of Health, SA

mr Steve Rice Dairy Authority of South Australia

mrs Denise Riches Goat Industry Council of Australia

Dr Steve Roberts Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

Dr Jenny Robertson Consultant

ms Shona Scott ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NZ

Dr Rob Solomon Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Cwth

mr Peter Sutherland New South Wales Food Authority

mrs Heather Wieland Country Women’s Association of Australia

mr Neil Willman Private Consultant

ms Slava Zeman Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

Standard Development Committee for Eggs and Egg Products

mr Glenn Abbott Farm Pride Pty ltd, victoria

mr Bill Calder Department of Health, WA

ms Christene Cantarella mclean Farms, Queensland

Dr margaret Darton Department of Primary Industries, vic

mr Peter Day New South Wales Food Authority

mr Paul Dowsett Department of Primary Industries and Resources, SA

mrs Ivy Inwood Free Range egg and Poultry Association, Queensland egg Farmers Association Inc.

mr James Kellaway Australian egg Corporation ltd



ms Azadeh laghai SunnyQueen Pty ltd

mr Chris lyall Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and environment, Tas

mr Ian lyall Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service


mr Glen martin Department of Human Services, SA

mr Paul Pace Pace Farm Pty ltd

mrs meg Parkinson victorian Farmers Federation, Free Range egg and Poultry Australia ltd

mr Phil Pond SafeFood Queensland

Dr Peter Scott University of melbourne, Scolexia

mr Russell Stafford OzFoodNet, Department of Health and Ageing

mr Con Tamvakis micro-Range Farmers Association

ms mandy Tyack Golden egg Farms

ms Sharon Wagener ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NZ


ms Rachelle Williams Former Consumer liaison member

Standard Development Committee for Meat and Meat Products

ms Judy Barker ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, NZ

mr Bob Barwell Cattle Council of Australia

ms leanne Brown Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Cwth

mr Greg Carey Australian meat Industry Council

mr Brian Casey PrimeSafe, vic

mr Ron Cullen Sheepmeat Council of Australia

mr Peter Day New South Wales Food Authority

ms Helen Dornom Dairy Australia



mr Paul Fry Cattle Council of Australia

mr Stan Goodchild Department of Health, WA

mr Dougal Gordon Australian lot Feeders Association

ms michelle Gorman meat and livestock Australia

mr David Inall Cattle Council of Australia

mr Brian Jones Department of Health and Community Care, ACT

ms Kate Joseph Sheepmeat Council of Australia

mr Wesley Judd Australian Dairy Farmers limited

mr Tim Juzefowicz Australian Renderers’ Association Inc

mr John Kelly Australian Game meat Producers Association

mr Noel Kelson Australian meat Industry Council

mr ed Klim Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Cwth (also representing SAFemeAT)

mr John langbridge Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

mr Chris lyall Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and environment, Tas

mr Peter merrell Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

Dr David miles New South Wales Food Authority

Dr Patricia mitchell Australian Pork ltd

mr Christian mulders Australian meat Industry Council

mr Robert Parkes Stock Feed manufacturers’ Council of Australia

mr Phil Pond Safe Food Production Qld

mr Geoff Raven Department of Primary Industries and Resources, SA

mr Steve Roots Goat Industry Council of Australia

mr Rob Solomon Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Cwth

ms Heather Wieland Country Women’s Association of Australia

Dr Barbara Wilson SafeFood Production Qld

132 A P P e N D I x 5 – F I N A N C I A l S T A T e m e N T S


Appendix 5 – Financial Statements

133A P P e N D I x 5 – F I N A N C I A l S T A T e m e N T S






























































164 A P P e N D I x 6 – F U N C T I O N S A N D P O W e R S


Appendix 6 – Functions and powers

Food Standards Australia New Zealand is a statutory authority established by the Food

Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. The Act came into effect on 19 August 1991.

FSANZ is part of the Health and Ageing portfolio of the Australian Government and, on day-

to-day matters, is accountable to the Parliamentary Secretary to the minister for Health and

Ageing, the Hon. Catherine King, mP.

Sections 13 and 14 of the Act state:

Functions

(1) The functions of the Authority are:

(a) in accordance with this Act, to develop standards and variations of standards, and

to review standards and variations of standards; and

(b) in accordance with this Act, to develop codes of practice and variations of codes of

practice for industry and to review codes of practice; and

(c) to develop guidelines to assist the interpretation of the Australia New Zealand

Food Standards Code on its own initiative or in consultation with the States, the

Territories and any other body or person that the Authority considers appropriate;

and

(d) to promote consistency between standards in Australia and New Zealand with

those used internationally, based on the best available scientific evidence; and

(e) in consultation with the States and Territories, or on its own initiative, to facilitate the

harmonisation of state and territory laws relating to food; and

(f) in consultation with the States and Territories, or on its own initiative, to co ordinate

the development of procedures required to implement requirements set out in

standards; and

(g) in consultation with the States and Territories, to co ordinate the monitoring,

surveillance and enforcement of activities relating to food available in Australia; and

(h) in consultation with the States and Territories, or on its own initiative, to conduct

research and surveys in relation to any of the matters that may be included in a

standard; and

165A P P e N D I x 6 – F U N C T I O N S A N D P O W e R S


(i) in co operation with the States and Territories, to develop food education initiatives,

including the publication of information to increase public awareness of food

standards and food labels; and

(j) in co operation with the Department administering Division 1A of Part v of the Trade

Practices Act 1974, to co ordinate the recall of food under that Division; and

(k) at the request of the States and Territories, to co ordinate action by the States and

Territories to recall food under State and Territory laws; and

(l) to develop assessment policies in relation to food imported into Australia; and

(m) to provide advice to the minister on matters relating to food; and

(n) to participate in international, regional and bilateral negotiations on matters that

may be included in standards; and

(o) to make the Authority’s knowledge, expertise, equipment, facilities and intellectual

property available to other persons on a commercial basis; and

(p) at the request of New Zealand, to perform functions for New Zealand similar to the

functions that the Authority may perform in relation to the States and Territories; and

(q) at the request of New Zealand, to perform functions for New Zealand similar to the

other functions that the Authority may perform; and

(qa) such other functions as are conferred on the Authority by this Act; and

(r) any functions incidental to any of the foregoing functions.

(2) The function conferred by paragraph (1)(o):

(a) can only be exercised:

(i) for a purpose for which the Parliament has power to make laws; or

(ii) to utilise the Authority’s spare capacity; and

(b) does not authorise the Authority to do something that would impede the Authority’s

capacity to perform its other functions.

166 A P P e N D I x 6 – F U N C T I O N S A N D P O W e R S


Powers

(1) The Authority has power to do all things necessary or convenient to be done in

connection with the performance of its functions and, in particular, may:

(a) enter into contracts; and

(b) acquire, hold and dispose of real or personal property; and

(c) occupy, use and control any land or building owned, or held under lease, by the

Commonwealth and made available for the purposes of the Authority; and

(d) engage persons to perform services for the Authority; and

(e) provide assistance to bodies or persons to prepare submissions:

(i) relating to the development or consideration of draft food regulatory measures

or draft variations of food regulatory measures; or

(ii) relating to the performance of any other function of the Authority;

if the Authority determines that such assistance will advance the development or

consideration of that draft or the performance of that other function; and

(f) accept gifts, grants, bequests and advances made to the Authority (whether on

trust or otherwise) and act as trustee of money or other property vested in the

Authority on trust; and

(fa) form, or participate in the formation of, companies; and

(fb) subscribe for or purchase shares in, or debentures and other securities of,

companies; and

(fc) participate in partnerships, trusts and unincorporated joint ventures; and

(g) do anything incidental to any of its powers.

(2) The powers of the Authority may be exercised within or outside Australia.


167


A P P e N D I x 7 – C U R R e N T P U B l I C A T I O N S


Appendix 7 – Current publications

General publications

All publications are available from the FSANZ website, www.foodstandards.gov.au and limited

hard copies of certain publications are available from the Information Officer.

Please note that the hard copy of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code and User

Guides are available from Anstat Pty ltd at http://www.saiglabal.com/legislation/services/food

or on 03 9278 1144.

Title Description

Agents of Foodborne Illness A technical series summarising key information on microorganisms associated with foodborne illness

First published 2011.

Annual Report A report to the Australian Parliament on FSANZ’s activities for the year. Annual publication.

AUSNUT Australian Food and Nutrient Database. AUSNUT is FSANZ’s first ever data release on CD Rom. The AUSNUT CD contains a set of 7 inter-related data files and explanatory notes that contain a wealth of descriptive and numerical data on the food and nutrient composition of Australian foods.

First published 1999.

Contact the Information Officer for more information.

Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code This document contains food standards (regulations) that apply to food businesses in Australia and New Zealand. Compliance with the standards is mandatory.

Available in loose-leaf form by subscription from Anstat and from website free-of-charge.

Australian Total Diet Study (formerly the Australian market Basket Survey)

This study monitors pesticide and contaminant residues present in food and estimates their intake in the diets of Australians. FSANZ uses this information when developing food standards.

19th ATDS published April 2001. 20th ATDS published January 2003 21st ATDS published August 2005. 22nd ATDS latest edition published September 2008.

Choosing the Right Stuff - the official shoppers’ guide to food additives and labels, kilojoules and fat content.

Available from from major booksellers.

may 2007.

168




Title Description

Corporate Plan The Corporate Plan sets out FSANZ’s strategic directions over a three-year period. latest edition 2009-2012.

Printed August 2009.

Food Industry Recall Protocol This booklet is a step-by-step guide to carrying out food recalls. It explains what must be done when food products have to be recalled from shops or consumers for health and safety reasons.

First published June 1994. latest edition 5th September 2002 and print rerun June 2004, September 2008.

Food labels: What do they mean? (Poster) A full colour A2 poster explaining the changes to food labels.

First published October 2001. Print reruns 2002, 2003, 2004. Updated 2007. Currently being updated.

Food Standards News A newsletter about the key issues and significant projects undertaken by FSANZ.

First published as ANZFA News may 1998. Published as Food Standards News from Feb 2001.

Available by email and website.

Food Surveillance News A quarterly publication co-coordinating microbiological and other food safety studies from the states and territories.

First published Spring 2001. Available by email and website.

Gm Foods FSANZ’s safety assessment process for genetically modified foods. Replaces previous publication ‘Gm foods and the Consumer’ (2000).

Published June 2005; released August 2005.


169




Title Description

listeria and Food brochure An easy-to-read brochure which explains how to reduce the risk of contracting the listeria infection – specifically advice for people at risk – pregnant women, their unborn and newborn children, older people (65 years and older), or the immuno-compromised.

The brochure sets out foods which are safe and those at ‘higher risk’ of listeria contamination. This brochure replaces the listeria and Pregnancy brochure released in June 2001.

Printed July 2004 Reprinted June 2005. Available from the website only.

mercury in fish brochure and fact sheet mercury in fish brochure contains information on the recommended portions of fish that should be consumed by various sectors of the population. Further information fact sheet also provides more detailed information on the consumption of certain species of fish.

Published march 2004. Available from the website only.

monitoring of emerging Issues newsletter Fortnightly summary of global food safety issues.

Available on website only.

NUTTAB NUTTAB 2006 is an updated food composition publication containing data on the nutrient content of foods available in Australia.

Nutrition information panel calculator A database to allow industry to calculate NIPs

Released August 2001.

Pãnui - Ngã Kaitohutohu Kounga Kai

(Newsletter for the maori Reference Group)

Newsletter published three to four times a year. Provides the maori Network and interested stakeholders with updates on Kaitohutohu and FSANZ activities, the regulatory environment in New Zealand and Australia, and general information.

First published December 2009. Available by email and website.

The Analysis of Food-Related Health Risks Publication providing information on the risk analysis process used by FSANZ to identify, assess and manage food-related health risks within a structured framework.

February 2009.

170




Title Description

Safe Food Australia 2nd edition January 2001

(A Guide to the Food Safety Standards)

This book contains Chapter 3 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (Applies to Australia only). The guide had been prepared to assist with the interpretation of three of the food safety standards in Chapter 3 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. They are: 3.1.1 Interpretation and Application; 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General requirements; 3.2.3 Food Premises and equipment.

Available from Anstat at cost and from the website free-of-charge.

Science Strategy 2010 -15 Published 2010

Thinking about having a baby? Important things you need to know about what you eat and drink

Pamphlet providing nutritional information for women who may be thinking about getting pregnant

Fact sheets 2010-11

FSANZ Response to 60 minutes story (6 June 2011)

e-coli outbreak in Germany (3 June 2011)

FSANZ risk assessment on antibiotic use in New Zealand apples (16 may 2011)

Hormonal growth promotants in beef (31 march 2011)

Safety of food from Japan (18 march 2011)

Industrial hemp as a food (15 march 2011)

Irradiation of persimmons (Application A1038) (15 march 2011)

Quorn (mycoprotein) (24 march 2011)

Country of Origin labelling in Australia – information for consumers (February 2011)

Nutrition Claims (December 2010)

Food Derived from Gm Plants Containing Stacked Genes (December 2010)

Pine nuts (December 2010)

Choosing healthier fats and oils (December 2010)

Bisphenol A (BPA) and food packaging (July 2011)

listeria and food - the risk to people with weakened immune systems (10 November 2010)

Recall of weight loss products (25 October 2010)

Iodine in Food (October 2010)

Food derived from cloned animals and their offspring (August 2010)

Aspartame (August 2010)

Fact sheets on food issues for 2010-11.

Available on the FSANZ website only.


171




Scientific publications

FSANZ staff member Journal Topic

Renee Sobolewski Judy Cunningham Dorothy mackerras

Nutrition and Dietetics 2010 67:37-40

Which Australian food composition database should I use?

Judy Cunningham Shari Tompsett Janice Abbey Renee Sobolewski Dorothy mackerras

Australasian Epidemiologist 2010 17.1:32-34

Food composition – essential data in epidemiological studies of food and health.

Judy Cunningham Jacinta Dugbaza Dorothy mackerras

Australasian Epidemiologist 2010 17.1:6

Update on trans fatty acid intakes (letter)

Dorothy mackerras Julie Boorman

Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health (in press)

estimating the impact of mandatory fortification of bread with iodine on pregnant and post-partum women

Dorothy mackerras Judy Cunningham Ann Hunt Paul Brent

American Journal of Epidemiology. 2010 march 15 171(6):746-7

Re: "effect of supplemental folic acid in pregnancy on childhood asthma: a prospective birth cohort study" (letter)

Scott Crerar Food Control (2010) Recent experiences with listeria monocytogenes in New Zealand and Development of a Food Control Risk-Based Strategy

Judy Cunningham Nutrition & Dietetics 2010; 67: 182–189

evaluation of the composition of omega-3 fatty acids in dietary oil supplements

Dorothy mackerras Nutrition & Dietetics 2010; 67: 171-176

The Aboriginal Birth Cohort Study: When is a cohort study not a cohort design?

Janis Baines Judy Cunningham Christel leemhuis Tracy Hambridge Dorothy mackerras

Nutrients 2011, 3(1):164–185

Risk Assessment to underpin food regulatory decisions: an example of public health nutritional epidemiology

Judy Cunningham Renee Sobolewski

Journal of Food Composition & Analysis 2011

Food composition databases for nutrition labelling: experience from Australia

172




FSANZ staff member Journal Topic

Dorothy mackerras The Medical Journal of Australia 194:126–130, 2011

Iodine status of Aboriginal teenagers in the Darwin region before mandatory fortification of bread

leise Berven Scott Crerar Hong Jin Joel Tan

EcoHealth. volume 7, S1-S2, 2011

Approach to Determining the BSe Food Safety Risk of Countries

Scott Crerar Food Control 2011 Controlling Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods: Working towards global scientific consensus and harmonization - Recommendations for improved prevention and control

Janine lewis British Journal of Nutrition (in press)

The regulation of protein content and quality in national and international food standards

173A P P e N D I x 8 – C A T e G O R I e S O F D O C U m e N T S H e l D


Appendix 8 – Categories of documents held

Administration

Documents relating to administration include personnel, finance, property and resource

management records.

Agreements

FSANZ holds copies of the following agreements:

• TheAgreementbetweentheCommonwealthofAustralia,thestates,theNorthern

Territory of Australia and the Australian Capital Territory in relation to the adoption of

uniform food standards (2000).

• TheAgreementbetweentheCommonwealthofAustraliaandNewZealand

establishing a system for the development of joint food standards which was signed in

1995 and came into effect in 1996. (This document can be found on the Internet under

the Australian Treaty Series 1996 Number 12). This link is available from our website at

www.foodstandards.gov.au together with links to all relevant legislation).

Food recalls

A full list of the products involved and the reasons for each recall are given in an end-of-year

food recall report. A summary appears in this annual report.

Briefs, submissions and reports

We prepare and hold copies of briefing papers, submissions and reports relevant to

specific functions. Briefing papers and submissions include those prepared for ministers,

Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation ministerial Council, Food Regulation Standing

Committee, Implementation Sub Committee and other committees.

Databases

We maintain a wide range of computer databases to support our information and processing

needs, including the Australian Nutrient Databank and our dietary modelling software

(DIAmOND). All are held in our Canberra office.

174 A P P e N D I x 8 – C A T e G O R I e S O F D O C U m e N T S H e l D


Files

Both paper-based and computer-based records are maintained on FSANZ’s activities. They

primarily relate to the processing of applications or proposals associated with a draft standard

or a draft variation to a standard. While most of these records are held in our Canberra office,

some are held in the Wellington office.

Finance documents

We maintain a series of documents relating to FSANZ financial management, including our

chart of accounts, expenditure and revenue ledgers and appropriation ledger.

Freedom of information enquiries

Initial enquiries concerning access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act 1982

should be directed to the General manager (legal and Regulatory Affairs) on (02) 6271 2222.

Mailing lists

We maintain, for our own use, mailing lists to disseminate information to key stakeholders and

interested individuals. Documents distributed through this list include FSANZ annual reports,

Food Standards News, food standards, Food Surveillance News, information circulars,

information summaries, explanatory Notes and Statement of Reasons.

Maps and plans

maps and plans held are mainly working drawings, plans and specifications for our offices.

Public Register

We maintain a Public Register of documents for all applications and proposals. Applications,

public submissions and other associated material (with the exception of any commercially

confidential material or other confidential information), as well as relevant FSANZ documents

are placed on the Public Register file.

The Public Register files are now generally available electronically. members of the public

wishing to access files no longer have to come to the Canberra or Wellington offices to view

the documents.

175A P P e N D I x 8 – C A T e G O R I e S O F D O C U m e N T S H e l D


Public Register files can be inspected for an administrative charge with five working days

notice. In Australia, the charge is: 1 file AU$110; 2-4 files AU$145; and 5 or more files

AU$180. Copying, postage and CDs are charged in addition to these costs. The charge may

be partially or fully waived for academic institutions, private individuals, community, consumer

or non-profit organisations.

Review and research

Documents relating to policy review, dietary surveys, labelling research and organisational and

communications reviews are held in our Canberra office.

Media releases

All media releases are available on request. They can also be accessed from the FSANZ

website at www.foodstandards.gov.au.

Publications

See Appendix 6 for a list of current publications.

176 A P P e N D I x 9 – C O N S U l T A N T S


Appendix 9 – Consultants

Consultancies worth $10,000 or more carried out in FSANZ during 2010-11:

Consultant Nature of consultancy Amount – excl GST

Reason for use

Selection process

Face 2 Face Recruitment Pty ltd

Temporary Staff & Placement Fees

20,888.00 A Selective Tender

SOS Recruitment Temporary Staff & Placement Fees


executive Intelligence Group Pty ltd (eIG)

executive Search & Recruitment Services

26,343.75 B Sole Source

Newspoll market Research

Fortification Survey 71,760.00 B Panel

OmNI Potent Solutions

Software support enhancements and maintenance of the Australian Nutrients Data bank (ANDB)

16,912.50 A,B Part of an existing contract

Protiviti Pty ltd Provision of Internal Audit Services

67,480.00 B Selective Tender

Quality management Solutions (QmS)

HR Advice 57,980.00 B Selective Tender

Sardi Business Services

Design of survey administration guidelines

42,545.46 B Open Tender

Stamford Interactive Pty ltd

Review of website content management system

38,640.00 C Selective Tender

The Public Affairs Recruitment Company (TPARC)

Recruitment Services 27,867.73 B Sole Source

Australian National University (ANU)

estimating the burden of foodborne illness in Australia circa 2010

12,763.63 B Sole Source

177A P P e N D I x 9 – C O N S U l T A N T S



Reason for use

Selection process

Biotext Pty ltd Imported Food Advice Review (2)

18,181.82 C Open Tender

Cantlie Recruitment Services

Recruitment Services 24,332.60 B Sole Source

Cogent Business Solutions Pty ltd

Project management of an integrated database application (Harvest)

96,086.37 A,B Open Tender

Department of Agriculture Fisheries and Forestry

Report on meat imports 14,200.00 B Sole Source

estendart limited Hazard Assessment of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids

75,514.57 B,C Selective Tender

Graeme Drake T/A's GeD Advisory

Imported Food Advice Review (1)

45,454.55 C Open Tender

Kerry Belll Development of a food incident protocol

16,045.17 A,B Sole source

Newspoll market Research

Sports Food Survey 69,533.00 B Panel

Oakton Services Pty limited

Review of National Food Incident Protocol


Peoplebank Australia ltd

Consultancy Services for software development, software support and enhancement of dietary modelling data management system

23,172.25 A,B Part of an existing contract

TTCo Pty ltd HBDI Profiles and facilitation 11,980.73 B Sole Source

Wardy IT Solutions Information Technology Training 13,040.00 A Selective Tender

Assure Quality Australia Pty ltd

Packaging material Survey 49,615.75 A,B Open Tender

178 A P P e N D I x 9 – C O N S U l T A N T S



Reason for use

Selection process

Australian Chamber of Fruit and vegetable Industries ltd (ACFvI)

Fresh Test Data Sales 50,000.00 C Sole Source

eSR limited 24th Australian Diet Survey 20,698.48 C Panel

National measurement Institute (NmI)

24th Australian Diet Survey 100,358.41 C Panel


The National Health Survey Food Analysis Program

88,808.75 A,B Open Tender

Symbio Analysis of sausages, cordial and dried fruit for sulphites

14,251.85 C Panel

Fujitsu Development of an integrated database application (Harvest)

731,844.00 B Open Tender

TOTAL $1,931,388.74

A – skills currently unavailable within agency

B – need for specialised or professional skills

C – need for independent research or assessment

179A P P e N D I x 1 0 – F S A N Z R e P R e S e N T A T I O N


Appendix 10 – FSANZ representation

International forums attended, including Codex/WHO/FAO

Date International Committee Meeting or Conference

Who Attended Country

21-29 June 2010 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Health Canada Statistics Canada

Renee Sobolewski United States, Canada

30 June – 1 July 2010

Physical Working Group meeting for Scientific Issues Related to the establishment of Codex Nutrient Reference values for vitamins and minerals

Jenny Hazelton Republic of Korea

5-9 July 2010 33rd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)

Paul Brent Switzerland

5 July 2010 World Organisation for Animal Health (OIe)

Andrew Bartholomaeus Scott Crerar

France

7-8 July 2010 United Kingdom Food Standards Agency (UKFSA); Department of environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DeFRA); and The Food and environment Research Agency (FeRA)

Andrew Bartholomaeus Scott Crerar

United Kingdom

12-17 July 2010 United States Department of Agriculture (USDA); Institute of medicine (IOm) & National Institute of environmental Health Sciences (NIeHS); International life Sciences Institute (IlSI); Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN); monsanto Headquarters; and International Food Nanoscience Conference

Andrew Bartholomaeus United States

21-23 July 2010 Global Food Network Asia Foodnet Workshop on National Food Safety emergency Response Planning, Bangkok, in collaboration with WHO/FAO

melanie Fisher Thailand

180 A P P e N D I x 1 0 – F S A N Z R e P R e S e N T A T I O N




25-26 July 2010 New Zealand Food and Grocery Council/New Zealand Retailers meeting

melanie Fisher Steve mcCutcheon Dean Stockwell leigh Henderson

New Zealand

23 Aug –10 Sep 2010

QUADS Food Standards Regulatory economics Working Group Workshop. meetings with Canadian Government and UKFSA officials

melanie Fisher Jason march

United States, Canada, United Kingdom

8-11 September 2010

Prion 2010 – From Agent to Disease, Annual International meeting for TSe and related prion diseases

Scott Crerar Salzburg, Austria

20-21 September 2010

Seminar and Workshop on Nutrition labelling Claims and Communication Strategies for the Consumers

Hazel Fowler malaysia

20 – 23 September 2010

International life Sciences Institute Southeast Asia Region Seminars on Science and Regulatory Perspectives on Stacked events in Genetically modified Crops

Janet Gorst Thailand, Indonesia

27-30 September 2010

Codex Committee for North America and the South West Pacific (CCNASWP) regional coordination meeting and workshop on date-marking

Jane Allen Tonga

2-25 October 2010 WHO/IASO Technical meeting on Nutrient Profiling Free University of Amsterdam & Wageningen University; Joint Cochrane Collaboration and Campbell Collaboration Colloquium; and Health Canada

Dorothy mackerras United Kingdom Netherlands United States Canada

5-6 October 2010 International Workshop on Food Safety Risk Assessment Capacity Building in the Countries of Asia Pacific Region

Steve mcCutcheon Republic of Korea

12-13 October 2010

The european Food Safety Authority (eFSA) Colloquium xv on emerging Risks in Food

Christel leemhuis Italy





20-22 October 2010

Symposium: Frontiers in Food Allergen Risk Assessment

Hikmat Hayder France

30 October –5 November 2010

Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses

Janine lewis Chile

2-5 November 2010

Total Diet Study Workshop Christel leemhuis Taiwan

1-5 November 2010

Joint FAO/WHO expert meeting to Review Toxicological and Health Aspects of Bisphenol A

Rainer Reuss Canada

5-8 November 2010

APeC Food Safety Corporation Forum (FSCF) Partnership Training Institute Network (PTIN) workshop on Capacity Building in Food Safety: Developing Food Safety Plans for the Supply Chain; and APeC Food Safety Corporation Forum (FSCF) Partnership Training Institute Network (PTIN) Steering Group meeting

Steve mcCutcheon Duncan Craig Sonia Bradley

China

8-11 November 2010

IDF World Dairy Summit Jane Allen Patricia Blenman Dennis Thomas

Auckland

15-16 November 2010

Codex Committee on Food labelling (CCFl) facilitated Workshop on Gm labelling

Jane Allen Belgium

17 November 2010 2010 Taiwan-Australia Post market Food Surveillance Workshop

Carolyn mooney Taiwan

18-20 November FAO/WHO Workshop – Use of Science throughout the Food Chain for Safe Foods

Steve Crossley Indonesia

29 November – 3 December 2010

42nd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene

Amanda Hill Uganda

6 December 2010 United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA)

Amanda Hill United States

13-16 December 2010

INFOSAN 1st Global meeting Paul Brent Barbara Butow

Abu Dhabi, United Arab emirates





1-2 march 2011 6th APeC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance Conference on Good Regulatory Practice.

Sonia Bradley United States

6-10 march 2011 The Society of Toxicology Annual meeting Utz mueller United States

9-18 march 2011 43rd Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA)

Paul Brent China

18-30 march 2011 Joint FAO/WHO Workshop to Develop Guidance for Application of Risk Analysis During Safety emergencies

melanie Fisher Italy

21-25 march 2011 5th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food (CCCF)

leigh Henderson The Netherlands

27–30 march 2011 International Symposium Dietary Protein for Human Health

Janine lewis New Zealand

28 march – 1 April 2011

US FDA open forum on colours and behavioural effects in children

leigh Henderson United States

11-13 April 2011 WHO-Western Pacific Region: Technical Consultation on Identifying Approaches to Controlling Obesity

Dorothy mackerras Australia

11 may 2011 IlSI – HeSI Biotechnology Workshop lynda Graf France

12-13 may 2011 18th meeting of the OeCD Task Force for the Safety of Novel Foods and Feeds

lynda Graf France

9-13 may 2011 Codex Committee on Food labelling, 39th Session

Jane Allen Tracey Cridge

Canada

13-18 may 2011 APeC FSCF meeting and related events Steve mcCutcheon Paul Brent melanie Fisher Sonia Bradley

United States

16-17 may 2011 QUADS Social Research Coordination Group Technical Workshop

melanie Fisher Trevor Webb Hazel Fowler Jason march

Canada





17-19 may 2011 Assessing impacts of chemical contaminants in foods and feedstuffs

leigh Henderson Rosalind Dalefield lynne Waterson Kate Noonan

New Zealand

16-20 may 2011 Prion 2011 – New World Congress and meetings with Health Canada and CFIA

Scott Crerar Canada

18 may 2011 Joint QUADS Social Research Coordination Group and Food Safety Regulatory economics Working Group day


Canada

19-20 may 2011 QUADS Food Safety Regulatory economics Working Group Workshop


Canada

14-23 June 2011 74th meeting of the Joint FAO/WHO expert Committee on Food Additives (JeCFA)

Utz mueller Tracy Hambridge

Italy

21-23 June 2011 Nutrition labelling Conference; Novel Foods Workshop

Dean Stockwell Belgium

Speaking engagements

Date Event Presenter(s) Title

July 2010 Food Standards Agency (UK)

Andrew Bartholomaeus Sources of novelty in nanotechnology in food

July 2010 IFT conference Chicago Andrew Bartholomaeus Sources of novelty in nanotechnology in food

July 2010 Food and Drug Administration (US)

Andrew Bartholomaeus Sources of novelty in nanotechnology in food

5 July 2010 Australian Wine Industry Technical Conference, Adelaide

Tracey Cridge Wine labelling: nutrition, health claims and advisory statements




6 July 2010 Australian Beverages Council Technical School, Sydney

Tracey Cridge Food standards and labelling

26 July 2010 NZFGC/FSANZ meeting leigh Henderson When science and public opinion diverge – BPA case study

12 August 2010 Dairy Industry Association of Australia Conference

Ben Daughtry management of Raw milk Products

13 August 2010 Australian Speciality Cheesemakers’ Association seminar

Ben Daughtry management of Raw milk Products

19 August 2010 Biotechnology lecture, Australian National University

lynda Graf Health advisory label on alcoholic beverages

24 August 2010 Codex Stakeholder forum, Sydney

leigh Henderson, Glenn Stanley

The importance of supporting the scientific process

26 August 2010 Food science lecture, University of Canberra

Paul Brent Food legislation and standards

10 September 2010

Food science lecture, University of Canberra

Judy Cunningham Food legislation and standards

29 September 2010

Society of Risk Analysis Conference

Hong Jin Ben Daughtry

An exposure assessment of verocytotoxin producing Escherichia coli contamination in fermented sausages

30 September 2010


Duncan Craig Food microbiology

21 October 2010 Food science lecture, University of Canberra

michelle Robertson Food processing

1 September 2010

OzFoodNet Face to Face meeting, melbourne

Barbara Butow Hepatitis A in semi-dried tomatoes: Summary of National Incident Response debrief

9 September 2010

Presentation, University of Wollongong

Trevor Webb Social science and food regulation




20 September 2010

International life Sciences Institute Seminar and Workshop on Nutrition labelling, Claims and Communication Strategies for the Consumer, malaysia

Hazel Fowler Consumer Understanding and Use of Nutrition labels and Claims – Findings from Australia and New Zealand

21 September 2010

Food science lectures, University of Otago, Dunedin

Diane Bourn Food labelling

23 September 2010


Kirsti mcvay Food labelling

7 October 2010 Seminar, Nutrition Department, Free University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Dorothy mackerras mandatory fortification of bread with iodine in Australia and New Zealand

14 October 2010 Food science lecture, University of Canberra

Janice Abbey & Carolyn mooney

Food Surveillance in Australia and New Zealand

22 October 2010 Seminar, Statistics Department, massey University, Palmerston North

michelle Gosse Hunting the snark: trying to find the elusive characteristics of products and consumer attributes that explain consumer purchase decisions on food products


Dorothy mackerras Health claims on food labels – approaches being considered nationally and internationally

29 October 2010 Complementary Healthcare Council National Conference

Sue Cassidy, Catherine Deeps

Proposed Review of Formulated Supplementary Sports Foods

11 November 2010


Trevor Webb Social sciences and food regulation

3 November 2010

Seminar, mRC Human Nutrition Research Unit, University of Cambridge, UK

Dorothy mackerras mandatory fortification of bread with iodine in Australia and New Zealand

9 November 2010

International Seafood and Health Conference, melbourne

lydia Buchtmann Risk communication




17 November 2010

2010 Taiwan-Australia Post market Food Surveillance Workshop (Taiwan)

Carolyn mooney The Australian and New Zealand Food regulatory system and food surveillance

3 December 2010

Australian Consortium for Social and Political Research Incorporated (ACSPRI), Social Science methodology Conference 2010, Sydney

michelle Gosse Studying food choices – how should we do this?

8 December 2010

Food Safety victoria Steve mcCutcheon Role of Food Standards Australia New Zealand

10 February 2011

Seminar, Department of Health and Ageing, Canberra

Dorothy mackerras Iodine status of Aboriginal teenagers in the Darwin region

14 February 2011 Home economics Association Curriculum Day, melbourne

lydia Buchtmann Food regulatory system

1 march 2011 6th APeC SCSC Conference on Good Regulatory Practice

Sonia Bradley APeC Food Safety Cooperation Forum

15 march 2011 Foodservice Suppliers Association Australia Breakfast Forum - melbourne

Utz mueller Where Are We with Genetically modified Foods?

28 march 2011 lecture at University of Wollongong, NSW

Dorothy mackerras The food regulation system


Jacinta Dugbaza Food composition monitoring and development of survey food composition databases


Jacinta Dugbaza Food fortification monitoring – case study using FSANZ 2010 bread survey


Dorothy mackerras methods for deciding on fortification vehicles





Dorothy mackerras monitoring fortification – regulation perspective and health outcome perspective


Dorothy mackerras Developing food guides: Dietary modelling for revising the Core Food Groups in Australia

30 march 2011 International Symposium on Dietary Protein for Human Health

Janine lewis The regulation of protein content and quality in national and international food standards

14 April 2011 Seminar, Department of Health and Human Services, victoria

Dorothy mackerras Iodine status of Aboriginal teenagers in the Darwin region

9 may 2011 University of Canberra Hikmat Hayder Food allergens: from science to regulation

14 may 2011 APeC, montana, United States

melanie Fisher Food safety incident management in the government, industry and retail sectors – best practice and challenges

18 may 2011 Assessing impacts of chemical contaminants in foods and feedstuffs

leigh Henderson exposure assessment and Australia’s National Food Incident Plan

19 may 2011 Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Washington DC

Tracey Cridge Alcohol regulation – Australia and New Zealand

22 June 2011 Allergen Bureau/ IlSI Australasia Symposium on food allergens

Hikmat Hayder Outcomes of the allergen review

188 A P P e N D I x 1 1 – F S A N Z B O A R D m e m B e R S


Appendix 11 – FSANZ Board members, attendance, qualifications and experience

Table 1. Board attendance

Member Meetings Teleconferences

ms Philippa Smith Am (Chair) 4/4 5/5

Dr michele Allan 4/4 3/5

Professor Katrine Baghurst 3/4 5/5

mr Peter Boyden 3/4 5/5

ms Jenni mack 4/4 5/5

mr Steve mcCutcheon (CeO) 4/4 5/5

Dr Andrew mcKenzie 0/0 1/1

Dr James (Gardner) murray AO 4/4 2/5

mr Tony Nowell CNZm 4/4 5/5

Associate Professor Winsome Parnell 3/4 5/5

Dr Dave Roberts 4/4 4/5

Associate Professor Peter Williams 4/4 5/5

ms Dianne Yates 2/2 3/3

Observer

Dr Anne Astin/mr Stan Goodchild (alternate) 4/4 1/1

189A P P e N D I x 1 1 – F S A N Z B O A R D m e m B e R S


Table 2. Finance, Audit and Risk Management Committee attendance

Member Meetings

Dr michele Allan (FARmC Chair) 4/4

ms Philippa Smith Am (Board Chair) 4/4

mr Peter Boyden 4/4

Dr Dave Roberts 4/4

Observers

mr Steve mcCutcheon (CeO) 4/4

ms Audrey Gormley (Chief Finance Officer) 4/4

Food Standards Australia New Zealand Board expertise and experience (2010-2011)

Ms Philippa Smith AM (term expires 30.06.2012)

ms Philippa Smith, Am [s.116(1)(a)] was appointed Chair of the FSANZ Board in July 2008. ms

Smith is a former Commonwealth Ombudsman, CeO of the Association of Superannuation

Funds of Australia and the inaugural Chair of the Consumer’s Health Forum. She currently serves

on the boards of a number of organisations, including the Australian Institute of Public Health

and the Sax Institute. ms Smith has developed strong strategic skills and extensive experience in

ensuring effective accountability and governance structures across a number of portfolios.

Dr Michele Allan (term expires 30.06.2013)

Dr michele Allan [s.116(1)(f)] has strong leadership experience across many facets of

the food industry including a CeO position in a publicly listed food company. Her areas

of expertise include leadership, manufacturing strategy, organisational strategy, risk and

insurance leadership, food safety systems implementation, food packaging innovation and

commercialisation. Dr Allan has held senior executive positions with Amcor limited, Bonlac

Foods, Bioinformatics Centre of excellence Tasmania, Kraft Foods and ICI. She has held board

positions within both the private and public sectors. She currently holds board positions at

William Angliss Institute, CaromelOcean limited and the standing committee for audit and risk

with the Department of Primary Industries victoria.



Professor Katrine Baghurst (term expires 30.06.2013)

Professor Katrine Baghurst [s.116(1)(e)] has been involved in research and in translation of

research to practice in the nutrition field in both Australia and New Zealand over the past 30

years, notably at the CSIRO Human Nutrition Division. Her extensive experience makes her a

specialist in relation to determining food choice, consumer needs, current dietary patterns in

the community and nutritional and food education. Professor Baghurst is an Adjunct Professor

in the Department of medicine, University of Adelaide and currently works as a nutrition

consultant.

Mr Peter Boyden (term expires 30.06.2013)

mr Peter Boyden [s.116(1)(g)] is an internationally experienced CeO with extensive general

management and marketing experience gained in consumer foods businesses in Australia,

United Kingdom, Netherlands and Greece. His most recent corporate role was managing

Director and regional Board member of the Unilever Australasian foods business and a

Board member of the Australian Food and Grocery Council. He is currently a Principal at

The Adelante Group (senior executive mentoring), is a non-executive director of meat and

livestock Australia, and Chairman of Dairy Innovation Australia ltd. His areas of responsibility

have included the management of consumer marketing, product and packaging development,

food production and general management, where he has focused on strategy development

and portfolio management.

Ms Jenni Mack (term expires 30.06.2013)

ms Jenni mack [s.116(1)(d)] has worked in consumer affairs since 1993 when she was

executive Director of the Australian Federation of Consumer Organisations. Her work

has spanned food, chemicals, telecommunications, energy and financial services policy

incorporating areas such as industry self-regulatory and co-regulatory practices, professional

standards and codes of practice. ms mack has worked closely with regulators and

government agencies on good regulatory science, community education, licensing, best

practice enforcement and compliance schemes, and community and social research projects.

Mr Steve McCutcheon (term expires 30.06.2015)

mr Steve mcCutcheon [s.116(1)(B)] was appointed CeO of FSANZ in October 2007. Prior to

his appointment, mr mcCutcheon held a number of senior executive positions in the Australian

Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. During that time he led the



team that developed the new food regulatory framework for Australia and New Zealand under

the auspices of the Council of Australian Governments. He also led the Australian delegation

to annual sessions of the Codex Alimentarius Commission from 2004-2007. mr mcCutcheon

holds a Bachelor of economics degree and has undertaken further studies in public law and

public policy. The Chief executive Officer of FSANZ is an ex officio member of the Board.

Dr Andrew McKenzie (term expires 30.06.2014)

Dr Andrew mcKenzie [s 116(1)(c)] began work in the New Zealand meat and seafood industries

and his early career included government veterinary positions in the meat industry, technical

positions in the then ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (mAF) and foreign affairs service

in europe looking after issues relating to trade in animal products. He became mAF’s Chief

veterinary Officer with responsibility for the regulation of primary processing and market access

assurances for meat and seafood exports.

He eventually became Chief of mAF’s regulatory authority which included responsibility for

exports of all foods and food-related products. He then set up and led the New Zealand Food

Safety Authority (NZFSA) in 2002 – an integrated food safety agency. Dr mcKenzie led the

agency until his retirement in June 2010. Dr mcKenzie has extensive experience in domestic

food safety policy and standards, as well as international food safety and trade standards at the

bilateral and multilateral level. As head of NZFSA, he has been involved with and led a number

of national and international crisis management situations. Consequently, he has developed

extensive international networks. Dr mcKenzie has a continuing interest in management and

governance, as well as contemporary regulatory approaches to food safety / quality and trade,

particularly around standard-setting. Dr mcKenzie has post-graduate qualifications from massey

University in veterinary public health.

Dr James (Gardner) Murray AO (term expires 30.06.2013)

Dr Gardner murray [s.116(1)(f)] has extensive experience in food safety and veterinary science.

He holds numerous high level positions including Non-executive Governing Board member

at the Australian Biosecurity Cooperative Research Centre for emerging Infectious Diseases,

and special adviser to the World Animal Health Organisation (OIe). Dr murray has extensive

experience in the field of agricultural food safety and standards, zoonoses and emerging

threats.



Mr Tony Nowell CNZM (term expires 30.06.2013)

mr Tony Nowell [s.116(1A)] is a professional company director and Founding Director of

valadenz limited, a company formed to help develop New Zealand’s trade and export sector.

He was previously the CeO of Zespri International, the world’s leading marketer of kiwifruit,

and prior to that managing Director of Griffin’s Foods limited, New Zealand’s market leading

biscuit & snack food manufacturer, a subsidiary of France’s Groupe Danone until it divested

to Pacific equity Partners in June 2006. He prepared and managed the divestment process

in collaboration with UBS. From 1997 to 1999, he was the Regional vice President of Sara

lee Asia and prior to this the Zone manager for Sara lee Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand

from 1995 to 1997 and managing Director of Sara lee Indonesia from 1991 to 1994. He was

managing Director of l’Oreal Indonesia from 1987 to 1990 and Operations manager of l’Oreal

New Zealand from 1981 to 1986. mr Nowell was involved in the hotel industry from 1973

to 1981.

His other roles and responsibilities include: Chair of Scion (the Forest Research Institute of

New Zealand), Chair of New Zealand Food Innovation (manukau), Deputy Chair of leadership

New Zealand, Board member of The Royal New Zealand Ballet Company, Board member of

listed technology company Wellington Drive Technologies, member of the export Advisory

Board of Business New Zealand, Trustee of Asia: NZ Foundation, Trustee of Anew New

Zealand Trust, Trustee of Snowvision New Zealand Trust and former Chair of the New Zealand

Packaging Accord Governing Board and the New Zealand Government Food and Beverage

Taskforce.

Associate Professor Winsome Parnell (term expired 30.06.2011)

Associate Professor Winsome Parnell [s. 116(1)(ca)] is currently the Director of Nutrition for the

National Nutrition Survey, New Zealand. She has extensive experience in human nutrition and

infant feeding practices in New Zealand and the Pacific. Dr Parnell has been involved in various

consultations including for FSANZ on Nutritional Claims on Foods in 2000. Her work has

included providing technical advice to government, industry and public health organisations on

nutrition matters.

Dr David Roberts (term expires 30.06.2013)

Dr David Roberts [ s.116(1)(g)] is a Food and Nutrition Consultant with extensive experience

in health and science. He has expertise in public health, food science, food allergy, human

nutrition, food safety, food industry, food processing/retail, government and regulation.



Dr Roberts has held senior positions at the Australian Food and Grocery Council and the

University of Newcastle and served as the NSW Branch Chair of the Australian Institute of

Food Science and Technology.

Associate Professor Peter Williams (term expires 30.06.2013)

Associate Professor Peter Williams [s.116(1)(f)] brings to the Board a strong background in

public health, human nutrition, food service management and consumer studies. He is an

Associate Professor in the School of Health Sciences at the Wollongong University and led the

regulatory affairs work of the National Centre of excellence in Functional Foods. Before his

employment at Wollongong, Associate Professor Williams was the Director of Scientific and

Consumer Affairs at Kelloggs for three years and previously worked as the Chief Dietitian and

Food Services manager at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Associate Professor Williams served a

two-year term as President of the Dietitians Association of Australia from 2001 and has served

on NHmRC working parties for the review of dietary guidelines for Australia and the review of

recommended nutrient intakes.

Ms Dianne Yates (resigned from Board 28.02.2011)

ms Dianne Yates, m.ed. (Howard, USA), B.A. (victoria, Wellington), Dip Tchg, NZCTC, lTCl.

ms Yates is a former labour member of Parliament in New Zealand, retiring in her 15th

year in the House. During this period she chaired the Foreign Affairs Defence and Trade

Select Committees, as well as the Government Administration Select Committee and the

education and Science Committee. She also served for three terms on the Regulations

Review Committee of the New Zealand Parliament and has been a member of the Health

Select Committee. The Human Assisted Reproductive Technology Act in New Zealand was a

private members bill in her name. Prior to Parliament ms Yates has had a career in education

(teaching and management) in New Zealand, UK, Zimbabwe and USA at the secondary and

tertiary levels. ms Yates continues to serve the community on the local WINTeC Council, Trust

Waikato, and the New Zealand learning media limited.

Note: The reference after each member’s name refers to the role specified in section 40 of the Food Standards

Australia New Zealand Act 1991 which the member fulfils. All members, with the exception of the CeO of FSANZ, are part-time. members are listed alphabetically after the Chairman.

194 A P P e N D I x 1 2 – F S A N Z S T R A T e G Y m A P 2 0 0 9 - 1 2


Appendix 12 – FSANZ Strategy Map 2009-12

A safe food supply which supports the health of people in Australia and New Zealand Vision

Strategic Imperatives

Objectives

Outcomes

Mission

Values

Develop and sustain effective food standards in collaboration with Australian and New Zealand Governments

Consistency in our work through transparency, proactive and inclusive relationships with everyone we engage with.

A complete version of FSANZ Corporate Plan 2009-12 is available on our website www.foodstandards.gov.au

REGULATORY STANDARDS

Enhancing the quality of regulatory standards

STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS

Building stronger stakeholder relationships

PEOPLE & ORGANISATIONAL CAPABILITY

Continuing to strengthen the capability & capacity of FSANZ

ACCOUNTABILITY

Complying with relevant governance and accountability requirements

• Clear, easy to understand standards

• Standards soundly based on evidence

• Standards that anticipate innovation and new technologies

• Shared understanding of FSANZ’s role

• FSANZ reputation for being proactive and alert

• Credibility and trust in FSANZ

• Increased efficiency of our organisational processes

• An enhanced reputation for being a safe, professionally rewarding and productive workplace

• Maintain a culture of excellent governance

• Ensuring appropriate systems are in place and checked regularly

• Ready acceptance of standards by jurisdictions & industry

• Easier implementation by jurisdiction & industry

• Standards that are useful to consumers (understandable and beneficial)

• Professional and constructive relationships with all stakeholders

• A strong sense of engagement with FSANZ amongst stakeholders

• A positive culture in FSANZ where staff feel motivated in their work, are valued and respected

• Total compliance with legislative and reporting requirements

• Government confidence in FSANZ ability to manage its work and resources

195A P P E N D I x 1 2 – F S A N Z S T R A T E G y M A P 2 0 0 9 - 1 2


Acronyms and Abbreviations

ACCC Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

ADI Acceptable daily intake

AFGC Australian Food and Grocery Council

ANAO Australian National Audit Office

ANZFRMC Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council

APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Forum)

APS Australian Public Service

APVMA Australian Pesticides and veterinary Medicines Authority

AQIS Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service

ASEAN Association of South-East Asian Nations

ATDS Australian Total Diet Study

AusAID Australian Agency for International Development

ATO Australian Taxation Office

BSE Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy

CCCF Codex Committee on Contaminants in Food

CCFA Codex Committee on Food Additives

CCFH Codex Committee on Food Hygiene

CCFL Codex Committee on Food Labelling

CCFICS Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection Certification Systems

CCGP Codex Committee on General Principles

CCPR Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues

COAG Council of Australian Governments

Codex Codex Alimentarius Commission and its committees

DAFF Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

196 A P P E N D I x 1 2 – F S A N Z S T R A T E G y M A P 2 0 0 9 - 1 2


DIAMOND Dietary Modelling of Nutritional Data (FSANZ)

EEO Equal Employment Opportunity

FAO Food and Agriculture Organization

FDA united States Food and Drug Administration

FOI Freedom of Information

FRSC Food Regulation Standing Committee

FSANZ Food Standards Australia New Zealand

FSANZ Act Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991

GM Genetically modified

IGA Inter-Government Agreement

ILSI International Life Sciences Institute

ISC Implementation Sub Committee

JECFA FAO/wHO Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives

JEMRA FAO/wHO Joint Expert Meeting on Microbiological Risk Assessment

MAF Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (New Zealand)

MoU Memorandum of understanding

MRL Maximum residue limit

NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council

NICNAS National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme

NUTTAB Nutrient content of food in Australia (publication)

OBPR Office of Best Practice Regulation

OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development

OGTR Office of the Gene Technology Regulator

OH&S Occupational Health and Safety

PMD Performance Management and Development initiative (FSANZ)

197A P P E N D I x 1 2 – F S A N Z S T R A T E G y M A P 2 0 0 9 - 1 2


QUADS Food Safety Quadrilateral meetings involving Australia, New Zealand, Canada

and the united States

RIS Regulatory Impact Statement

SCSC APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance

SDC Standard Development Committee (FSANZ)

SES Senior Executive Service

TGA Therapeutic Goods Administration

USFDA united States Food and Drug Administration

WHO world Health Organization

WTO world Trade Organization

198 I N D e x


Index

A

Abbey, Dr Janice, 88

academic institutions

engagement with, 59–60

accountability, 91–102

highlights, 92

objectives, 92

outcomes, 92

strategic imperative, 92

acrylamide

survey of levels of in food, 8

administration

documents, 173

Administrative Appeals Tribunal

review of decision re conjugated linoleic acid triglycerides, 36

administrative assessment

processes for assessing applications, 116

advantame, 56

advisory and liaison committees, 70

Advisory Committee for Fortification monitoring Bread Analysis Project

members, 122

Advisory Committee on Novel Foods, 7, 51

members, 122

Advisory Group for Food Composition

members, 121–2

agreements

documents, 173

Ahead of the game: blueprint for reform of Australian Government administration

and stakeholder relationships, 69

alcohol products

pregnancy advisory statements on, 6

alcohol strategies, 11

Allan, Dr michele, 99, 189

Allen, Jane, 88

allergenicity of new enzymes, 50–1

allergens see food allergens; undeclared allergens in products

Index

A

A2 milk, 72

abbreviations, 203–205

Abelson, Peter, 54

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on staff, 83

absenteeism, 76, 85

ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission), 15, 42, 67

accountability. see management and accountability

acronyms and abbreviations, 203–205

Adamowski, Gerard, 87

additives. see food additives

administrative assessment of procedures, 118

administrative documents, 83, 182

administrative expenditure, 100

adulteration of dairy products, 57

advisory and liaison committees, 60, 63–64

catering operations, 122–123

consumers, 64, 125

dietary exposure assessment, 123

egg Implementation Plan Working Group, 38–39

food composition, 124

Food Consumption Advisory Group, 51

fortification monitoring bread analysis project, 125

international food chemical safety, 58

novel foods, 125

retailers and manufacturers, 129–130

Social Science expert Advisory Group, 51, 53, 132

stakeholders, 51, 60

advisory statements, 33

age of staff, 81, 82

agreements

Australian Workplace Agreements, 84

bilateral partnership, 17

Collective Agreement, 84

Common law Agreements, 84

documents, 182

enterprise Agreement, 76, 84

199I N D e x


Allergy Alert notifications, 5

on social media, 8

Allergy New Zealand

and frozen crumbed seafood products containing an undeclared peanut allergen, 46

aluminium


Anaphylaxis Australia

and frozen crumbed seafood products containing an undeclared peanut allergen, 46

Anstat Pty ltd, 167

Application Handbook, 116, 117

on allergenicity of a new enzyme, 51

amendments to, 25

on nanotechnology, 36

applications

guidelines setting out mandatory information and format requirements for, 25

processes for assessing, 116–20

administrative assessment, 117

procedures, 117

assessment, 118–19

approval, 119

reasons for delays in consideration of, 30–2

see also applications received and proposals prepared; procedures for assessing applications

applications and proposals to change Food Standards Code

conjugated linoleic acid triglycerides, 36

genetically modified foods, 34–5

irradiation, 35–6

low THC hemp, 35

nanotechnology, 36–7

risk-based approach to assessment of, 11–12, 23–4

steviol glycosides, 35

applications received and proposals prepared

from 1 October 2007 onwards, 108–15

at 30 June 2011, 106–7

new and old procedures, 25–7

approval

processes for assessing applications, 119

Asia–Pacific economic Cooperation (APeC) Food Safety Cooperation Forum, 64–5, 68

Food Safety Incident Network, 65

200 I N D e x


Asia–Pacific region

capacity building activities, 65

relationships in, 64–5

assessment

ANAO audit of FSANZ in relation to, 30

processes for assessing applications, 118–19

2nd Assessment Report, 119

Section 18 Objectives, 118

Section 29 matters, 118, 119

Attorney-Generals Department

collaboration with re beef imports, 68, 73

Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation ministerial Council, 11, 94

amendments to Food Standards Code, 11

consideration of approved food standards, 119–20

food labelling law and policy, 38

nutrition and health claims standard, 39

policy guidelines, 33

regulatory management of food allergens, 37

reviews, 28, 120

Australia Day Achievement medallion, 80, 88

Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, 5, 167

application of to New Zealand, 10

applications to amend, 11

Centralised Interpretation Service and, 7

changes to initiated by FSANZ, 11

food safety standards, 88

gazetted amendments to, 9, 22, 24, 103–5

legislative audit, 50

publication on website of applications and submissions to amend, 9

variations to mRls in, 7

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource economics and Sciences drivers behind meat imports, 61

report on current and potential penetration of imports of beef, lamb and chicken into Australia, 38

Australian Bureau of Statistics and National Nutrition Survey, 15, 57

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

survey of levels of BPA in food, 43

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)

and mandatory reporting requirements re consumer goods (including food) associated with death, serious injury or illness, 47

memorandum of understanding with re misleading or deceptive conduct, 73

201I N D e x


Australian Consumer law (ACl)

and mandatory reporting requirements re consumer goods (including food) associated with death, serious injury or illness, 47

Australian Dietary Guidelines, 11

Australian Food and Grocery Council

and industry site visits, 78

Australian Food Safety Conference, 78

Australian Government and Parliament contact with, 96

Australian Health Survey (AHS), 53, 57

Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Convention, 78

Australian National Audit Office (ANAO)

audit of food recall processes, 47

audit of FSANZ in relation to the assessment of applications and proposals, 30

external audit of financial statements, 101

performance audit of FSANZ, 102

Australian National Food Plan

inclusion public health issues in, 71

Australian National Preventive Health Agency FSANZ and, 7

Australian Nutrient Databank, 54

Australian Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR)

and regulatory analysis, 61

Australian Pesticides and veterinary medicines Authority (APvmA)

dietary exposure assessment, 57

and variations to mRls in the Food Standards Code, 7, 15, 33, 74

Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS)

and imported food, 44–5, 120

and Imported Food Inspection Scheme, 74

and safety of food imported from Japan, 6, 45

Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Authority

and potential dietary exposure to radionuclides from food imported from Japan, 6, 45

Australian states and territories

and FSANZ food standards, 95

Australian Total Diet Study, 51–2

23rd, 52, 57

24th, 8, 9, 22, 43, 52

B

Baghurst, Professor Katrine, 190

Bartholomaeus, Dr Andrew, 90

202 I N D e x


beef and beef product imports, 68, 73

safety of, 9, 38, 41–2

see also bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSe)

Biosecurity Australia and BSe, 42

bisphenol A (BPA), 43, 44, 64

survey of levels of in food, 8, 43

Board, 12, 14, 98–9

and amendments to Food Standards Code, 11

and broader role for FSANZ than food regulation, 93

and ethical accountability, 93

and four-year financial plan, 16

and FSANZ Fellows program, 57

members

attendance, 188

expertise and experience, 189–93

bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSe), 41–2, 53

applications to have status assessed, 9, 23

consultations re, 73

and country of origin food labelling, 38

Boyden, Peter, 190

Brent, Dr Paul, 90

briefing notes, 92, 97

briefs, submissions and reports

documents, 173

bullying and harassment, 81

complaints, 80

see also Workplace Harassment Policy

business continuity management, 100

Business Continuity Plan, 83, 100

business planning and management, 100–2

Butler, Professor Jim

and high-impact low-probability disease events associated with some types of primary produce, 61

C

calcium lignosulphonate, 56

cannabis sativa, 35

Carpenter, valerie, 88

categories of documents held, 173–5

category 1 raw milk products, 7, 40


203I N D e x



Centralised Interpretation Service see Code Interpretation Service

CeO’s Half-Yearly Award, 88

Certificate of Compliance, 16

Chair’s Annual Development Award, 80, 88

chemical contaminants

survey of in coffee, 8, 52

survey of in packaging materials, 8, 57

Chief executive Instructions (CeIs), 100

Chief executive Officer, 12, 89, 98, 99

Review by, 5–8

Chief Scientist, 90

citizen and stakeholder engagement, 18, 19

citizen involvement, 70–2

Cleland, Dr Robyn, 73

the Code see Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code

Code Interpretation Service, 34

fee-for-service/cost-recovery, 7, 9, 34

Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), 8, 11, 62

committees, 23, 62

coffee

survey of chemical contaminants in, 8, 52

Commonwealth Authorities and Companies Act 1997 (CAC Act)

compliance with, 92, 99

communication, 76–8

Competition and Consumer Act 2010, 47

competitive tendering see consultants, competitive tendering and contractors

conjugated linoleic acid (ClA) triglycerides, 22, 36

consultants, competitive tendering and contractors, 102, 176–8

Consumer and Public Health Dialogue, 7, 9, 68, 71, 72

members, 123

consumer and social sciences advice and research, 50, 60–1

consumer expectations re food, 5–6

Consumer liaison Committee (ClC), 71

members, 123

contact packaging materials

migration of chemicals to food from, 44

survey, 53

contractors see consultants, competitive tendering and contractors

204 I N D e x


corporate governance arrangements, 96–102

corporate overview, 9–16

Corporate Plan 2009–12, 15, 100, 101

corporate planning see strategic and corporate planning

cost–benefit analysis

food-related health risks, 54

country of origin food labelling, 38, 61

Cunningham, Dr Judy, 80, 88

current publications, 77, 167–72, 175

general publications, 167–70

scientific publications, 171–2

D

Dack, Dr michael, 88

data collection and reporting, 53

data storage system see ‘Harvest’ database and modelling tool

databases, 173

Deeps, Catherine, 88

delays in consideration of applications and proposals

reasons for, 30–2

deliverables

qualitative deliverables, 18

quantitative deliverables, 19

delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) see low THC hemp foods

Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry


see also minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade


Department of Health and Ageing

and Australian Health Survey, 53

FSANZ and, 10

Outcome 1—Population Health – Program 1.1: Food regulatory activity and services to the minister and Parliament, 17, 94

review of nutrient reference values (rNRvs), 42

see also minister for Health and Ageing

Department of Health and Human Services (Tasmania)

staff exchange, 60

Department of Innovation, Industry Science and Research, 37

205I N D e x


Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research and funding of nanotechnology activities, 15

Deputy Chief executive Officer and General manager Food Standards (Canberra), 89

DIAmOND database and modelling tool, 54, 56

dietary exposure or intake assessments, 56–7

dietary modelling database, 56

remodelling of, 15

see also DIAmOND database and modelling tool; ‘Harvest’ database and modelling tool

Disability Recruitment Guidelines, 87

disaster recovery plan (ICT), 83, 92, 100

documents see categories of documents held

Duffy, Gillian, 80, 88

E

E. coli

recall, 48

economic analysis

food-related health risks, 54

eggs and egg products, 39–40

primary production and processing standard for, 7, 9, 22

regulatory impact analyses, 61

see also Standard Development Committee for eggs and egg Products

employee absence, 80, 87

employee Assistance Program, 86

employment environment, 81, 86–8

enterprise Agreement, 82, 86

enzyme processing aids

review of safety data requirements, 50–1

equal employment opportunity groups

staff, 85

ethical accountability, 93

european Food Safety Authority (eFSA)

and safety of steviol glycosides, 35

evidence base

accessing external expertise, 57–60

consumer and social sciences, 60–1

international networks, 62–4

regulatory analysis, 61

relationships in Asia–Pacific region, 64–5

science evidence base, 53–7

strengthening of, 53–65

206 I N D e x


executive, 12, 14, 88, 89–90

see also senior management

external audit of financial statements, 101

external expertise, 57–60

external FSANZ committee members, 121–31

F

Facebook site, 5, 68, 69, 76

files

documents, 174

Finance, Audit and Risk management Committee, 15, 99

attendance, 189

and four-year financial plan, 16

and internal audit program, 101

finance documents, 174

Finance minister’s Orders

compliance with, 92

financial outcomes, 15

financial performance

summary, 15–16

financial plan, four-year, 15–16

financial statements, 132–63

Fisher, melanie, 89

flexible working arrangements, 86

food additives, 9, 22

safety of, 7, 56–7

food allergens

review of regulatory management of, 37

see also undeclared allergens in products

Food Allergy and Intolerance Scientific Advisory Committee, 37

members, 123–4

Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Joint expert Committee on Food Additives


see also World Health Organization (WHO)/Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)

Food and Health Dialogue, 7

207I N D e x


food incidents, 9, 45, 88

dietary exposure assessments and, 57

see also Food Safety Incident Network (Asia–Pacific economic Cooperation (APeC) Food Safety Cooperation Forum); mandatory reporting requirements re consumer goods (including food) associated with death, serious injury or illness; National Food Incident Response Protocol

food incidents and food recalls, 45–9

see also food recalls

food labelling, 38–9

certain foods re food allergens, 37, 48, 49

country of origin, 38, 61

genetically modified foods, 72

genetically modified ingredients in soy-based infant formula, 52

intense sweeteners, 72

irradiated foods, 36

monitoring of, 39

New Zealand, 72

nutrition and health claims, 39

nutrition information panel and, 72

recall for non-compliance, 48, 49

revision of nutrient reference values (rNRvs) and, 42

see also labelling logic report; Review of Food labelling law and Policy

food packaging

and nanotechnology, 36

see also bisphenol A (BPA); packaging materials

food recall announcements, 5

food recalls

allergen-related, 48, 49

documents, 173

microbial contamination, 48

non-compliant labelling, 48, 49

peanut in soy flour, 46

review of recall coordination procedures, 47

statistics, 47–9

weight loss products

containing oleander seed, 9, 46

containing sibutramine, 46

see also national food recall system

food regulation

and internet, 5

Food Regulation ministerial Council see Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation ministerial Council

208 I N D e x


Food Regulation Standing Committee (FRSC), 94

Implementation Sub-Committee, 10, 94

food regulatory activity

summary, 24–34

food regulatory framework, 10–11

food safety, 43–4

imports from Japan see under Japan

surveys of, 8

Food Safety Cooperation Forum see Asia–Pacific economic Cooperation (APeC) Food Safety Cooperation Forum

Food Safety Incident management Workshop

Food Safety Cooperation Forum Partnership Training Institute Network, 65

Food Safety Incident Network (Asia–Pacific economic Cooperation (APeC) Food Safety Cooperation Forum), 65

Food Safety Information Council, 77

promotional activities, 68, 78

food safety risks, 89

horticulture production and processing, 23

monitoring and evaluating, 51–3

see also food-related health risks; risk analysis process; risk management

food safety standards, 88

Food Safety Week, 68, 78

Food Sector Advisory Committee (National measurement Institute), 74

food standards

costs and benefits of, 24

effective evidence-based, 18, 19

mandatory nature of, 23

see also standards development

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)

accountability, 91–102

and Australian states and territories, 95

Board see Board

corporate overview, 9–16

financial performance

summary, 15–16

financial statements, 132–63

functions and powers, 94, 164–6

funding, 93

goal, 94

and New Zealand, 95

people and organisational capability, 79–90

209I N D e x


priorities and performance 2010–11, 17–19

representation, 179–87

role

and priorities, 94–5

and responsibilities, 9–11

structure and processes, 11–15

and website, 5

Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991, 9, 94, 102, 106, 164

compliance with reporting requirements of, 92

Section 18 Objectives, 118

Section 29 matters, 118, 119

Food Standards Branch, 88–9

Food Standards Code see Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code

Food Standards News, 76, 77

Food Standards Notification Circular, 118, 119, 120

Food Surveillance Network

case study, 75

and Food Surveillance News, 77

members, 124

Food Surveillance News, 77

foodborne illnesses

cost of, 24

food-related health risks

analysis of, 54

foods requiring pre-market approval

safety of, 7

formulated supplementary sports foods and sports drinks, 60

fortification of food, 60, 61

Freedom of Information

inquiries, 174

requests, 76, 92, 95

frozen crumbed seafood products containing an undeclared peanut allergen recall, 46

FSANZ Fellows program, 57–9

Fellows 2010–11, 58–9

FSANZ student projects, 59

Fujitsu Australia and ‘Harvest’ database and modelling tool, 55

Fukushima see Japan nuclear incident

functions and powers, 164–6

functions, 164–5

powers, 166

funding, 93

210 I N D e x


G

gap analysis, 83

gazetted amendments to Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code from 1 July 2010 to 30 June 2011, 9, 22, 24, 103–5

Amendment No. 117 (1 July 2010), 103

Amendment No. 118 (2 September 2010), 103–4

Amendment No. 119 (30 September 2010), 104

Amendment No. 120 (20 January 2011), 104

Amendment No. 121 (10 February 2011), 104

Amendment No. 122 (5 may 2011), 105

Amendment No. 123 (26 may 2011), 105

GemS/Food see World Health Organization (WHO) Global environment monitoring System/Food Contamination monitoring and Assessment Program (GemS/Food)

General manager (Risk Assessment), 90

General manager Food Standards (Wellington), 90

General manager legal and Regulatory Affairs, 80, 90

general procedure – applications or proposals, 27, 117

general publications, 167–70

genetically modified (Gm) foods, 9, 22, 34–5

labelling, 72

safety of, 7

genetically modified ingredients in soy-based infant formula

survey of, 8, 52

Global Food Network/Asia FoodNet Workshop on National Food Safety emergency Response Planning, 63

Gorst, Dr Janet, 88

governance framework, 14–15

Group 1 – applications or proposals, 26



H

harassment see bullying and harassment

‘Harvest’ database and modelling tool, 53, 54–5

hazards see food safety risks

health and safety

protection of, 18

health claims see nutrition and health claims

Health Claims Working Group, 39

211I N D e x


Health Safety and environment Working Group and safety of manufactured nanomaterials, 37

highlights

accountability, 92

people and organisational capability, 80

regulatory standards, 22–3

stakeholder relationships, 67

honey

interim maximum level of tutin in, 22, 44

horticulture production and processing

review of food safety risks in, 41

flowchart of decision-making process, 23

I

Implementation Plan

2010, 53

2011, 54

Implementation Sub-Committee (ISC)

Coordinated Food Survey Plan, 51, 75

Food Regulation Standing Committee, 10, 94

Health Claims Working Group, 39

and surveillance, 53

Imported Food Control Act 1992, 44

Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS), 44–5, 74

imported foods

from Japan

safety of, 6, 9, 22, 45

safety of, 44–5

undeclared allergens in, 8

see also beef and beef product imports

Indigenous representatives

Consumer liaison Committee, 71

industry and consumer advice, 78

Industry Food Recall Protocol

updating of, 47

industry site visits, 78

infant formula

soy-based

survey of genetically modified ingredients in, 8, 52

see also Regulation of Infant Formula Products

212 I N D e x


information and communication systems (ICT)

maintenance of, 80

use of, 5–6

information for the community, 76–7

Information Publication Scheme (Australian Government), 9, 68, 76, 78

information service, 78

INFOSAN, 65

intense sweeteners

labelling, 72

Intergovernmental Agreement for Food Reforms, 9, 34

Inter-Governmental Food Regulation Agreement (2008) and ministerial requests for review of FSANZ decisions, 29

internal audit program, 101

see also Strategic Internal Audit Plan

International Food Chemical Safety liaison Group, 64

international forums attended, including Codex/WHO/FAO, 23, 179–83

international networks, 62–4

internet

Australian Government use of, 5

and communications, 5–6

and food regulation, 5

see also Facebook site; social media; Twitter site

iodine

survey of levels in beverages enriched with seaweed, 51

survey of levels in seaweed and products containing seaweed, 8, 53

irradiated foods

safety of, 7, 35–6

J

Japan

safety of food imported from, 6, 9, 22, 45

Japan nuclear incident

response to, 6, 9, 45

social media and, 5

Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization expert Committee on Food Additives

dietary exposure assessments, 57

joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Risk management Committee

case study, 73

Jurisdictional Forum

members, 125–6

213I N D e x


K

key performance indicators

qualitative indicators, 19

quantitative indicators, 19

Key Strategic Directions for 2010–11, 101

King, Senator the Hon. Catherine, 11, 55, 76, 96, 164

L

Labelling Logic report, 6, 38, 39, 42, 71

legislative audit of Food Standards Code, 50

legislative responsibilities, 9–10

letter of transmittal, i

listeria monocytogenes contamination

recall, 48

listeria monocytogenes infection, 46

low THC hemp foods, 35

M

mcCutcheon, Steve, 89, 99, 190–1

see also Chief executive Officer

mack, Jenni, 190

mcKenzie, Dr Andrew, 8, 98, 191

mailing lists, 174

major procedure – applications or proposals, 27, 117, 118

mandatory reporting requirements re consumer goods (including food) associated with death, serious injury or illness, 47

mãori

consultation with, 72

mãori Network newsletter, 72

market Research Panel, 61

mars Foods

visit to, 78

maurer, Kate, 88

maximum residue limits (mRls), 33

Australian Pesticides and veterinary medicines Authority and variations to in Food Standards Code, 7,15, 33, 74

new arrangements for, 7

may, Peter, 90

214 I N D e x


meat and meat products, 7, 40–1

see also beef and beef product imports; Standard Development Committee for meat and meat Products

media events, 77

media releases, 175

melamine in food and beverages

survey of, 51

microbial contamination

recall, 48

milk and milk products see raw drinking milk; raw (unpasteurised) milk products

minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and inclusion public health issues in Australian NationalFood Plan, 71

minister for Health and Ageing and Board, 98

ministerial consideration of approved food standards, 119–20

ministerial correspondence, 92, 96–7

ministerial Council see Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation ministerial Council

ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (mAF), New Zealand

partnership with, 74

minor procedure – applications or proposals, 27, 117

minutes, 97

monash Report, A review of possible impacts of nanotechnology on Australia’s regulatory framework, 37

monitoring and evaluating hazards, 51–3

Monitoring of Emerging Issues Newsletter, 77

murray, Dr James (Gardner), 191

N

nanotechnology, 7, 15, 53

National Disability Strategy, 87

National enabling Technologies Strategy, 37

National Food Authority, 5

National Food Incident Response Protocol, 9, 22, 45–6

national food recall system, 8

National Foods

visit to, 78

National Health and medical Research Council

review of nutrient reference values (rNRvs), 42

National Health and medical Research Council (NHmRC)

collaboration with, 74

National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme (NICNAS)

engagement with, 74

215I N D e x



memorandum of understanding with, 74

National Nutrition Survey, 15

net benefits

regulatory standards and, 24

network security, 83

New Zealand

application of Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to, 10

financial contribution from, 15

and FSANZ food standards, 95

exemptions, 95

Public Health Nutrition Agencies Forum in, 72

New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), 95


New Zealand honey

interim maximum level of tutin in, 44

New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology Conference, 78

New Zealand minister of Food Safety

funding and performance agreement with FSANZ, 95

New Zealand ministry of Agriculture and Forestry

and interim maximum level of tutin in honey, 44

and New Zealand Food Safety Authority, 74, 95

New Zealand ministry of Research, Science and Technology

review of regulatory framework for manufactured nanomaterials, 37

New Zealand Treasury

and regulatory analysis, 61

Ngã Kaitohutohu Kounga Kai, 72

members, 126

nitrates, 57

nitrites, 57

novel foods, 7

conjugated linoleic acid triglycerides as, 36

determining the novelty, 51

see also Advisory Committee on Novel Foods

Nowell, Tony, 8, 98, 192

nuclear incident in Japan see Japan nuclear incident

nutrient content of foods, 9, 22

nutrient database for estimating food and nutrient intakes from AHS, 57

nutrient reference values (rNRvs)

revision of, 42

216 I N D e x


nutrients, 9, 22

nutrition, 88

nutrition and health claims, 6, 39

nutrition database

remodelling of, 15

nutrition information panel

and labelling, 72

Nutrition Panel Calculator (NPC), 56

nutritional risk analysis, 54

NUTTAB 2010, 9, 22, 55

O

objectives, 22

accountability, 92


regulatory standards, 22


occupational health and safety (OH&S), 86

Occupational Health and Safety Committee, 86

Office of Best Practice Regulation, 24

FSANZ and, 11, 75

Office of legislative Drafting and Publishing (OlDP)

audit of Food Standards Code, 50

Office of the Chief Scientist

and FSANZ, 12

Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR)

sharing of information with, 75

oleander seed

recall of weight loss product containing, 9, 46

‘organic’

definition of, 23

organisational capability and capacity, 82–5

organisational structure, 12–13, 88–90

chart, 13

outcomes, 17, 22

accountability, 92

financial, 15




217I N D e x


OzFoodNet

and listeria monocytogenes infection, 46

P

packaging materials

migration of chemicals to food from, 44

survey, 53

migration of phthalates to food and beverages from, 64

survey of chemical contaminants in, 8, 57

see also food packaging

parliamentary questions on notice, 97

Parnell, Associate Professor Winsome, 8, 98, 192

Partnership Training Institute Network websites

Food Safety Cooperation Forum, 65

partnerships with other national agencies, 73–5

peanut contamination

recall, 46, 49

people and organisational capability, 79–90

highlights, 80

objectives, 80

outcome, 80


people over 55 years of age

employment of, 80

performance, 18–19

see also financial performance; key performance indicators; priorities and performance 2010–11

performance audit of FSANZ

Australian National Audit Office and, 102

performance measurement

Portfolio Budget Statements and, 101

see also deliverables; key performance indicators

phthalates

presence of in food and beverages from Taiwan, 64

Portfolio Budget Statements, 15, 17, 18, 94, 100

and performance measurement, 101

see also deliverables; key performance indicators

pregnancy advisory statements on alcohol products, 6

218 I N D e x


primary industries

food standards for, 39–41

see also eggs and egg products; meat and meat products; raw (unpasteurised) milk products; seed sprouts


print and electronic media

use of, 77

priorities and performance 2010–11, 17–19

procedures for assessing applications, 116–20

see also general procedure – applications or proposals; major procedure – applications or proposals; minor procedure – applications or proposals

processing aids

safety of, 7

Program 1.1, 17, 18, 19

project management

review, 50

proposals

new and old procedures, 25–7

reasons for delays in consideration of, 30–2

proposals prepared see applications received and proposals prepared

Protiviti

audit provider, 101

public awareness campaigns, 78

public health, 41–2, 88

FSANZ and, 7, 9

see also Consumer and Public Health Dialogue

public health and safety, 41–9

Public Health Nutrition Agencies Forum in New Zealand, 72

Public Register

of documents for applications and proposals, 174–5

publication of applications and submissions, documents of public interest and documents released under Freedom of Information requests, 9, 68, 76, 93

publications see current publications

pyrrolizidine alkaloids

safety of, 43–4, 53

Q

Quads Food Safety Regulatory economics Working Group, 63

Quads Social Research Coordination Group (QSRCG), 63

workshop, 63

qualitative deliverables, 18

219I N D e x


qualitative indicators, 19

quantitative deliverables, 19

quantitative indicators, 19

quantitative sports foods consumer survey, 60

Question Time Briefings (QTBs), 98

R

radionuclides

potential dietary exposure to from food imported from Japan, 6, 9, 22, 45, 64

raw drinking milk

health risk, 7

raw (unpasteurised) milk products, 7, 40


see also Standard Development Committee for Raw milk Products

recalls see food recalls

Regulation of Infant Formula Products

Policy Guideline on, 33, 115

regulatory analysis, 61

regulatory impact analyses

primary production area, 61

regulatory impact statements, 24

regulatory standards, 22–65

highlights, 22–3

objectives, 22

outcomes, 22


Retailers and manufacturers liaison Committee

members, 126–7

review and research

documents, 175

Review of Food labelling law and Policy, 6, 38

reviews of food standards

requested by ministerial Council, 28, 120

risk analysis process, 11–12, 23–4, 54

Risk Assessment Branch, 89

risk management

food safety standards in the Food Standards Code, 88

regulatory analysis and, 61

risk management (corporate), 101

220 I N D e x


Risk management Standard, 73

Roberts, Dr David, 192–3

S

salmonella contamination

recall, 48

Sampling design and survey administration guide, 50

Sanitarium

visit to, 78

science evidence base, 53–7

Science Strategy 2010–15, 53–4

Scientific Advisory Group for epidemiology

members, 127–8

scientific publications, 171–2

seaweed

survey of levels of iodine in, 8, 53

survey of levels of iodine in beverages enriched with, 51

2nd Assessment Report, 119

seed sprouts, 7, 41


Senate Community Affairs Committee

inquiries into proposed legislation, 98

participation in inquiries of, 92

Senate estimates Committee, 98

appearances before, 92

senior management, 89–90

see also executive

Service Charter, 92, 96

SharePoint 2010 environment, 80, 82–3

sibutramine

in weight loss products, 46

Smith, Philippa, 8, 98, 189

social media

use of, 7, 9, 68, 69, 76

Allergy Alert notifications, 8

in relation to Japan nuclear incident, 5

Social Research Panel, 61

social sciences see consumer and social sciences advice and research

Social Sciences expert Advisory Group, 50

members, 128

221I N D e x


sodium/salt


soy flour

peanut in

recall, 46

soy-based infant formula

survey of genetically modified ingredients in, 52

speaking engagements, 183–7

sports foods and sports drinks see formulated supplementary sports foods and sports drinks; quantitative sports foods consumer survey

sprouts see seed sprouts

staff attraction, development and retention, 83–5

see also staff professional development; staff retention rates

staff exchange with jurisdictions

case study, 60

Staff Forum, 81, 82

Staff long Term Service certificates, 88

staff professional development, 81

staff retention rates, 81

Staff Rewards and Recognition Scheme, 88

staff survey, 81

staff workload, 81

staffing statistics, 83–5

stakeholder engagement see citizen and stakeholder engagement

stakeholder relationships, 67–78

highlights, 67

objectives, 67

outcomes, 67


stakeholders and regulatory partners, 70–5, 95–6

Standard Development Committee for eggs and egg Products

members, 129–30

Standard Development Committee for meat and meat Products

members, 130–1

Standard Development Committee for Raw milk Products

members, 128–9

Standards Australia


see also joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Risk management Committee

222 I N D e x


standards development, 34–41

improving outcomes, 50–1

Standards Development Work Plan, 25–8, 30

Standards management Officer, 116

Standards New Zealand see joint Standards Australia/Standards New Zealand Risk management Committee

steviol glycosides

safety of, 35, 57

Stockwell, Dean, 90

strategic and corporate planning, 100–1

strategic imperatives, 22, 94, 101

accountability, 92

objectives, 92




Strategic Internal Audit Plan, 99

Strategy map 2009–12, 15, 94, 194

Streets

visit to, 78

surveillance

dietary exposure assessments and, 57

surveys of safety of food, 8

T

Taiwan

presence of phthalates in food and beverages from, 64

Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)

consultations with, 75

timeframes for paid applications, 30–2

toxicological research

on nanoscale materials, 37

toxicological testing

and data requirements for safety assessment of enzyme processing aids, 50–1

transparency, 93, 116

Trevisan, luisa, 88

tutin

interim maximum level of in honey, 22

safety of, 44

Twitter site, 5, 68, 69, 76

223I N D e x


U

undeclared allergens in products, 8

non-compliant labelling, 48, 49

peanut, 46

University of Wollongong

hosting of nutrition and dietetics undergraduate students from, 60

urgent applications or proposals, 27

US Food and Drug Administration (USFDA)


User Guides, 167

V

voluntary schemes

and regulatory standards, 23–4

W

Web 2.0 reforms, 83

website, 5, 9, 76, 78, 167

information on food-related health risks, 54

information on making applications, 116

Nutrition Panel Calculator on, 56

weight loss products

recall of

containing oleander seed, 9, 46

containing sibutramine, 46

use of pharmaceuticals in, 64

Wellington emergency management Office, 100

Wellington office

development of disaster recovery plan for, 92, 100

Williams, Associate Professor Peter, 8, 99, 193

Work Plan see Standards Development Work Plan

workplace diversity plan, 87

Workplace Harassment Policy, 87

see also bullying and harassment

Workplace Wellness Program, 87

World Bank

and Food Safety Cooperation Forum, 65

World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Centre for Food Contamination monitoring, 64

224 I N D e x


World Health Organization (WHO)/Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), 63

case study: workshop on food emergencies, 63

see also Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)/World Health Organization (WHO) Joint expert Committee on Food Additives

World Health Organization (WHO) Global environment monitoring System/Food Contamination monitoring and Assessment Program (GemS/Food), 64

World Organisation of Animal Health

and a country’s BSe risk status, 42

World Trade Agreements on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures and Technical Barriers to Trade, 62

World Wide Web, 5

see also internet

Wright, Brian, 88

Y

Yates, Dianne, 8, 99, 193

yellow oleander, 46