In-house Scientific Expertise
FSANZ has a broad range of in-house scientific skills covering fields such as toxicology, nutrition, food technology, microbiology, biotechnology and public health. Additionally, there is a small number of staff with skills in immunology, chemistry, mathematical modelling, epidemiology and qualitative and quantitative research. FSANZ’s staff have a diverse range of prior experience, including academia, industry, public health/policy and food safety enforcement, and continue to strengthen their external linkages through membership of professional associations at both national and international levels. [ more ]
External Expertise
It is inevitable that in a small agency with requirements for a broad range of scientific skills, there will not always be sufficient depth and/or breadth of experience in specific disciplines at any given time. FSANZ therefore supplements staff skills by engaging external scientific experts from fields such as nutrition, social science, statistics and risk assessment from both government and non-government organisations . These include:
- FSANZ Fellows with specialist expertise;
- scientific advisory committees established by FSANZ e.g. health claims, iodine and folic acid fortification and dairy primary production and processing;
- ad-hoc contracts with expert consultants e.g. diet-disease relationships, food intolerances, laboratory analyses;
- long-term expert contracts e.g. database IT specialists;
- expert peer review FSANZ reports/assessments, e.g. nutritional assessment of phytosterols, Australian Total Diet Studies;
- national expert committees established by organisations such as the National Health and Medical Research Council, providing us with technical expertise e.g. Special Expert Committee on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies, development of nutrient reference values; and
- ongoing dialogue with food regulatory scientists in the jurisdictions.
We also collaborate with other agencies from New Zealand and the States and Territories, with the aim of sharing data and providing more efficient delivery of science outcomes. [ more ]
Risk Assessments
The methodology that underpins the majority of FSANZ’s regulatory decision making is the risk assessment component of risk analysis. This tool facilitates FSANZ’s science-based approach to decision making and is critical to the integrity and rigour of those decisions. [ more ]
Committees/Advisory Groups
Project teams within FSANZ frequently establish scientific committees and advisory groups to both draw on the expertise of a variety of external individuals and companies, and to gain greater understanding of the views of external stakeholders and the jurisdictions. [ more ]
Food Regulators’ Science Network
A formal Science Network has been established to strengthen the existing linkages with scientists in Australia and New Zealand. In addition, the network aims to facilitate greater understanding and consensus on the science that underpins food regulatory measures. [ more ]
Medical Network
The establishment of a Medical Network is aimed at strengthening FSANZ’s links with medical practitioners who hold government positions in areas relevant to FSANZ work and other eminent medical specialists who may provide FSANZ with advice . The Medical Network is an informal information pool on which FSANZ could draw for expert medical comment and advice relevant to FSANZ work
FSANZ Fellows Program
The Board of FSANZ have appointed a group of Fellows to augment internal expertise and provide scientific and other professional advice. The Fellows examine emerging issues impacting on food in the next five to ten years. The Fellows are appointed for a three year period, and are selected for their expertise in fields including food science, microbiology, clinical epidemiology, nutrition, risk modelling, statistics, project management and economics. [ more ]
Surveys and Analytical Programs
Many of FSANZ’s regulatory decisions are based on risk assessments, which require quality scientific data and other information. This includes information on food contaminants and other chemicals, nutrient intake, food composition, the impact of novel processes and novel food/food ingredients and consumer responses to labelling messages. [more ]
Student Projects
As FSANZ’s decision making process is founded on scientific evidence, we often incorporate input from the wider research community. In the past, FSANZ has been approached by researchers to put forth topical food issues as ideas for student honours projects. Each year FSANZ scientists contribute project ideas that would be beneficial to their work. These proposed projects are distributed to various academic institutions for students to adopt as their project if they so desire. FSANZ offers ongoing intellectual input into those projects and requests access to the study results at the conclusion of the project. This is regarded as mutually beneficial for FSANZ and academia.
FSANZ Technical Report Series
The FSANZ Technical Report Series are scientific reports, based on current available scientific data, and relate to the issues of the safety of food and includes reports on food additives, food contaminants, novel foods and foods produced using gene technology.
The Technical Report Series is an occasional publication. Copies of these publications are available electronically from the FSANZ website at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/mediareleasespublications/technicalreportserie1338.cfm .
Emerging Issues
As FSANZ mission is to protect, in collaboration with others, the health and safety of people in Australia and New Zealand through the maintenance of a safe food supply, it is important that we are not only aware of emerging issues relevant to the food supply, but that we utilise all available information to form an official position.
We use information from a wide range of sources to alert us to emerging food issues that may arise within Australia and New Zealand or worldwide. Much of this information is obtained through our strong linkages with the FAO, WHO, other regulatory agencies and experts as well as from Internet searches and other publications. Emerging public health and safety issues are raised and discussed regularly by our senior scientific staff and the Chief Scientist. Significant issues are identified and where appropriate a risk assessment is undertaken. These risk assessments are considered by the FSANZ Board and form the basis of our advice to stakeholders. These assessments are usually published as technical reports and information provided as fact sheets.