What is the Assessment Process? 

Under Australia’s policy ‘Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE): requirements for the importation of beef and beef products for human consumption– effective 1 March 2010’, a country applies for assessment to the Australian BSE Food Safety Assessment Committee (the Committee).   The request for assessment must be accompanied by a completed Australian Questionnaire to Assess BSE Risk .   The questionnaire should be completed in English by the Competent National Government Authority. If necessary, requests for assessment will be prioritised by the Committee. Prioritisation criteria will be developed by the Committee, but are expected to be largely based on applicant countries with the most recent history of exporting beef and beef food products to Australia; completeness of data; and general history of trade and knowledge of the country’s food safety and veterinary services.

A risk assessment, based on the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) methodology, is undertaken by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) and reviewed by the Committee which prepares a draft report.Verification of in-country control measures may be deemed to be required by the Committee and will require Australian officials to undertake an in-country inspection. The findings of any in-country inspection will be considered by the Committee prior to issuing the draft report to the applicant country for their 60-day comment period.

Following the 60-day comment period,the Committee prepares the final report and recommends a BSE risk category for the applicant country. Subject to the approval by the FSANZ Chief Executive Officer (CEO), the final report including the recommended BSE risk category is provided to the Deputy Secretary of the Biosecurity Services Group within the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF).  The final report including the BSE risk category is also provided to the applicant country at this time. The final BSE risk category of all completed country assessments other than those being classified as Category 3 will be placed on the FSANZ website.

The applicant country may withdraw their application at any time prior to the completion of the assessment, in which case the country will be placed in Category 3 and unable to export beef and beef products to Australia for human consumption.

 

When will the process commence?

Applications will be accepted from 1 March 2010 and assessments will commence as soon as possible thereafter.

Does every country need to be assessed?

Yes.   Beef and beef products from countries that have not applied to Australia for assessment are considered to pose the highest level of risk and Australia will not import products from these countries, although transitional measures apply for some countries (see below for more information).  

How will assessment of countries be prioritised?

Requests for assessments will be prioritised by the Australian BSE Food Safety Assessment Committee and will be largely based on applicant countries with the most recent history of exporting beef and beef food products to Australia; completeness of data; and general history of trade and the country’s food safety and veterinary services.

How long will an assessment take?

It is anticipated to take an average of 20 weeks to complete an assessment from the time of commencement and prepare a draft report.   The length of time is dependent on the quality and completeness of information supplied by the applicant country, and whether an in-country inspection is required.

What is the outcome of the assessment?

A country will be categorised as either Category 1, 2 or 3. Countries categorised as Category 1 or 2 are eligible to send beef and beef products to Australia subject to the relevant requirements. Countries classified as category 3 are ineligible to export beef and beef products for human consumption to Australia. The risk assessment will inform whether the beef and beef products from a country represent a risk to the health of Australian consumers with regard to contracting variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease from BSE affected products.   Import conditions in respect of food safety are based on the BSE country categorisation.

What factors will be assessed?

A risk assessment will be conducted, based on World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) methodology, identifying all potential factors for BSE occurrence such as:

• the importation of meat and bone meal and greaves
• the importation of potentially infected live cattle
• the importation of potentially infected bovine products
• the processing methods for bovine carcasses, by-products and abattoir waste
• the cattle feed practices
• the diagnosis of BSE in the cattle population and the individual case histories including origin, date of birth, place of birth, and movement history.

 

The BSE surveillance and monitoring program will be assessed specifically in relation to:

• collection of samples representing the cattle distribution
• the methods used to assess age of animals sampled (individual animal identification, dentition)
• the procedures for assigning cattle to specific targeted subpopulations
• the procedure for determining clinical suspect cases and rationale for annual variance in sample numbers of clinical suspect cases
• documentation of age and clinical signs of all clinically suspect cases and point in supply chain animal was detected.

 

The assessment will include an examination of:

• the BSE skills and knowledge programs for veterinarians and workers involved in cattle production
• compulsory notification and investigation programs, including the cattle traceability system   that underpins BSE case investigation
• BSE diagnostic capability.

Documentation will be provided by the appropriate government agencies and include relevant legislation and implementation dates.

What, and who, triggers an in-country inspection?

The BSE Food Safety Assessment Committee can initiate an in-country inspection for an applicant country where the analysis of information provided by the applicant country, or any other relevant information, indicates this is warranted. Examples would include where there are doubts about the veracity of data provided for assessment or there is an insufficient knowledge of the applicant country government’s food safety and veterinary services.

Verification of in-country control measures, if deemed required by the BSE Food Safety Assessment Committee, will be undertaken through an in-country inspection by Australian Government officials with relevant technical expertise. The inspection may include examining:

• the existing systems in the applicant country to prevent the spread of BSE in the cattle population and from entering the human food chain
• the existing systems to prevent food for human consumption from becoming contaminated during animal slaughter and processing
• any other relevant matter.

 

Evidence obtained during the in-country inspection will be provided to the Australian BSE Food Safety Assessment Committee to assist in completing its risk assessment.

 

Will the reports be public?

The final BSE risk category of all completed country assessments other than those being classified as Category 3 will be placed on the FSANZ website.

Will there be reviews?

Yes. Countries will be required to submit surveillance results and information on feed controls and changes to the epidemiological situation for the preceding calendar year by 31 January each year for review by the Australian BSE Food Safety Assessment Committee.   If countries permitted to export beef and beef products for human consumption to Australia do not provide this information, they may lose their BSE categorisation.

Countries will need to provide an annual update report advising of any changes to BSE legislation, audit findings in rendering plants and feed mills processing ruminant material, audit findings in rendering plants and feed mills processing non-ruminant material and origin of birth of any reported BSE case, consistent with the equivalent OIE requirement.

A country can also request a review of their assessment. The review of the assessment could comprise a number of actions including assessment of additional data, consideration of a change in a country’s risk categorisation by the OIE or an ‘in-country inspection’ by Australian officials.   Australia can also initiate a review of the assessed category of a country status if there is an indication that the BSE risks may have significantly changed.

Who is responsible for implementation?

The Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS). AQIS is responsible for ensuring that all quarantine requirements are met and for ensuring that shipments of imported beef and beef products for human consumption are from eligible countries and accompanied by appropriate certification as specified in the policy document Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE): requirements for the importation of beef and beef products for human consumption– effective 1 March 2010.

Will there be transitional arrangements for countries that are currently eligible to export beef and beef products to Australia?

Yes.   These are set out in the policy document Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE): requirements for the importation of beef and beef products for human consumption– effective 1 March 2010.   This is repeated below:

Countries currently eligible to export beef and beef products to Australia

Until 30 June 2011, countries that can currently export beef and beef products under the 2001 policy on BSE and imported food safety may continue trading beef and beef products under the existing arrangements until the Australian BSE Food Safety Assessment Committee undertakes re-assessment. Beef or beef products may continue to be imported into Australia from these countries after 30 June 2011 if an application for assessment as a Category 1 or Category 2 has been submitted to the Australian BSE Food Safety Assessment Committee and provided no new BSE-risk factors are reported by the country during this period.

Countries that cannot currently export beef and beef products to Australia:

Countries that currently cannot export beef to Australia will only be able to trade beef or beef products after the Australian BSE Food Safety Assessment Committee has completed a risk assessment and concluded the risk is Category 1 or Category 2.  

Note: Resumption of trade for countries that cannot currently export beef and beef products will also be subject to import risk analysis ( Biosecurity Australia ) and dependant upon compliance with existing sanitary measures ( Australia Quarantine and Inspection Service ). .

Are any beef products exempt?

The following products for human consumption are exempt from these requirements:

• collagen from bovine skins and hides (including sausage casings produced from this type of collagen
• a minor ingredient [1] of a processed product, where that ingredient comprises bovine fat and/or bovine tallow
• gelatine sourced from bovine skins and hides
• dairy products sourced from bo vines.
  
  

The products exempt from the certification requirements are listed in Standard 2.2.1 of theAustralia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

Where can I find further information on the BSE policy?

Information on the process and certification requirements is outlined in the policy document Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE): requirements for the importation of beef and beef products for human consumption– effective 1 March 2010 .

The latest Australian review on the current science and control measures relating to BSE in support of Australia’s new policy can be found in the document Review of Scientific Evidence to Inform Australian Policy on Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathies (TSEs), October 2009 .

 

Where the completed Australian Questionnaire to Assess BSE Risk should be sent

A completed questionnaire, together with supporting documentation, in both hard copy and text searchable Portable Document Format (PDF), and the contact details for the Competent National Government Authority of the submitting country should be forwarded to:

Dr. Andrew Bartholomaeus
Chairperson
Australian BSE Food Safety Assessment Committee

C/- FSANZ
55 Blackall Street
Barton ACT 2600
AUSTRALIA

BSE@foodstandards.gov.au

 

Enquiries, further information or clarification on any aspects of the questionnaire or the BSE Food Safety Assessment Process should be directed to BSE@foodstandards.gov.au