Primary Production and Processing Standard for Seafood
What will the new standard mean for stakeholders?
December 2002
The proposed Primary Production and Processing Standard for seafood will be a nationally enforceable government standard that will focus on protecting public health and safety. The proposed seafood standard will address gaps in the seafood supply chain where scientific risk assessment shows that current regulatory regimes do not adequately address the risks.
What will the development of a nationally enforceable food safety Primary Production and Processing Standard for seafood mean to businesses that deal with seafood?
Currently retail and food service businesses that process and sell seafood are already regulated through Chapters 1, 2 and 3 of the Food Standards Code. Compliance with the Food Standards Code is required under State and Territory legislation and is enforced by State and Territory governments. Chapters 1 and 2 of the Food Standards Code regulate labelling, additives, contaminants, pesticide residues, antibiotics, microbiological limits and heavy metals in seafood. Chapter 3 of the Food Standards Code contains Food Safety Standards which have provisions for the safe and hygienic handling of seafood and the maintenance of premises and equipment where seafood is handled. These Food Safety Standards do not apply to the seafood primary production sector except under special circumstances, for instance where there is direct sale of seafood to the public or seafood is processed.
The new Primary Production and Processing Standard for seafood will form part of a new Chapter 4 of the Food Standards Code. The standard will be outcomes based in its requirements and focus on food safety to a similar extent as the Standards currently contained in Chapter 3 of the Code.The new Primary Production and Processing Standard for seafood will mean that all sectors of the seafood industry will be regulated in terms of food safety from ‘boat to belly’. If you deal with seafood in your business and are unsure of how the new Primary Production and Processing Standard for seafood will affect you, then you should seek further information from the contacts listed in this Fact Sheet.
How can you get involved in the development of the Primary Production and Processing standard for seafood?
There are several ways you can be involved in the development of the new standard - through the FSANZ public consultation process, the seafood Standard Development Committee (SDC) and associated Working Groups and through public forums that FSANZ intends to hold throughout the standard development process. A brief description of each is outlined below.
- Public consultation
FSANZ has a statutory obligation to consult with stakeholders in relation to food regulatory measures and does so by releasing an Initial Assessment or Issues Paper for public comment, and some time later a Draft Assessment for comment on proposed measures. FSANZ has recently released an Issues Paper on the development of a Primary Production and Processing Standard for seafood (Proposal P265), requesting public comment by 28 February 2003. A second round of public consultation will occur at the Draft Assessment stage during which comment is sought on proposed management options. The Issues Paper raises a number of issues for consideration, covering the scope of the proposed standard, the scientific process used, options for food safety management systems and compliance issues with respect to regulating seafood.
Written submissions are invited from interested individuals and organisations on any aspect of the standard development to assist the Authority in preparing the Draft Assessment for a Primary Production and Processing Standard for seafood. Written submissions can be sent to:
Food Standards Australia New Zealand Food Standards Australia New Zealand
PO Box 7186 PO Box 10559
Canberra BC ACT 2610 The Terrace Wellington 6036
Australia New Zealand
In addition submissions may be received electronically through the FSANZ website located at www.foodstandards.gov.au. Click on the ‘Standards Development’ tab then click on ‘Documents for Public Comment’. Questions relating to making submissions on the Issues Paper can be directed to the Standards Liaison Officer at the above address or by emailing slo@foodstandards.gov.au.
- Seafood Standard Development Committee
A key component in the process of developing a Primary Production and Processing Standard for seafood is the establishment by the FSANZ Board of a seafood Standard Development Committee (SDC). Stakeholders may also wish to provide input to the standard development process through members of the seafood SDC. Contact details of SDC members are given below. It is envisaged that several Working Groups will need to be established through the seafood SDC to provide advice on some of the more technical and scientific aspects of the standard. This will provide further opportunity for input to the standards development process.
- Public forums
FSANZ intends to hold a series of face to face meetings in every State and Territory to exchange information and allow consultation with industries and other community members throughout the standard development process. Meetings are anticipated following the release of the Issues Paper and the Draft Assessment report. Your local State or Territory health department will notify stakeholders of the dates and locations of these meetings.
Where can you find further information?
FSANZ will update stakeholders and consumers through the following sources:
- updates published on the FSANZ website located athttp://www.foodstandards.gov.au/primaryproductionprocessingstandards/
- providing updates to industry through the FSANZ subscriber data base;
- Food Standards News articles;
- FSANZ Fact Sheets released by FSANZ Public Affairs;
- published news articles in prominent seafood industry publications.
- State Fishing Industry Councils
Who can you contact for further information?
STATE | NAME | CONTACT DETAILS |
Australian Capital Territory | Luba Tomaska Russ Neal – Industry (ASIC) Richard Souness – AFFA (Seafood SDC) Caroline Martin - Senior Advisor AQIS | 02 6271 2249 02 6281-0383 02 6272 4367 02 6272 3998 |
Tasmania | Colin Dyke - Industry (Seafood SDC) Craig Midgley – DPIWR (Seafood SDC) Phillip Walsh - Industry (Seafood SDC) Ralph Mitchell - TFIC Eric Johnson - State Food Officer Rod Gobbey - Director of Agriculture (Department of Primary Industries, Water and Environment) | 03 6257 7466 03 6233 6632 03 6267 6738 03 6224 2332 03 622 3753 03 6336 5420
|
Western Australia | Don Nicholls – Dept. Fisheries WA (Seafood SDC) Richard Stevens - Industry (Seafood SDC) Kim Leighton - Dept of Health WA | 08 9482 7341 08 9244 2933 08 9388 4920 |
New South Wales | Bryan Skepper - Industry (Seafood SDC) Chris Chan - SafeFood NSW John McMahon - Food Branch NSW Bill Porter - Food Branch NSW | 02 9004 1102 02 9261 2040 02 9816 0477 02 9817 7596 |
Queensland | Martin Perkins - Industry (Seafood SDC) Ted Loveday - Seafood Services Aust. Ltd Kerry Bell – QLD Health Dept. (Seafood SDC) Peter Merrell - SafeFood QLD Neil Smith – QLD DPI Phil Pond – SafeFood QLD | 07 3344 2055 07 3633 6777 07 3234 0952 07 3253 9803 07 3234 0952 07 3253 9811 |
Victoria
| Margaret Darton - NRE (Seafood SDC) Garry Smith – Food Safety Vic Kaye Coates – Food Safety Research Mark Gooley – Industry (Seafood SDC) Joy Gregory - Dept Human Services (Seafood SDC) | 03 5624 2239 03 9637 4211 03 9217 4333 03 5272 1690 03 9637 5897 |
South Australia
| Geoff Raven - PIRSA (Seafood SDC) Paul Dowsett - Food Safety Officer PIRSA Garry Clarke - Environmental Health | 08 8207 7871 08 8207 7934 08 82267125 |
Northern Territory | John McCartie - NT Seafood Council (Seafood SDC) Tracey Ward NT Health | 0419 849 616 08 8999 2965 |
New Zealand | Derek Buckland – New Zealand Food Safety Authority (Senior Advisor Food Safety) | 0011 644 463 2662 |
December 2002