A national food safety standard for seed sprouts
Seed sprouts are a germinated form of seeds and beans that are consumed either raw or cooked. Examples of seed sprouts are alfalfa sprouts, onion sprouts, radish sprouts, and mung bean sprouts.
To manage and improve the safety of seed sprouts available to consumers, Food Standards Australia New Zealand ( FSANZ) intends to develop a Primary Production and Processing Standard for Seed Sprouts for Australia . This standard will be incorporated by gazettal into the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) and will be enforceable. Together with other requirements in the Code, the standard will facilitate the management and improvement of seed sprouts safety along the food supply chain.
Development of the seed sprouts standard is guided by the objectives of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 and the overarching policy guidelines on primary production and processing standards provided by the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council.
FSANZ will work in partnership with the seed sprouts industry, governments and consumers to develop the standard and will provide at least two rounds of public consultation.
What are primary production and processing standards?
A primary production and processing standard is a set of food safety obligations on primary producers and processors of agricultural produce . These obligations include measures to control food safety hazards that could occur during the production and processing of agricultural produce. These standards along with other standards in the Code provide an approach to managing food safety in Australia that extends from production on the farm through to sale to the consumer.
What is the process for developing primary production and processing standards?
FSANZ conducts preliminary research to identify food safety hazards and handling practices during farm production, harvest, packing, storage, transportation and primary processing of agricultural produce. At the same time, FSANZ reviews existing domestic and international regulatory or voluntary control measures to assess their effectiveness and to identify any gaps or inconsistencies.
Stage 1 – First Assessment
FSANZ prepares and provides for public consultation the First Assessment of the proposal to develop a standard. This report provides an overview of the industry sector; the proposed scope of the work; the food safety hazards; and existing risk management measures in guidelines and in regulations. The report presents outcomes of a risk analysis conducted by FSANZ, including risk management options developed based on available scientific evidence and information.
The general public, particularly those who may be affected by the proposed risk management measures, is encouraged to provide information on the issues raised in the report and to comment on the proposed risk management options. The report will be published on the FSANZ website and will be available for comment for a usual period of six weeks. Its availability will be advertised in the media.
Stage 2 – Second Assessment
Based on the feedback received from the general public and key stakeholders and any new scientific evidence available to FSANZ, we revise the proposed risk management options. FSANZ also conducts a regulatory impact analysis that looks at the costs and benefits of the proposed risk management options.
Revised risk management/regulatory options and the draft standard are contained in the Second Assessment Report, which is published on the FSANZ website and available for comment over a period of six weeks. It will also be advertised in the media.
Stage 3 – Approval
The Approval Report reconsiders the proposed standard in light of comments received from the general public and key stakeholders. In this report, FSANZ makes recommendations to the FSANZ Board on the final standard.
Once the Board has approved the standard, the Ministerial Council is notified. If the Ministerial Council does not request a review, the standard is gazetted and incorporated into Chapter 4 of the Code. The standard may commence on gazettal or on a date determined in the standard.
Interested parties who wish to be kept informed of this standard development activity should contact the Standards Management Officer ( standards.management@foodstandards .gov.au ).
Further information about this standard development activity will be published on the FSANZ website www.foodstandards.gov.au . The FSANZ contact officer on this standard development activity is Dr Hong Jin on (02) 6271 2222