Food Standards News No. 60

Autumn 2007

[ full colour pdf version ]

In this edition

New Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator the Hon. Dr Brett Mason opens the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum
From the acting CEO
Irene White retires
Farewell to the CEO Graham Peachey
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation nations move to standardise food safety
FSANZ Board Chairman Rob Knowles awarded Order of Australia
FSANZ trials conferences over the internet
FSANZ celebrates its 600th application
Documents for Public Comment
New Standard for Nutrition, Health and Related claims on track for next Spring
Our Chief Scientist is awarded the Australia Day Achievement Medallion
Australian Government orders review to streamline food regulations
Essential National Food Incident Response Protocol nears completion
Primary Production Standard for Eggs

 

New Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator the Hon. Dr Brett Mason opens the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum

The new Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator the Hon. Dr Brett Mason, began his new role by officially opening thefirst APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales in April.

Senator Mason, the Senator forQueensland, has taken on portfolio responsibility for FSANZ, replacing the Hon. Christopher Pyne, who has become Minister for Ageing. As such, he also becomes chair of the Ministerial Council that gives direction to the food regulatory system of Australia and New Zealand.

He told delegates from 16 of the 21 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation nations that Australia has stringent standards and regulations for the production, transport, storage and preparation of food, which FSANZ manages, and summed up FSANZ’s role, not just in the forum but generally as the bi-national regulator, by reminding his audience that we cannot allow our food systems to remain in static isolation; advances in science and technology require us to continually adapt to changing threats and opportunities.

“I am confident that through the participation of FSANZ as co-chair of the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum, Australia will be able to take a regional leadership role to facilitate and coordinate cooperation on food safety issues,” Sen. Mason said.

A barrister and former l ecturer in criminology at Queensland University of Technology , Sen. Mason, 45, was elected to the Senate in 1998.

From the acting CEO

We are presently entering a new era in food regulation when our underlying objective is not only to keep food safe, but also to contribute to improved public health.  

While the volume of work processed by FSANZ has remained fairly constant since the Food Standards Code was published in 2000, the nature of our work has changed – and continues to change rapidly.  

We are concentrating more and more on nutrition and public health matters while, at the same time, maintaining our protection of food safety through compositional, labelling and food safety (hygiene) standards. We are also being drawn into new areas in response to industry government commitment to whole-of-chain approaches to food safety, through our development of primary production and processing standards.  

The work involved with these standards is considerable, with the various primary sectors and the States and Territories keen for FSANZ to deliver paddock-to-plate approaches to food safety as quickly as possible.  

We therefore now find ourselves focusing on entire sectors of the food supply chain, rather than simply approving individual food products as in the past.   This is a much more complex and resource-intensive exercise.

Such work requires extensive public debate and consultation with affected stakeholders.   We are now allocating an unprecedented proportion of our resources to this task.  

Because public health-related standards and primary production standards have far-reaching consequences for the whole population and international trade, it is therefore not possible to short-circuit the consultation process.

Our challenge is to prevent our resources being stretched to the point that we have difficulty approving routine applications within statutory timeframes.   Any slowing of the approval process could lead to the food industry struggling to remain competitive, and innovation – the catch-cry of industry – being stifled.   In addition, FSANZ must, by law, apply a rigorous evidence-based risk analysis process to its decision making.  

The science behind functional and fortified foods is incredibly complex, yet these foods proliferate in the marketplace and require the closest scrutiny.   This means that we need to substantially enhance our capacity and evidence base in the social sciences, medical research, nutrition and economics if we are to address the issues associated with these new foods.

This, then, is the backdrop to FSANZ’s work program in 2007.   Food regulators the world over are grappling with similar issues – they are not unique to Australia and New Zealand.   I am confident that we will find the solutions necessary to meet stakeholder expectations.

The FSANZ Board and staff take a pride in our contribution to the food regulatory system.   We are determined to maintain the quality of our work while, at the same time, expanding its scope to address contemporary food issues.

With the help of our regulatory partners, we will continue to protect the health of consumers through safe food and by providing shoppers with the information necessary to make wise purchasing decisions.   We will also continue to provide the food industry with well-defined and well-placed regulatory goalposts.

Dean Stockwell, Acting CEO

Irene White retires

One of FSANZ’s longest serving employees leaves the agency at Christmas after 15 years doughty service.

Irene White would not divulge her age but her workmates charitably believe her to be 40 something, which sounds about right. She joined FSANZ’s predecessor, the Nutrition Unit at the Department of Health, in 1989, where she worked as a data processor with nutritionists Janine Lewis and Ruth English until they all moved to the National Food Authority when it was founded in 1991. She became FSANZ’s Finance officer 10 years ago.

Irene’s family left their homeland in Poland for Australia when she was just six years old. They settled in Queanbeyan and she still lives in the region. Her first job aged 14 was selling milk shakes in the town’s famous Paragon Café, later to become the Central Café.  Her fondest memories of FSANZ are that it is as friendly and egalitarian a workplace as you will find in Canberra.

“I was made to feel the equal of anyone here,” she recalled. “Sadly my fading health is forcing me to retire. Being a Finance Officer is a stressful occupation and I’m looking forward to spending more time with my children and grandchildren.

“I hope to stay in touch with my FSANZ colleagues but I intend to sell my house in Canberra and move to the south coast to enjoy my retirement.

Farewell to the CEO Graham Peachey

Mr Graham Peachey, FSANZ’s Chief Executive Officer for the past four years, is leaving the agency for bluer pastures as CEO of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. He left FSANZ on 13 April 2007, and began work with AMSA soon afterwards.

FSANZ Board chairman Hon Rob Knowles said that while Mr Peachey’s departure is a loss for FSANZ, the new position is an exciting opportunity for him. 

“As a result of Graham’s leadership, FSANZ is in a very strong position with a highly competent staff, including depth in its leadership,” Mr Knowles said.  The Board will be meeting shortly to formalise arrangements for an acting CEO until a new one can be selected.

Mr Peachey has been a popular leader and Mr Knowles spoke for all FSANZ staff when he said we all wish Graham every success in his new position and thank him for his fine contribution to FSANZ over the years.

Mr Peachey said he has thoroughly enjoyed his time with FSANZ.

Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation nations move to standardise food safety

As the global population grows and there is increasing pressure on food and water supplies, cases of foodborne illness will multiply, delegates to the first APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum heard.

Dr Gardner Murray, a former Australian chief veterinary officer and now special adviser to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forests, said climate change and increasing variations in the ecology of environments will force food scientists and regulators to revise their understanding of food pathogens and how to deal with them.

“With environmental damage and climatic variations we are already seeing new diseases emerging and 75% of them are zoonotic diseases,” (animal diseases that humans can catch) Murray told 75 delegates meeting in the Hunter Valley in April 2007.

“New bugs are appearing and are adapting to the new conditions.”

In Australia, for example, bat Lyssavirus has been around for thousands of years but only recently, as bat and human populations are pushed closer together in land and property developments, has the disease begun appearing in humans.

Similarly, research in Vietnam on the spread of the H5N1 flu virus showed that outbreaks spiked during the Tet holiday, when people moved about the country with their poultry.

Communicating the new disease threats to their populations will become more important for food regulators, whose risk analyses and communication messages must be simple, transparent and easy to understand, Dr Murray said.  In Korea, for example, health authorities put food safety messages on the back of commonly sold packs of toothpicks in restaurants.

Meeting greater demands for food from growing populations has led to more intensive livestock and agricultural production, genetic manipulation and new processing and preservation technologies producing an “explosion” of new foods, foods in which Dr Samuel Godefroy, director of the Bureau of Chemical Safety, Health Canada, said new chemicals are appearing as apart of the manufacturing process.

Dealing with such issues requires a thorough risk analysis process, the key elements of which are to identify and characterize hazards, assess the risk, manage it and communicate it publicly.

Dr Murray said structured risk analysis will reduce foodborne illness by developing risk-based safety systems, introducing science-based controls along the entire food production chain to prevent exposure to unacceptable levels of microbiological agents and contaminants in food, and assessing and managing foodborne risks and keeping consumers informed.

These analyses and preventive action have to start at the farm and continue during transport, in abattoirs, during processing and in shops and restaurants.

“Public confidence in food safety regulators is critical to success,” Dr Murray said. “APEC has a key role to play in building skills and sharing information among member states so all can benefit.”

Delegates from Thailand, Canada and China also spoke of the need not only for transparent food safety systems but of the importance of sharing information and standardizing regulations between APEC nations.  China , for example, has five different ministries governing 2430 national food standards and another 4420 provisional standards, but is reviewing them all with the intention of reducing the number.

The forum was opened by Senator the Hon. Dr Brett Mason, the new Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, who said its goals are to harmonise food standards among member states with international standards such as Codex, improve the transparency of standards and regulations and facilitate trade and prosperity.

“The figures speak for themselves,” Senator Mason said.

“The 21 APEC members represent over 40% of the world’s population, over 50% of the globe’s GDP and almost half of the world’s total international commerce. This tremendous growth is due, in part, to the fact that APEC has outpaced the rest of the world when it comes to trade barrier reduction.”

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Congratulations to the Hon. Rob Knowles, FSANZ Board Chairman, who was awarded an Order of Australia medal on Australia Day for “ service to the community as a contributor to a range of aged care, mental health, medical research and cultural organisations through the development of policies and protocols relating to food standards and to the Victorian Parliament”.

Mr Knowles is a former Victorian Health Minister and the award recognised his contributions to Australia as a parliamentarian between 1976 and 1999 and subsequently as a private citizen. He is the president of the Victorian and Australian Mental Illness Fellowship, chairman of the Mental Health Council of Australia and the former commissioner for complaints for the Commonwealth Government’s residential aged care program.

FSANZ trials conferences over the internet

Food Standards Australia New Zealand ran a pilot trial of a conference using the World Wide Web last December. Such conferences are known as webinars. These are on-line seminars delivered in real time over the Internet with audio, video and slideshow capabilities.

A link to the conference provider’s website is provided to the participants where they are able to view slides and listen to the oral presentation. They are also able to ask questions during the conference if they have any. All sound from the meeting is recorded using a speakerphone via a telephone line.

After the presentation the slides are then synchronised with the audio and a link is then posted on a website.

At the FSANZ webinar 20 people took part and discussed:

• how FSANZ  assesses the safety of food additives
• dietary exposure assessments
• current applications and proposals relating to food additives.

You can listen to this webinar on our website at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/webseminars.cfm

Documents for Public Comment

Public comment is invited on the following documents.

You are invited to make written submissions to FSANZ on the following Applications and Proposals.

 Closing  date for submissions is by 6pm (Canberra time) 16 May 2007 :

Application A594  is - Lutein as a Nutritive Substance in Infant Formula
Application A597 –Addition of Lutein to Formulated Supplementary Foods for Young Children

Closing date for submissions is by 6pm (Canberra time) 16 May 2007

Proposal P293 – Nutrition Health & Related Claims

FSANZ celebrates its 600th application

At Food Standards Australia New Zealand we have celebrated our 600th application to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.

The application for permission to use Agarose Ion Exchange Resin as a processing aid for beer came from Food Liaison Pty Ltd, which has provided expert advice on food regulation to the food industry since the inception of the company in 1990, and which has made a number of applications over the years.

New Standard for Nutrition, Health and Related claims on track for next Spring

A new Standard for Nutrition, Health and Related Claims (NHRC) moved a step closer when FSANZ presented its Preliminary Final Assessment Report (PFAR) on the issue to the FSANZ Board for consideration in March 2007.

The Australia New Zealand Food Ministerial Council asked FSANZ to develop a new Food Standard for NHRC in December 2003. Taking account of the Minister'  policy guidelines, FSANZ presented them with an initial consultation document in August 2004 and they told the agency to proceed with it.

The public and the food industry became involved in the proposal in November 2005 when FSANZ issued the Draft Assessment Report for comment.

As FSANZ worked through the proposal, known as P293, it proved to be immense and complex in its scope and presented degrees of difficulty few could have foreseen. As a result FSANZ has seen fit to make a number of changes. Nonetheless, FSANZ is ready to receive public comment during March and April and the process is on track for the Board to consider the Final Assessment Report in August 2007 and the Ministerial Council in October.

Over the past few months FSANZ has been discussing with the jurisdictions the interpretation of the policy guidance on health claims, conducting further consumer research and investigating nutrient profiling and other models for specifying those foods eligible to carry health claims.

FSANZ has listened to and analysed all comment and the new intelligence and following extensive discussion has reconsidered its recommendations. It decided that major elements, such as the preferred regulatory option, claims classification framework, the approach to substantiation of claims and the handling of biologically active substances, need not change.

The essence of P293 remains. Manufacturers will be able to make nutrition, health and related claims in three classifications:

• nutrition content claims are statements regarding the amount of a nutrient, energy or biologically active substance in the food
• general level health claims describe a relationship between the consumption of a food or constituent and the particular benefits the food has for the consumer’s health
• high level health claims also describe a relationship between eating a food or constituent and the particular health benefits the food gives to a consumer, but take the issue further by making reference to a serious disease or condition, or a biomarker of a serious disease or condition   

These are the core of the new Standard and their intent remains. However, issues that have changed since the Draft Assessment and now amended in the PFAR include:

• the regulatory risk management measure for content claims – with FSANZ recommending removal of the requirement for percentage dietary intake labelling on foods carrying health and nutrition content claims;
• the basis for setting disqualifying criteria for health claims – with the preferred approach now being a nutrient profiling model that supports dietary recommendations and encourages innovation by manufacturers;
• handling endorsements – with FSANZ recommending that endorsements that meet criteria based on the set up and intent of the endorsing organisation be exempt from the NHRC Standard;
• communication strategy – to inform all stakeholders of the Standard’s new direction;
• minor issues such as ineligible foods, weight management, small packages and split claims;
• trademarks;
• consideration of the recommendations in the context of policy guidance;
• updating of FSANZ’s stance on the diet-disease relationship for omega-3 and cardiovascular disease with the inclusion of three new reviews of this relationship;
• clarification of the levels of evidence required to support a general level health claim; and
• revised definitions for weight management and diet claims, glycaemic index and alcohol labelling, trans fatty acid claims and the clarification of dietary information.

FSANZ believes the PFAR now in train meets its aim of removing ambiguity and uncertainty in the market place, provides new opportunities for the food industry while minimising manufacturers’ costs as far as possible, assists consumers to make healthy food choices and protects consumers from misleading or deceptive claims.  

Melanie Fisher, FSANZ’s General Manager (Standards), said the standard will put in place a voluntary scheme that will allow manufacturers to promote the health benefits of their products. It will also give consumers more information to help them choose the foods that make up their diet.

“Our research shows that consumers want simpler information on food labels to assist them to make food choices,” Ms Fisher said. “The food industry is also seeking to innovate and develop healthier food products. To be eligible to make health claims foods will need to meet a number of criteria.

“The standard provides a rigorous framework to assess claims linking a food to the reduction of risk of a certain disease, for example ‘fruit and vegetables reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease’. It also makes nutrition claims - like ‘low salt’ and ‘reduced fat ‘- legally enforceable.”

After two rounds of public comment stakeholders have provided valuable information, but FSANZ still wants their opinions on a few more items before finalising the standard.

“Previously we proposed that we would restrict health claims by setting upper limits for saturated fat, sugar and salt,” Ms Fisher said. “However, stakeholders let us know that this was too simplistic and could preclude some foods, such as large sweet fruits, from making health claims.

“We have now developed a system based on the Food Ministers’ policy guidance that takes account of the overall composition of the food, which we are calling the nutrient profiling method.   This system is based on a UK model and has been tested on over 10,000 Australian and New Zealand food products. The method assesses foods on criteria such as salt, sugar and saturated fat contents but also takes into account other criteria such as fibre, fruit and vegetable content.   FSANZ has developed an electronic calculator, available on our website, to allow a quick and simple calculation of whether a food is eligible to carry a health claim.

“If a food does not qualify to make a health claim, and a food manufacturer still wants to make a claim, they may be able to reformulate their product with less salt, sugar or saturated fat or by increasing fibre or fruit and vegetable content. For example, while some hot chips contain high levels of saturated fat or salt, which prevents them from being eligible to make health claims, others, such as oven baked frozen chips with low salt and/or reduced fats, could carry claims.

“We are interested in stakeholders’ views on this profiling method.”

FSANZ has pre-approved a health claim about the link between fruit and vegetable consumption and a reduction in the risk of heart disease. This claim joins other claims already approved: calcium and osteoporosis or enhanced bone density; sodium and blood pressure; folic acid and neural tube defects; and saturated fats and trans fats and LDL cholesterol levels.

“Our expert advisory group found that there was probable evidence that dietary omega-3 fatty acids reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease but that this did not reach the convincing level required for a high level health claim.   However, a general level health claim, which requires a lesser degree of evidence, will be able to be made, for example ‘omega 3s aid heart health’.   The expert group also concluded that currently there was not convincing evidence for a relationship between wholegrains and cardiovascular disease so FSANZ is not pre-approving a high level claim based on this.

“During the last round of public comment we proposed including a percentage of daily kilojoules on the labels of foods making a nutrition claim such as ‘low salt’ or ‘good source of calcium’. We received a mixed response to this suggestion and we are now undertaking further consumer research and proposing that the percentage daily intake be considered in the broader labelling review we are scoping this year rather than in this proposal,” Ms Fisher concluded.

The PFAR for P293 is available on the FSANZ website at: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au   and is out for public comment until May 16, 2007.

Our Chief Scientist is awarded the Australia Day Achievement Medallion

Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s Chief Scientist Dr Marion Healy was awarded the agency’s Australia Day Achievement Medallion this year for her outstanding contribution to national and international evidence-based Food Standards.

Dr Healy stands among many other achievers from more than 70 government departments and agencies that have embraced the medallion program.

According to Australia Day organisers, by presenting the medallions to noteworthy employees, heads of government departments and agencies can acknowledge their contributions, either on special projects that have made a significant contribution to the nation, or for simply performing their core duties in an outstanding manner.

Dr Healy’s contribution was indeed outstanding and she said she was very happy to be awarded a medallion after nearly nine years service as Chief Scientist with FSANZ and its predecessors.

“What is particularly gratifying about receiving the award is that it is recognition by my colleagues,” Dr Healy said. “The work has always been interesting and stimulating – there’s certainly never a dull moment.”

Since she received the medallion Dr Healy was invited, and she accepted, an appointment as Director of the National Industrial Chemicals Notification and Assessment Scheme, the government regulator of industrial chemicals. She began work in her new role on 26 April 2007.

NICNAS’s role is to protect workers, the public and the environment from the possible harmful effects of chemicals used in a wide variety of industries. It assesses all chemicals new to Australia as well as chemicals already in use where there are concerns about their safety or sustainability.

FSANZ Chairman the Hon. Rob Knowles said Dr Healy has made a significant and lasting contribution to FSANZ, both in Australia and overseas. 

“Her tireless efforts have placed us in a strong and very credible position,” Mr Knowles said.

“She will be missed as a colleague and as a person who has taken on a strong leadership role, ensuring and promoting the scientific basis of our work.  She will also be missed as a friend and a mentor and we wish her well in her new challenge.”

Essential National Food Incident Response Protocol nears completion

Representatives from the Implementation Sub-Committee (ISC) of the Food Regulation Standing Committee (FRSC) held their third workshop last February to flesh out details of the National Food Incident Response Protocol.

The Protocol was the brainchild of the Australia New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council (ANZFRMC), which called for a strategy that will help regulators interpret food laws consistently so they can respond uniformly and more effectively to national food safety incidents.

The Protocol also focuses on improving communications between food regulators so their response to any incident is timely, appropriate, consistent and coordinated.

During the February 8 workshop the ISC discussed examples of recent food incidents and how the framework outlined in the Protocol would have been applied to them. Previous workshops have examined the principles needed for responding to a food incident and have tested the Protocol by applying it to a number of fictitious scenarios.

To date the Protocol has been activated for five food incidents.

ISC members have developed the Protocol thoroughly step by step to ensure it is based on current Australian emergency management best practice, is understood by all agencies that would be expected to respond to a national food incident, and is based on reality.

FSANZ has been raising industry’s awareness of the Protocol through forums such as the Retailers and Manufacturers Liaison Committee and will continue to do so over the coming months.

ISC will seek FRSC and ANZFRMC’s endorsement of the Protocol over the next few months.

Australian Government orders review to streamline food regulations

The Australian Government has announced an independent review of the country’s food regulations to make them more streamlined and consistent between state jurisdictions.

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Peter McGauran, and the then Parliamentary Secretary for the Minister for Health and Ageing, Christopher Pyne, held a joint press conference to announce the review, saying it arose out of recommendations from a 2006 report on reducing the regulatory burden on business, known as the Banks Report.

The Banks Report highlighted a number of issues with the food regulatory system, including:

• inconsistencies in applying standards across states and territories;
• lack of enforcement of some elements of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code;
• inconsistencies between state food acts and the Code; and
• the complexity associated with developing or amending food standards.

Mr McGauran said he is aware of many instances where food manufacturers have faced lengthy delays in having their applications for permission to use new food ingredients assessed.

“For instance, it took more than four years for the regulatory system to allow phytosterols, a cholesterol-lowering compound, to be added to a range of foods,” Mr McGauran said.

“Similarly, when a company applied for permission to add calcium to fruit juices, expecting it to be a straightforward request, it had to wait four years before getting approval.

“These delays are simply too long and directly impact on the food companies’ ability to compete in the marketplace.”

Australian Food and Grocery Council Chief Executive Dick Wells warmly welcomed the review, saying the key issue for the food industry is constructive regulatory change.

This is vital for the future of the industry, Mr Wells said, adding that the industry feels frustrated in its attempts to develop innovative foods to compete with overseas producers when those attempts are stymied by government and bureaucratic delays.

Mr Pyne said it is important that the high levels of public health protection and consumer confidence provided by the food regulatory system are maintained.

“We need to strike the right balance to make sure the food we produce and consume is safe, without placing any unnecessary regulatory burden on the food industry,” Mr Pyne said.

“The review will focus on ways to make it easier for our food industry to comply with food regulations and get new and innovative products onto the market.”

The independent review is in line with an agenda for national reform agreed to by Council of Australian Governments held in 2006. It will be headed by former chief of Australian Business Ltd Mr Mark Bethwaite.

 Primary Production Standard for Eggs

Food Standards Australia New Zealand is working with the egg industry, consumers and state and territory regulatory agencies to produce a Primary Production and Processing Standard for Eggs and Egg Products, covering the safety of these foods in Australia.

FSANZ has already set new whole-of-food chain standards for seafood and heat-treated dairy products and will soon set PPP Standards for dairy and poultry.

Eggs are a staple food in the diet of most Australians and over the past decade there has been a steady resurgence in the per capita consumption of eggs.   As well as simple eggs in their shells, there are many other egg products, such as egg pulp for use in baked goods.  

There are approximately 423 egg producers in Australia with an annual production of approximately 203 million dozen eggs. The gross value of hen egg production in Australia (at wholesale prices in the market place) was estimated at $340 million for 2005/06 and is predicted to be $335 million for 2006/7.

Most people regard eggs as a safe food with each little high protein unit covered in its own refrigerator-friendly natural packaging. However, egg shells are not impervious and layer hens are exposed to microbiological and chemical hazards and residues may carry over into their eggs from their feed, water and environment.

FSANZ develops PPP Standards following policy guidance from the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council. With eggs and egg products, the purpose of developing through-chain, nationally consistent risk management measures is to address the following areas of concern:

Current Standards in the Code–

Current standards in the Code are not ‘through-chain’ as they do not cover on-farm primary production of eggs. Also, FSANZ is aware of inconsistencies in the current standards that have led to compliance and adherence difficulties by industry

Inconsistent current regulation of the egg industry across the States and Territories –

Each jurisdiction is responsible for food safety legislation. Currently, with no national standard to include in State and Territory legislation, the food safety requirements for eggs and egg products varies between each State and Territory

Food-borne illness attributable to eggs –

Despite the reputation for safety and quality of eggs and egg products in Australia, they are sometimes implicated in food-borne illness outbreaks, suggesting that current risk management measures need to be reviewed

FSANZ released its Initial Assessment Report on a PPP Standard for eggs and egg products last December.