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Food Standards News No. 61

Winter 2007

[ full colour pdf version ]

In this edition

From the CEO

'Choosing the Right Stuff’ - the official shoppers’ guide to food labelling

Australian Government increases FSANZ budget

Food safety standards update

New and extended appointments to the FSANZ Board

Nutrition, Health and Related Claims News

Thinking about others with Workplace Giving

Elaine Attwood retires from Board

FSANZ wins annual report award

Australian and New Zealand Food Ministers meet

Changes to the FSANZ Act

MoU between FSANZ and the National Measurement Institute

NUTTAB nutrition tables now online

Primary production and processing developments

Australia and New Zealand to add folic acid to bread flour

International Food Safety Conference set for September 2007

Lifesaving allergy information now available on handy allergen cards

‘Choosing the Right Stuff’- the official shoppers’ guide to food labelling – is now available

Research by FSANZ shows that consumers value the information on food labels but not everyone understands exactly what the labels mean, or, leading busy lives, don’t have time to make sense of them. To make food labels easier to understand we have worked with the National Heart Foundation of Australia, the Dietitians Association of Australia and Anaphylaxis Australia to develop Choosing the Right Stuff - an official guide to food labels and other information.

The book explains how to read labels for healthy eating, how to manage major allergen issues and obtain consumer information. It also includes numeric and alphabetical lists of food additives and the fat, kilojoule and calorie content of common foods and drinks. It is published by Murdoch Books and is available for sale in bookshops for $14.95.

Launching Choosing the Right Stuff at Parliament House in Canberra, Senator Brett Mason, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, said diet related disease is a major issue for all Australians.

“Much of the information we need to know about healthy eating can already be found on food labels,” Senator Mason said. “However, research by FSANZ indicates that while consumers appreciate and use the information on food labels they don’t always know exactly how to interpret it into healthy eating patterns. For example, people can read on a food label that there are 1112 mg of sodium in a serve but they don’t know whether that is a large or small amount when, in fact, that is quite a large amount as we should only be consuming 2300 mg a day.” “I urge you to get a copy of this book and follow the healthy eating advice. We can make small changes immediately that can make a big difference. For example, by eating five serves of vegetables and two of fruit each day, having two to three serves of fish a week, reducing our overall fat intake, limiting trans fats and saturated fats, and eating more wholegrains. “You may also want to take the opportunity to contact the many useful organisations listed in the book that can provide healthy eating advice.”

The book contains information on:

Choosing the Right Stuff - the official shoppers’ guide to food additives and labels, kilojoules and fat content , is available now in bookshops. It is published by Murdoch books (ISBN 978-1-921208-40-9) and has a recommended retail price of $14.95.

From the CEO

A good regulatory system has many attributes. It is inclusive and transparent. It is fair, professional, objective and of high integrity. Above all, however, it operates within an environment of certainty.

Industry may sometimes challenge regulatory changes – often vigorously – but once the dust has settled and the regulatory goalposts are established, most businesses adjust their practices to the new requirements and get on with the job. The food industry is no exception. The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code has been very successful in reducing the prescriptive nature of government regulation. But when the means of determining the position and dimensions of the regulatory goalposts are changed, there is the potential for uncertainty in the marketplace.  

A case in point is the amendments to the FSANZ Act which have just passed through the Australian Parliament and which come into effect on 1 October 2007. These amendments affect the information required by FSANZ before we can accept an application to change the Code, as well as some internal FSANZ processes and timelines for the assessment and completion of most applications.  We have consulted with more than 700 interested parties during the development of new guidelines for applicants which outline what is required to be in an application before FSANZ can accept it. An article in this issue of Food Standards News provides details of the changes, which only apply to applications lodged with FSANZ after 1 October. We are discussing, with major industry stakeholders and our regulatory partners in the States and Territories, how to ensure a seamless transition to the new arrangements. We want to provide industry with the certainty of completing applications within new, shortened timeframes. To provide this level of service, FSANZ needs to be adequately resourced. I am pleased to report that in the May Budget handed down by the Australian Government, we received an additional $12.7 million over four years. This additional funding will allow us to maintain our present staffing levels. It will provide us with the capacity to plan and meet our objectives from a sustainable base.

I am confident that the changes I have just described will go a long way to producing the productive regulatory environment that we all want – including the certainty required by primary producers, manufacturers and the food services and retail sectors. Once we have finalised several high-profile and resource intensive projects, we will continue to process applications according to our published work plan and to use our prioritisation tool to allocate resources to proposals to amend the Code that FSANZ raises itself.

The food regulatory system is complex, relying on the contribution of all stakeholders for its effectiveness. We are acutely aware of this and are taking steps to improve the way that we interact with individuals and organisations within the system. To that end, we have just concluded an on-line survey of stakeholders serving on FSANZ committees to gauge their satisfaction with our performance in helping them to meet their expectations as committee members. We have also carried out more in-depth telephone surveys of a cross-section of these committee members to explore their views on our consultation processes in general.  

The results, to be summarised in a future edition of this newsletter, will allow us to fine tune our communication and consultation programs. In turn, this should lead to us becoming a better informed agency.

We welcome comments and suggestions for improvement at any time.

Melanie Fisher, Acting CEO

Australian Government increases FSANZ budget

The Australian Government has increased the Food Standards Australia New Zealand budget by $12.7 million over four years.  The extra funding, which comes on top of FSANZ’s existing Australian allocation of $13.8 million a year, will allow us to keep pace with changes in the food environment and respond to urgent demands from industry and consumers.  The food industry will also benefit because FSANZ will be able to consider applications for new standards, and amendments to old ones, that improve industry innovation and competitiveness.  When he announced the increase in last May’s Federal Budget, Treasurer Peter Costello said the $12.7 million over four year is ongoing.

Food safety standards update

FSANZ gazetted a new standard called Food Safety Programs for Food Service to Vulnerable Persons in Chapter 3 of the Code in October 2006. It has an implementation period of two years. We are currently writing an interpretive guide to the standard.  Meanwhile, P290 Food Safety Programs for Catering Services to the General Population is at draft assessment. We are currently focussing on gaining industry and jurisdictional consensus on the draft of the standard.   In other  developments, we are now editing an interpretative guide to Standard 3.2.1 Food Safety Programs. The guide explains the current requirements in the standard and will be published on the FSANZ website in the near future.

New and extended appointments to the FSANZ Board

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Brett Mason, has announced one new appointment and two extended appointments to the Board of Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

Senator Mason said the expertise and experience of the new and extended appointees would ensure that public health, science and technology, and consumer affairs continue to be strongly represented on the FSANZ Board. “Dr Pamela Williams is a new appointment to the board,” Senator Mason said. “As a former lecturer on consumer rights she will bring considerable knowledge of this field and Australian consumer-affairs policy to the Board.” Dr Williams has lectured on consumer rights and responsibilities at several institutions, including Deakin University. She is honorary secretary and health advisor to the National Council of Women of Victoria, chairs the Community Advisory Committee of Southern Health and the Steering Committee for Consumer Recruitment, Development and Support at the Southern Integrated Cancer Service.

“Dr Laurence Eyres and Associate Professor Peter Williams have been re-appointed for three years and four years respectively,” Senator Mason added. “Both members have made a valuable contribution to date and their reappointment will help maintain an appropriate balance of skills and experience on the Board.

“These appointments have been made after consultation with the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council.”Dr Laurence Eyres’ main expertise is in food science. His research and professional speciality is in quality assurance, and researching and developing food products, particularly oils and fats. He has worked in industry for more than 30 years and brings a food technology, industry and New Zealand perspective to the Board. Dr Eyres is currently the Director, Food, Nutrition and Health of Auckland University’s Uniservices Ltd.

Associate Professor Peter Williams has an extensive background in public health, food science, food allergies, human nutrition and food safety. He is a senior lecturer in nutrition and dietetics in the Department of Biomedical Science at Wollongong University, and leads the regulatory affairs work of the National Centre of Excellence in Functional Foods. He was previously director of Scientific and Consumer Affairs at Kelloggs for three years, and earlier was chief dietitian and food services manager at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. He served for two years as president of the Dietitians’ Association of Australia from 2001. He has also served on National Health and Medical Research Council reviews of the dietary guidelines for Australia and recommended nutrient intakes, as well as being a committee member of the Heart Foundation’s Pick the Tick program.

Nutrition, Health and Related Claims News

FSANZ continues to develop a new Standard for Nutrition, Health and Related Claims (Proposal P293). We have already done much work with the preparation of the Final Assessment Report (FAR) and the finalisation of the draft Standard 1.2.7 is now underway.

We released a Preliminary Final Assessment Report (PFAR) for public consultation last April with the aim of canvassing specific issues arising from submissions to the Draft Assessment Report. We received some 100 submissions to the PFAR and have been busily considering the comments provided. Topics consulted on at PFAR included:

We are now completing a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of the proposed draft Standard 1.2.7 and will include it in the FAR for Proposal P293. There are also the results of further consumer research relating to consumer understanding of content claims to include in the FAR. The Final Assessment Report will now be presented to the FSANZ Board in March 2008, after which the Ministerial Council will consider it. This timeline has been extended to allow us to consider new research and conduct further targeted consultations with stakeholders arising from submissions to the PFAR.

Thinking about others with Workplace Giving

As a thoughtful, philanthropic bunch of people, FSANZ staff have joined the Australian Government’s Workplace Giving program. The program allows staff to donate directly from their pre-tax pay to one or more of a number of community organisations. The pre-tax idea means the giver gets an immediate tax deduction without the need to keep receipts.

We support four community organisations: RSPCA ACT, Medecins sans Frontieres, the Australian Cancer Research Foundation and the ACT Eden Monaro Cancer Support Group. Workplace Giving guarantees that 100% of donations go directly to the chosen charity and calculates that if only 45% of FSANZ’s 120 Canberra staff give $5 a week, we would donate nearly $16,000 to the community each year. And the community organisations we support? We know the RSPCA ACT works tirelessly to prevent cruelty to animals by actively promoting their care and protection. They deserve a good slice of our money. So does Medecins sans Frontieres, an independent international humanitarian organisation supplying medical aid through 3000 volunteer doctors, nurses and support staff to the world’s worst trouble spots.

Then there are the stalwart men and women of the Australian Cancer Research Foundation and the ACT Eden Monaro Cancer Support Group. The former is dedicated to finding a cure for cancer, a devastating disease that affects one in every three Australians, while the latter has for 21 years been financially and emotionally assisting families who have a member undergoing treatment for cancer. Workplace Giving Australia is an initiative of the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership designed to encourage a culture of giving in Australia. If your organisation would like to get involved in workplace giving, see the Prime Minister’s Community Business Partnership at www.partnerships.gov.au

Elaine Attwood retires from Board

Mrs Elaine Attwood is retiring from the FSANZ Board after five years of service. First appointed to the Board in June 2002 and reappointed for a further two years in 2005, Elaine has a strong background in consumer advocacy, where she has served voluntarily for more than 30 years. Initially she worked in a personal capacity but later began helping a number of consumer organisations. These include peak national consumer groups such as the Consumers’ Federation of Australia, the Consumers’ Health Forum and the National Council of Women of Australia.

In her home state of South Australia she has worked with Consumers’ SA, the National Council of Women of South Australia and the Department of Human Services. She is also an associate member of the Complementary Health Association.  Elaine has held a bewildering number of other positions, all with a strong community service theme where consumer experience and expertise is required, particularly in food matters, (including regulatory ones) and health and nutrition .

She told Food Standards News: “ I have been asked the question, ‘What will you do after FSANZ?’ by colleagues and friends alike. Well, I will be returning to work with my main constituents, the National Council of Women of Australia at the national level, and with that same group at the state level.

“Consumers SA have also been very supportive of my work in the past and I will continue to do voluntary work for them, probably on food issues. However, there are new fields beckoning. One of these is nanotechnology - the world of matter at one billionth of a metre! It is here that every day materials we have come to accept change their properties and behave differently.  

“Nanotechnology has the capacity to interact with every other ‘ology’ we are familiar with. Although Australia is working on nanotechnology at the international and national level, consumers are largely unaware of its impact. It is my hope that I can contribute to the work of ensuring effective regulation and that consumers are protected and informed of both the benefits and risks. To this end I am representing the Consumers Federation of Australia on Standards Australia's nanotechnology committee.

“As it happens, my term with the Gene Technology Consumers Consultative Committee also came to an end on the 30th of June. After revision of the Gene Technology Act, it was decided that this committee and the Ethics Committee would be combined and I have applied to continue as one of the 12 member combined committee.” Elaine is a lso interested in environmental issues, women, children and family matters. She and husband Brian have two sons and, for the last six and a half years, they have been both ‘parents’ and grandparents to their granddaughter who lives with them.

“We have joined an organisation called ‘Grandparents for Grandchildren’ and are actively working towards gaining recognition and fairer treatment for grandparents finding themselves in this position. I will continue this work. “With the environment, my love of Australian fauna is well known amongst my colleagues and for as long as I am able I will continue to rescue and protect these unique animals. Both my husband and I are regular volunteers at places dealing with environment and native flora and fauna. 'I have enjoyed immensely my time as a member of the Board of FSANZ. It has been a valuable experience and I have learned a lot more about the regulatory system and indeed how government operates. I have been blessed with colleagues who had knowledge they were willing to share and were also prepared to listen to the consumer point of view. I consider a highlight of my time has been the establishment of the Consumers’ Liaison Committee.”

Suffice to say FSANZ has been very proud to have someone of her altruism, commitment and capability grace our boardroom. We wish her well.

FSANZ wins annual report award

 FSANZ staff were very gratified to learn in May that the agency won the Gold Prize in the Commonwealth Agencies and Companies (CAC) category of the Institute of Public Administration Australia (IPAA) Annual Report Awards. The annual awards look at a large number of annual reports in four categories – ACT Government, CAC agencies, FMA agencies (government departments and public service) and On-line - and the IPAA rightly regards them as an important benchmark for public sector reporting.  The judges noted that annual reports should be a report on progress toward outcomes rather than a description of activities.  They also noted that the winning entries were able to tell the reader clearly what the agencies’ outcomes were and provided good accountability for their activities. ' Winning a Gold Award is a huge achievement requiring ‘high standards of reporting across all criteria’, according to the IPAA.   This year Gold Awards were made in only two of the four categories, reflecting the high standards necessary to receive this recognition.  Indeed, the IPAA said in their comments on the winners that the judges said the field was much stronger than the previous year’s.

“Our assessors and judges were impressed with the general quality of the reports,” the IPAA said. FSANZ acting CEO Dean Stockwell was clearly impressed that in a year of high achievement, our agency was able to keep its focus and rise above our brother and sister agencies to take the gold.  “Annual reports sometimes seem like another job in an already busy schedule, but they play an important role in reporting to our stakeholders, government and the Australian community at large, and they also serve as a window into our important work,” Mr Stockwell said.  “Well done all who contributed and very special thanks to Valerie Carpenter for the great graphics work. “And a very special thank you and ‘well done’ to Dr Michael Dack, who made this his top priority over several months. Michael developed the style and approach to this winning report and then put it all together ensuring everyone made their essential contribution.”

The prize-winning report can be seen on the FSANZ website at www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/publications/annualreport/fsanzannualreport20052006/index.cfm

Australian and New Zealand Food Ministers meet

Australia and New Zealand have decided not to regulate trans fatty acids for now but will review the decision in 2009. Before taking the decision, the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council considered a report from Food Standards Australia New Zealand that showed trans fats in the two nations’ food supplies are well below the goal of 1% of energy proposed by a World Health Organization working group.  Australians obtain only 0.6 per cent of their daily kilojoules from trans fats and New Zealanders only 0.7 per cent, with around half of that amount coming from meat and dairy products. The ministers noted the ongoing activities of the food industry to reduce the levels of trans fats in the food supply were an effective approach.

They accepted that the Australia New Zealand Collaboration on Trans Fats set up in October 2006, which includes food industry representatives, government, FSANZ and health professionals, is already working cooperatively to reduce voluntarily the amount of trans fats in the food supply without an associated increase in the amount of saturated fats. However, FSANZ will continue to monitor the levels of trans fats and the ministers said they will reconsider regulatory action if the trans fats collaboration group does not make sufficient progress.

At their meeting in Brisbane in May the ministers also endorsed a National Food Incident Response Protocol that is intended to provide a framework for FSANZ to respond to national food incidents in a timely, appropriate, consistent and coordinated matter. The protocol formalises existing arrangements between the Australian States and Territories and links to the system for responding to communicable disease outbreaks including food borne illness.  

The Protocol will be reviewed by the Implementation Sub Committee of the Food Regulation Standing Committee on an ongoing basis to incorporate feedback received on the use of the Protocol in actual food incidents.   The Protocol will be formally reviewed every three years. The ministers also considered other policy and food standards issues still in train, notably front of pack food labelling. They noted the activities of the Food Regulation Standing Committee working group which is considering existing front of pack labelling schemes, research related to these schemes and their relevance to the situation in Australia and New Zealand. The group will provide a report to the Ministerial Council in October.

Changes to the FSANZ Act

Changes to food regulations will significantly improve the assessment and consultation procedures for new and amended food standards, according to Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Brett Mason. Senator Mason said the amendments to the FSANZ Act will make the regulatory process more efficient, while improving consultation with stakeholders.

Until now, FSANZ has had to use a ‘one size fits all’ model for assessing applications to amend food standards, regardless of the scope of the proposed change. This has caused backlogs in the consideration of applications that can be frustrating for applicants. The new amendments, passed in Federal Parliament on 1 July 2007, and which will apply to all applications received from October 1, 2007, solve this problem by allowing three different assessment procedures for applications, based on each application’s level of complexity.

The new procedures are:

Other notable changes include a new Application Handbook that provides mandatory guidelines to help applicants - FSANZ will be able to reject an application if it has not met the Handbook’s requirements - and the removal of the current terminology for Initial, Draft and Final Assessments.

The major steps in the assessment process will now be called:

In other changes: once the treaty between Australia and New Zealand has been amended, the Ministerial Council will only be able to request one review of a decision made by FSANZ; an applicant can request confidentiality when seeking permission to use a high-level health claim; FSANZ will have the capacity to ‘stop the clock’ on an application for up to 18 months if the Ministerial Council says it is developing policy principles or guidelines pertinent to that application; if FSANZ decides an applicant has an exclusive capturable commercial benefit (ECCB), an applicant will have to pay the relevant fees within 20 business days of the date that the Administrative Assessment is made or FSANZ will reject the application; applicants will be able to seek permission for exclusivity for the maker / brand and product combination for a new novel food for 15 months. This option will be available within the Code, rather than as part of the FSANZ Act.  

Senator Mason said the new arrangements recognise the changing environment for food safety and food innovation, while reducing red tape. He said the new process will apply to all applications received from October 1, 2007. The new legislation also removes unnecessary duplication by allowing the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority to refer applications regarding residue limits in food directly to FSANZ.

FSANZ has established an Implementation Unit to manage the introduction of the changes to the FSANZ Act. Its Manager is Cathie Humphries on telephone +61 2 6271 2280 or cathie.humphries@foodstandards.gov.au . Please contact Cathie directly if you have any questions about the changes.

MoU between FSANZ and the National Measurement Institute

Food Standards Australia New Zealand has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Measurement Institute (NMI). The NMI was formed in July 2004 to take responsibility for the Australian Government’s measurement functions under the National Measurement Act of 1960. The Act established a national system of units and standards of measurement and provided for the uniform use of those units and standards throughout Australia to ensure traceability of measurement.

Historically, much of the work associated with FSANZ’s survey and food composition has been done by the NMI and the Australian Government Analytical Laboratory under commercial contract. Over the years FSANZ has also looked to AGAL/NMI to provide advice relating to technical issues, such as analytical methodology. But there are a number of other opportunities for FSANZ and the NMI to collaborate, such as on projects like design of sampling plans for national microbiological food surveillance, and in regional training activities which include topics such as food surveillance.

NUTTAB nutrition tables now online

Our latest nutrition tables are now available online at the FSANZ website, so at the touch of a few computer keys anyone can search for nutritional information about the food they are interested in – from apples to zucchinis. The tables, known as NUTTAB, were originally developed by the Commonwealth in tabular form in 1987 and have been updated by FSANZ (and our predecessors) since 1991. We have recently redeveloped NUTTAB and, for the first time, have extensively upgraded it in a new online searchable format. It contains updated food composition data for approximately 2600 foods and includes nutrient data for up to 169 nutrients.

Did you know, for example, that there are 24.9 grams of protein in every 100 grams of Vegemite? Or that there is 13.7% fat in an average meat pie or even that a banana contains 342 milligrams of potassium?

Using NUTTAB 2006 Online your search will return information such as the food name, food description, food group, data derivation, sampling details, edible portion, fat factor, nitrogen factor, specific gravity (if applicable) and nutrient data on a per 100 g basis. Searching for a particular nutrient will return information such as the nutrient definition, a complete list of foods reported in NUTTAB 2006 with a value for that nutrient, and the nutrient amount on a per 100 g basis.

Launching NUTTAB 2006 Online, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Brett Mason, said it is an essential tool for health professionals, the food industry, academics, students and consumers. “The food composition information has been updated by FSANZ and there are some interesting facts, for example many cuts of meat are lower in kilojoules and fat than they were ten years ago as we are now eating leaner, trimmed cuts of meat,” Senator Mason said. “Having information about what we eat helps us make healthier food choices. Already most packaged foods must have a nutrition panel on the label showing kilojoules, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar and salt. The additional information in NUTTAB online gives us access to even more detail about the food we eat.”

NUTTAB 2006 Online version, as well as a pdf copy of downloadable tables, is available on the FSANZ website at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/monitoringandsurveillance/nuttab2006/ .

Primary production and processing developments

It has now been eight years since the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments agreed to a comprehensive review of food regulation throughout the whole food chain.  A Council of Australian Government Senior Officials Working Group on Food Regulation  was formed in 1999 and recommended that all existing domestic food standards, including primary product standards, be combined to produce a single set of standards consistent with internationally recognised Codex Alimentarius Commission (‘Codex’) standards.

Since then, under the policy guidance of the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council, we at Food Standards Australia New Zealand have been working with different primary production and processing (PPP) sectors to develop whole of food chain standards.  The seafood standard came into effect in May 2007 and the dairy standard, which was gazetted last year, will come into effect in October 2008. Other PPP standards in the pipeline are poultry, eggs and egg products, raw milk and raw cheeses, plant and plant products and meat and meat products.

Australia and New Zealand to add folic acid to bread flour

The Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council has decided to proceed with mandatory fortification of food with folic acid. The bi-national council agreed at an extraordinary meeting in June to a draft food standard prepared by Food Standards Australia New Zealand that will require the mandatory addition of folic acid to wheat flour for bread-making within a prescribed range of 200-300 micrograms per 100 grams of flour.  For New Zealand they will fortify their bread by adding the folic acid at levels of 80 to 180 mcg of folic acid per 100g of bread during the bread-making process, rather than directly to the flour. The ministers expect this level of fortification will prevent between 14 and 49 neural tube defects (NTD) in the 300-350 affected pregnancies in Australia each year, and build on the number of NTDs already prevented through current strategies for fortification and supplements use.  They expect it will prevent between four and 14 neural tube defects annually in New Zealand. There is a transition period of two years for the new standard, which will be gazetted soon.

Neural tube defects are severe birth defects associated with considerable morbidity and mortality as well as hardship for carers and families. In reaching their decision the ministers noted a number of countries already fortify food with folic acid to reduce the prevalence of these birth defects. In adopting the new standard the ministers exempted wheat flour for bread-making represented as organic. They said they recognise the importance of public health and safety in adopting the new standard and the need to monitor the outcomes of mandatory fortification. An extensive monitoring system is being finalised to determine the effects of mandatory folic acid fortification. 

The ministers agreed that a comprehensive and independent review of mandatory fortification with folic acid will be initiated two years after the implementation of the standard. The review will consider health effects and the effectiveness of the initiative, the actual cost effects on the food industry and the adequacy of the monitoring framework.

International Food Safety Conference set for September 2007

Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the New South Wales Food Authority will co-host Australia’s second major international Food Safety Conference between the 19th and 21st of September 2007. To be held at the Sydney Exhibition and Convention Centre at Darling Harbour, the conference will examine unfolding developments and challenges in food safety under the title New Directions 2007.

George Davey, Director-General of the NSW Food Authority, said that central to the conference theme will be the future of food and how it will affect consumers, food manufacturers and regulators in the international arena. Participants will hear about the experiences of their counterparts from this country and across the world, prompting lively discussion as everyone shares the latest developments, discoveries and ideas.  

The conference will have something for everyone involved in, or with a keen interest in, food and food safety and the agenda will include: 

the need for regulators in Australia and internationally to give careful consideration to emerging trends in relation to health and safety objectives,

how regulators will implement new regulations affecting consumers and industry and food from paddock to plate,

how industry will be affected by the range of community perspectives on future foods, market trends and the nature of food regulator’s responses and

the insights consumer or representative organisations with a particular interest in food issues will gain into the scale of innovation and how food regulators are likely to respond in balancing consumer expectations.

The conference introduces a novel idea – a series of Masterclasses. These bring together peers and colleagues to discuss their own issues. Each Masterclass is aimed at a broad sector in the food regulatory network: consumers, industry, public health professionals and environmental health officers, and each sector will take responsibility for its own agenda, identifying the issues that are important to them. Outcomes will be reported to a plenary session on the first day. Masterclasses will be held on Wednesday, 19 September 2007. Classes are strictly limited, so please register soon.

For more details about the conference please see http://www.foodsafetyconference.com.au/.

Lifesaving allergy information now available on handy allergen cards

The need to protect the 400,000 Australians who suffer from food allergies prompted Anaphylaxis Australia and Food Standards Australia New Zealand to develop a set of allergen information cards in association with the New South Wales Food Authority. The cards for egg, soy, wheat, peanuts, sesame, tree nuts, fish, shellfish and milk will provide simple, timely advice for the 1-2 per cent of all Australians, and particularly the 3-5 per cent of children, with food allergies.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Senator Brett Mason, congratulated the not-for-profit group Anaphylaxis Australia for developing the cards.  They can be ordered from Anaphylaxis Australia at coordinator@allergyfacts.org.au  or by  e-mailing FSANZ at info@foodstandards.gov.au. Electronic versions are available at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/publications/allergencards.cfm