PUBLIC COMMENT WANTED ON USE OF KAVA IN FOOD

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) today invited interested individuals and organisations to comment on a number of proposed changes to the Food Standards Code, including a review of kava in food.

Review of kava in food ( P256 ) - Initial Assessment

FSANZ has commenced a review of the present food standard regulating the use and labelling of kava in food. This standard permits the use of raw kava, but prohibits its being mixed with other foods. The standard also recognises that kava can be present in products regulated under the New Zealand Dietary Supplements Regulations (1985). In Australia, the standard operates in conjunction with a management strategy (the National Code of Kava Management) involving the Australian Customs Service, the Therapeutic Goods Administration and State and Territory health departments.

There have been recent reports of liver damage associated with kava extracts used in complementary medicines and dietary supplements. This review will examine information on the toxicity of kava, including the safety of extracts used in food products. Initial comments are sought from interested parties.

Gamma - cyclodextrin as a novel food ingredient ( A438 ) - Draft Assessment

Novel foods are defined as non-traditional foods for which insufficient knowledge exists in the broad community to ensure safe use in the form in which they are presented. They have to undergo a pre-market safety assessment by FSANZ before being considered for approval for sale in Australia and New Zealand.

Gamma-cyclodextrin can be used in foods such as table spreads as a carrier for flavours, colours or sweeteners. The scientific evaluations concluded that there is no evidence of any public health and safety concerns associated with its consumption at the proposed levels of use. FSANZ proposes to allow gamma-cyclodextrin as a novel food ingredient.

Use of the enzyme transglucosidase ( A466 ) - Draft Assessment

The enzyme transglucosidase, sourced from Aspergillus niger, can be used as a processing aid on maltose syrups to produce isomalto-oligosaccharides - a recently developed category of sugar syrups that can be used in a number of industries. The report concludes there are no public health and safety concerns associated with the use of this enzyme. FSANZ proposes that transglucosidase be permitted as a processing aid.

Further information:

Assessment Reports for the above applications and proposals can be accessed at www.foodstandards.gov.au. Submissions should be received by 20 November 2002.