This Summary of Key Outcomes is not an official record of the decisions of the ANZFA Board and does not provide full details of those decisions. The Minutes of each meeting of the ANZFA Board are the official record of the decisions made by ANZFA Board at that meeting and no reliance should be placed on this Summary of Key Outcomes.
SEVENTY-FOURTH MEETING
Canberra
22 April 2002
Summary of Key Outcomes
Recommendations relating to Food Standards matters
The ANZFA Board has responsibility under the Australia New Zealand Food Authority Act 1991 to consider standards matters and make recommendations to members of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council to amend the Food Standards Code. The Council is composed of Health Ministers from the Commonwealth, States, Territories and New Zealand, as Lead Ministers, as well as a number of other participating Ministers nominated by each jurisdiction, under the Food Standards Agreement signed in November 2000. The Ministers consider the recommendations from the Board and decisions are determined by majority vote, before the Code can be amended. Ministers can reject the recommendation if they so wish, or amend it, or return the recommendation to the Board for reconsideration.
NOTE: Prior to the full entry into force of the 2001 ANZFA Act amendments, the present Act continues to operate. However, for the purposes of a transition to the new arrangements, a practice has been developed to use particular terms contained in the amending legislation. A list of the new terminology with the corresponding counterparts from the current Act is provided:
For Applications
New Terminology
Old Terminology
Initial Assessment
Preliminary Assessment - section 13
Draft Assessment
Full Assessment - section 15
Final Assessment
Inquiry - section 17
New Terminology
Old Terminology
Initial Assessment
Preliminary Assessment - section 13
Draft Assessment
Full Assessment - section 15
Final Assessment
Inquiry - section 17
For Proposals
Initial Assessment | Proposal prepared - section 21 |
Draft Assessment | Full Assessment - section 23 |
Final Assessment | Inquiry - section 24 |
GM Commodities
The Board considered Final Assessment Reports for the following genetically modified commodities:
- Application A380 - Food from Insect-Protected and Glufosinate Ammonium-Tolerant DBT418 Corn ; and
- Application A388 - Oil from Bromoxynil-Tolerant Canola Line Westar-Oxy-235 .
Application A380 seeks permission for food derived from corn which has been genetically modified to provide for protection against the insect pest European corn borer and tolerance to the herbicide glufosinate ammonium. The growing of DBT418 corn was discontinued in 1999, but as significant quantities were planted in the final year of production small amounts may still be present in certain imported food products. Application A388 seeks permission for food derived from canola which has been genetically modified to be resistant to bromoxynil , a herbicide used for the control of broad leaf weeds common in canola fields .
The Board has agreed to the Final Assessment Reports and the proposed draft variations to the Food Standards Codewill now be recommended to Ministers for adoption.
Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs)
The Board considered Final Assessment Reports for the following two Applications and a Proposal amending MRLs for agricultural and veterinary chemicals in foods.
- Application A455 - MRLs - Nov/Dec 2001 and Jan 2002 ;
- Application A460 - MRLs - Antibiotics ; and
- Proposal P261 - Miscellaneous MRL amendments .
The Board has agreed to the Final Assessment Reports and the proposed draft variations to theFood Standards Codewill now be recommended to Ministers for adoption.
Proposal P246 - Labelling Omnibus Amendments
The Board considered the Final Assessment Report for a proposal which has been formulated by ANZFA because of a lack of certainty over the interpretation and application of several labelling requirements in Volume 2 of the Food Standards Code. Whilst the issues are minor in nature, clarification was needed to facilitate compliance and enforcement. The Board has agreed to the Final Assessment Report and the proposed draft variations to the Food Standards Code will now be recommended to Ministers for adoption.
Proposal P254 - Minor Omnibus Amendments No. 2
The Board considered the Final Assessment Report for the second of several proposals which have been formulated by ANZFA to correct a number of typographical inconsistencies, misspellings, grammatical errors and deletions in Volume 2 of the Food Standards Code. The Board has agreed to the Final Assessment Report and the proposed draft variations to the Food Standards Code will now be recommended to Ministers for adoption.
Proposal P154 - Royal Jelly
The Preliminary Inquiry Report for Proposal P154 on royal jelly, circulated for public comment in 2000, assessed the regulatory requirements for food forms of royal jelly, bee pollen and propolis, and their food products following action taken in 1997 in relation to royal jelly as a matter of urgency under section 37 of the ANZFA Act. The action involved strengthening the then existing warning statement on royal jelly or food containing royal jelly.
The Board believes that, on the basis of the re-assessed risk to public health, a warning statement in the label of a food comprising or containing royal jelly remains justified because of the considerable potential for royal jelly to cause severe adverse reactions , including life threatening and fatal reactions. Such a warning statement is necessary in order to inform susceptible people of the full extent of the risk of consumption of royal jelly in food form because these foods are not in common use and are promoted as health foods. However, the format of the statement gazetted as in 1997, will be changed from UPPER CASE, to lower case.
The Board has agreed to the Final Assessment Report and the proposed draft variations to the Food Standards Codewill now be recommended to Ministers for adoption.
Proposal P240 - Labelling Statements for Milks
The Board considered the Final Assessment Report for Proposal P240 which proposes that an advisory statement be placed on reduced fat milks, modified milks and milk alternatives to protect consumers by alerting carers of young children to the issue and to cover those products which could lead to growth and development problems if fed to children under the age of two as the main source of milk. The Board has agreed to the Final Assessment Report and the proposed draft variations to the Food Standards Code will now be recommended to Ministers for adoption.
Application A443 - Irradiation of Tropical Fruits
The Board considered the Draft Assessment Report for an Application which seeks permission for the treatment of specified tropical fruits with machine-sourced electron beams or x-rays to provide an alternative treatment to existing techniques (such as chemical treatments) and facilitate access to New Zealand markets for Australian tropical fruit growers. The Board has agreed to the Draft Assessment Report which will be released in the near future for public consultation on the proposed variations to the Code before final consideration by the Board.
Application A404 - Lactoperoxidase System as a Processing Aid
The Board considered the Draft Assessment Report for an Application which seeks to permit the use of lactoperoxidase and sodium (and potassium) isothiocyanate as processing aids on meat with the function of inhibiting bacterial growth. The Board recommends that consumers be informed by appropriate labelling of meat and meat products for the presence of milk proteins. The Board has agreed to the Draft Assessment Report which will be released in the near future for public consultation on the proposed variations to the Code before final consideration by the Board.
Proposal P262 - Minor Amendments Omnibus No. 3
The Board considered the Initial / Draft Assessment Report for a Proposal which has been initiated to address other minor amendments that were not included in the previous two minor omnibus proposals due to time constraints and for new amendments that have since been found necessary.
The Board believes the changes proposed to be of minor significance as these amendments correct errors of minor significance or complexity in Volume 2, including inconsistencies, misspellings, grammatical errors and provide clarifications, insertion of omissions and updating . The Board has agreed to the Draft Assessment Report which will be released in the near future for public consultation on the proposed variations to the Code before final consideration by the Board.
Application A461 - MRLs (Initial / Draft Assessment)
The Board considered the Initial / Draft Assessment Report for amending MRLs for agricultural and veterinary chemicals in foods. The Board considered the issues raised to be of minor significance and complexity and only one round of public consultation need occur.
The Board has agreed to the Initial / Draft Assessment Report for this Application which will be released in the near future for public consultation on the proposed variations to the Code before final consideration by the Board.
Proposal P263 - Assessing the Safety of Raw Milk Very Hard Cooked-Curd Cheeses
The Board considered the Initial Assessment Report for a Proposal which seeks to assess the safety of very hard cooked-curd cheeses made from raw milk and, if appropriate, to amend the Code to allow the continued import and sale of these cheeses. The Board agreed to the Initial Assessment Report which will be released in the near future for public consultation on a number of issues, prior to further consideration by the Board.
Proposal P152 - Labelling of Peanut Ingredients
Proposal P152 - Labelling of Peanut Ingredients was originally formulated to address an inconsistency between the Australian Food Standards Code(Volume 1) and the New Zealand Food Regulations 1984, with respect to the declaration of peanut ingredients in food. It has been abandoned by the Board as the issues to be covered by the Proposal have already been addressed by the adoption of Volume 2 of the Code.
Other matters
Budget 2002-03
The Board endorsed an amended Budget for the organisation for 2002-03.
Draft 2001-2002 Annual Report
The Board considered and endorsed the draft ANZFA Annual Report for 2002-03.
Economic Modelling Consultancy Report
ANZFA commissioned a scoping study to investigate the feasibility of improving its cost benefits analysis through the application of econometric modelling. The consultants were directed to focus on identifying ways to quantify the benefits of food regulation, which is a most difficult area to obtain robust information.
A number of agencies were consulted during the management of the project. The consultants proposed a 5-step integrated framework that would build on and improve ANZFA' s current regulatory impact analysis work to quantify the health benefits of food regulation. The integrated framework would be flexible, transparent and able to accommodate different kinds of health risks and food regulation. The proposed strategy is to progress implementation as ANZFA's resources allow.
Maori Reference Group Update
The Board was given a progress report on the work of the Maori Reference Group which has been established to provide advice to ANZFA on Maori culture and community processes in relation to food issues. The latest meeting of the Group was held in Wellington in June 2002. The Group reported on its progress to date and provided the Board with a final framework document based on the principles of the Treaty of Waitangi to provide a foundation to enable more effective relations between ANZFA and Maori and facilitate participation by Maori in the development of food regulatory measures by ANZFA. The framework was endorsed by the Board.
The Management of Microbiological Risks in Food
The Board was briefed on the worldwide increase of food-borne illness and the development of new strategies and approaches for the management of food-borne microbiological risks, both within ANZFA and elsewhere in the world. While ANZFA is moving towards outcome based preventive food safety approaches, there are current limitations imposed by data gaps in the ' best' microbiological risk assessment approach. Until such time as the data is available to better manage the microbiological risks in food, ANZFA will need to take an approach that combines features of the old and newer risk assessment and risk management methods to assess and deal with the risks. However, it is clear that ANZFA must do this within a regulatory framework that requires a risk and evidence based approach; outcomes based standards i.e. focussed on public health and safety; minimum effective regulation justified on the basis of cost benefit analysis; and facilitates the harmonisation of Australia' s domestic and export food standards with international standards.
To position ANZFA more strategically towards managing food-borne microbiological risks and to achieve a high level of performance in this evolving area, the Board has agreed that ANZFA undertake action to develop tools and training in microbiological risk assessment and risk management; transparency of processes and change management with ANZFA' s stakeholders; international activities; and stimulation of research and enhanced intelligence gathering and hazard surveillance.
Evaluation of Food Regulatory Measures - Qualitative Labelling
The Board gave consideration to a final version of its proposed Evaluation Strategy. The Strategy was endorsed and will be placed on the website in the near future.
The Strategy outlines several major evaluation activities, some of which are completed and others in various stages of development: a food handling practices survey (this is currently available on the ANZFA website); consumer labelling research survey (this is currently available on the ANZFA website); labelling issues for stakeholders other than consumers; sweetener survey; allergy labelling survey; and monitoring of labels.
Update on the Nutrition Panel Calculator
The Board was updated on progress with the on-line Nutrition Panel Calculator (NPC) which is available in two versions, using Australian nutrient composition data. The NPC is available on the ANZFA website. Considerable positive feedback has been received on its operation. The Board considered issues relating to website accessibility, use of the NPC, limitations of nutrient composition data for labelling purposes, and the potential for inclusion of New Zealand food composition data.
Vitamin and Mineral Fortification
The Board considered several issues relating to vitamin and mineral fortification including the thiamin to bread-making flour, the Vitamin D to table edible oil spreads and margarines, and folic acid to bread or flour primarily to reduce the incidence of babies born with neural tube defects. In 2001, ANZFA commissioned separate reviews of the effectiveness and continued need for mandatory thiamin and vitamin D fortification in Australia from Emeritus Professor A. Stewart Truswell, and Dr Caryl Nowson respectively. ANZFA will make these two reviews publicly available in the near future, including on the ANZFA website.
Sulphites Survey and Communication Strategy
Members considered results of the estimated dietary exposure assessment on sulphites, based on State, Territory and New Zealand compliance data. As a result of the discussion, the Board has agreed to conduct a survey to determine concentrations of sulphites in food as consumed, to be used to conduct a more realistic dietary exposure assessment.
Food Labelling and Additives Book - Status Report
ANZFA'sFood Additive Shoppers' Guideis available free of charge from the ANZFA website, but there has been considerable consumer interest in being able to purchase a hard copy version. New publication arrangements have been agreed to which will see the distribution of the Guide through supermarkets, newsagents and bookshops in Australia and New Zealand. It is intended that the text be finalised by 30 June 2002 and the book be published and distributed for launch in September 2002.
Report from Community Forum held in Wellington
The Board considered a report of the outcomes of the community forum held in conjunction with last Board meeting held in Wellington, New Zealand in February 2002.