Wednesday, 6 October 1999
ANZFA Wants to Hear From You About How We Consult
on Important Food Issues
The Managing Director of the Australia New Zealand Food Authority, Mr Ian Lindenmayer, today announced the release of a discussion paper on improving the way community members and organisations are involved in the development and review of food standards for Australia and New Zealand.
‘We, at ANZFA, need to hear from the community about how we develop or change food standards. We recognise that we may not have done this as well as we could have in the past so we have now developed a discussion paper and are seeking your views about how we can improve our consultation,’ Mr Lindenmayer said.
‘In particular we would like to know:
what does ANZFA currently do well in involving the community?
- where do we need to improve and where have you encountered difficulties?
- what mechanism or processes can ANZFA put in place to help your organisation be involved in our activities?
‘ANZFA is currently bringing all food standards for Australia and New Zealand up to date as part of the Food Standards Review. The Review is also seeking to replace the existing separate, and quite different, Australia and New Zealand standards with a single set of food standards for both countries. We also face many challenges for the food supply of the future such as genetically modified food and novel foods. To achieve this effectively, we need the involvement of
a broad range of community participants including consumers, industry, small business, public health professionals, academic and science professionals, and Australian and New Zealand government agencies at all levels,’ Mr Lindenmayer concluded.
Comments on the paper are sought from interested individuals or groups by 29 October 1999. It can be obtained from ANZFA’s website: www.foodstandards.gov.au or www.foodstandards.govt.nz or by contacting the Information Officer PO Box 7186 Canberra Business Centre ACT 2610.
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