Stakeholders and regulatory partners
The food regulatory system is multi-layered and complex. Each tier of government has a role and it is incumbent on these tiers to communicate effectively, and to act in concert, to present a cohesive and synergistic system.
We have several mechanisms in place designed to achieve this outcome, including the Science Network Forum, the Jurisdictional Forum, the Food Surveillance and the National Food Incident Response Protocol. We also have close working relationships with Australian Government agencies on food matters, particularly the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service on imported foods and the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority on chemical residues in food. These mechanisms facilitate information sharing and the planning of collaborative action.
We maintain an on-going dialogue with the food industry via its national peak bodies, the Australian Food and Grocery Council and the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council, and discuss matters of more immediate concern with the industry through the FSANZ Retailers and Manufacturers Liaison Committee. We also maintain working relationships with public health groups and national consumer advocacy organisations.
Case study 1: consultation for mandatory fortification
Primary production and processing standards are national food safety requirements for the primary industries that often replace existing state-by-state legislation in Australia. These standards are not ‘green fields’ standards, operating where no controls existed previously. It is therefore important that FSANZ works collaboratively with State and Territory governments, and with the industries concerned, during the development of these standards to ensure that the best elements of existing requirements are included in the national regulations.
For work on the development of a primary production standard for the egg industry, we have drawn especially on the expertise and experience of the New South Wales Food Authority and SafeFood Queensland with their control measures for the industry. The Eggs Standard Development Committee (SDC) established a communication sub-committee during the year which prepared an action plan to raise awareness of the standard development process and to identify opportunities for collaborative communication activities with jurisdictions.
In 2006-07, FSANZ’s risk assessors visited egg businesses in four states and the Australian Capital Territory, and risk managers presented progress reports at major forums, including the Australian Egg Corporation Limited. We prepared a PowerPoint presentation for SDC members to use with their constituencies, posted a number of fact sheets on the FSANZ website and issued material to industry trade magazines and newsletters.
Partnerships with other national agencies
Standards Australia
Under a memorandum of understanding with Standards Australia, we collaborate on standard setting and other joint activities, provide expertise on technical committees, take steps to reduce overlap and share information on food industry and consumer needs.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC)
Under a memorandum of understanding, we cooperate with ACCC on areas of the Food Standards Code dealing with misleading or deceptive conduct to ensure a consistency between the Code and trade practices legislation. An ACCC representative is a member of our Standards Development Advisory Committee for Health Claims.
Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS)
AQIS administers the Imported Food Program for Australia. We continued to provide advice to AQIS on risk levels for imported food, which determine the level at which they are tested at the border. Because AQIS enforces food standards, including primary production and processing standards, representatives from the agency participate on many of our advisory committees.
Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR)
OGTR assesses the suitability of releasing genetically modified crops into the environment. We continued to share information on biotechnology matters with OGTR during the year.
Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA)
As discussed earlier in this report, we reached a successful outcome with APVMA on the harmonisation of processes to approve maximum residue limits of chemical residues for the growing of crops and use in food.
Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)
We continued to consult with the TGA over the designation of products as foods or medicines. A new trans-Tasman Therapeutic Products Agency may commence operations in the second half of 2007 in place of the existing regulatory arrangements for Australia and New Zealand, although timing is uncertain. We expect to develop a productive partnership with the new agency. FSANZ currently participates in an Australian interagency group (with the TGA) that provides guidance on regulation of products at the food-medicine interface in Australia.
Office of Best Practice Regulation (OBPR)
The Office of Best Practice Review promotes effective and efficient regulation, from a broad economy-wide perspective. Under Council of Australian Governments arrangements, OBPR assists agencies to develop Regulatory Impact Statements and to provide guidance on the adequacy of the analysis. We are currently introducing the use of the OBPR’s Business Cost Calculator to our work to estimate compliance costs.
New ZealandFood Safety Authority (NZFSA)
NZFSA is the national food regulator for New Zealand. It also has responsibility for compliance and enforcement activities associated with the Food Standards Code. Our two agencies participated in a review of the Treaty establishing the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of New Zealand Concerning a Joint Food Standards System. The review was completed at the end of 2006 and the review report is under consideration by the two governments.
Relationships in the Asia-Pacific region
FSANZ continues to be widely recognised in the Asia-Pacific region as a centre of excellence in food regulation and a leader in food regulation issues. We have undertaken a range of training activities in the region, over many years, designed to strengthen our working relationships with these countries.
In addition to providing scientific and technical expertise to provide training, a large focus has been to establish relationships with APEC Member Economies, particularly in relation to the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Initiative.
APEC Food Safety Cooperation Initiative Ad Hoc Steering Group Workshop
In September 2006, the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Initiative Ad Hoc Steering Group, co-chaired by Australia (FSANZ) and China under the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC), convened their second workshop to progress issues for the Food Safety Cooperation Initiative. A major outcome of the workshop held in Da Nang, Viet Nam, was that the SCSC endorsed the recommendation of the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Initiative Ad Hoc Steering Group to establish an APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum.
APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum
In partnership with our Australian Government partners, we organised the APEC Food Safety Cooperation Forum in the Hunter Valley on 2-4 April 2007, with representatives from15 APEC Member Economies, the APEC Sub-Committee on Standards and Conformance (SCSC), the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council, the APEC Fisheries Working Group, the APEC Business Advisory Council, and the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.
APEC Member Economies represented at the Forum were Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Thailand, the United States and Viet Nam.
Senator the Hon. Brett Mason, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, opened the Forum on behalf of the Australian Government, which was co-chaired by Mr Graham Peachey (CEO, FSANZ) and Dr Lin Wei (Deputy Director General, Import and Export Food Safety Bureau, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People’s Republic of China).
APEC Member Economies, represented at the Forum by their respective senior food safety regulators and other trade and economic representatives, agreed to the ‘Hunter Valley Statement 2007’ and to a strategic regional approach to strengthen, prioritise and coordinate food safety capacity building activities for the benefit of all APEC Member Economies.
The SCSC endorsed the Forum’s recommendations at its meeting in Cairns in June – specifically, members endorsed the Forum P riority Food Safety Capacity Building Areas; the Hunter Valley Statement 2007 and the Strategic Approach for 2007 – 09 identifying specific capacity building activities; and the Forum Operating Principles including the proposal for the Forum to meet again in 2009 to review progress of the strategic approach.
The SCSC also agreed that the Forum would operate as an advisory body to APEC (via the SCSC), providing APEC food safety regulators with an opportunity to guide and influence the allocation of funding to food safety capacity building activities in the Asia-Pacific region. This process will take place prior to the SCSC ranking of projects, with the Forum providing advice on project proposals using the APEC Quality Assessment, Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.
Capacity building activities in the region
We continued our work on the capacity building activity ‘Strengthening Risk Assessment Capacity to Support Food Safety Measures’, which includes both microbiological and chemical risk assessment training. The program was funded by AusAID and managed by Australian Marine Science and Technology Ltd. Participants came from each of the ten countries from the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).
