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FOOD STANDARDS NOTIFICATION CIRCULAR

12 December 2007

[8-07]

This Notification Circular includes notices that are required to be given to the public, submitters and appropriate government agencies, under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (FSANZ Act). All references below to sections of legislation, are to the FSANZ Act unless otherwise indicated.

Further information about the applications, proposals and other matters mentioned below, including assessment reports, processes and – where applicable – reasons for decisions, can be accessed on the FSANZ website at  www.foodstandards.gov.au under < Standards Development>, then < Documents for Public Comment> and then. Persons may contact FSANZ at one of the addresses below to arrange alternative access to these documents:

The Information Officer

The Office Administrator

Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Food Standards Australia New Zealand

PO Box 7186

PO Box 10559

CANBERRA BC   ACT   2610

WELLINGTON   6036

AUSTRALIA

NEW ZEALAND

Tel   +61 2 6271 2241      Fax   +61 2 6271 2278

Tel   +64 4 978 5630        Fax   +64 4 473 9855

Email:   info@foodstandards.gov.au

Email:   info@foodstandards.govt.nz

General questions on the work of FSANZ should be directed to the Information Officer at the either of the addresses above. Queries concerning the matters in this Circular on assessment or submission processes should be directed to the Standards Management Officer at standards.management@foodstandards.gov.au .

PROGRESS ON APPLICATIONS AND PROPOSALS

Details on Final Assessments, notifications to Council, Council processes and Gazettals from the notice below were published on 12 December 2007 in The Australian and The New Zealand Herald newspapers, as well as on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website.

NEW APPLICATIONS

(Note that this section is not a call for public comment)

FSANZ has received the following Applications and placed them on the FSANZ Food Standards Development Work Plan:  

GENERAL PROCEDURE

Information on the each application, including the proposed Work Plan Category, an anticipated timetable for assessment and consultation opportunities, is provided in the FSANZ Food Standards Development Work Plan which is available on the FSANZ website at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/standardsdevelopment/standardsworkplan.cfm . In relation to Application A1002, the Administrative Assessment Report can be accessed on the FSANZ website at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/standardsdevelopment/applications/index.cfm .

If you wish to be advised of any developments relating to the above Applications, such as calls for public submissions, please contact the Standards Management Officer at standards.management@foodstandards.gov.au .  Please note that the above section is not a call for public comment.

APPLICATIONS AND PROPOSALS

(Received or prepared before 1 October 2007)

Initial Assessment – Applications[s.14(1)]

FSANZ received Applications for the development or variation of the following food regulatory measures; accepted the Applications after making an Initial Assessment of them; will make Draft Assessments of these Applications; and invites written submissions on matters relevant to the Applications (with the exception of Applications A607, A610 and A612 – see Draft Assessment below) to be made to FSANZ by 6pm (Canberra time) 6 February 2008:

Draft Assessment – Applications[s.17(2), s.17A(2)]

FSANZ has prepared draft food regulatory measures or variations for the following Applications; will make Final Assessments in relation to each of these drafts; and invites written submissions for the purpose of making a Final Assessment by 6pm (Canberra time) 6 February 2008:

Draft Assessment – Proposals [s.17AA(1), s.17AB(1)]

FSANZ has prepared draft food regulatory measures or variations for the following Proposal; will make a Final Assessment in relation to the draft; and invites written submissions for the purpose of making a Final Assessment by 6pm (Canberra time) 5 March 2008:


After making a Draft Assessment of the following Proposal, FSANZ decided to abandon the Proposal:

Final Assessment and Council Notification – Applications And Proposals – Draft Standards [s.19(1), s.20(4A)]

After making a Final Assessment in relation to draft variation for the following Applications and Proposals, FSANZ decided to approve the draft variations under section 18 of the FSANZ Act.   FSANZ has given the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council (Ministerial Council) written notification of these approvals:

EFFECT OF DIVISIONS 3 AND 4 OF PART 3 OF THE FSANZ ACT

A standard or variation approved by FSANZ does not become legally enforceable until:

Once FSANZ has notified the Ministerial Council that it has approved the draft standard or variation, the Ministerial Council has 60 days to either request FSANZ to review the approved standard or inform FSANZ that it does not intend to request a review.

If the Ministerial Council requests a review, FSANZ must, within 3 months (or longer if the Ministerial Council allows), complete the review and notify the Ministerial Council of a decision to either:

give the Ministerial Council FSANZ’s reasons for its decision.

If FSANZ has not withdrawn its approval, the Ministerial Council has another 60 days to either request a second review or inform FSANZ that it does not intend to request a second review.  

If the Ministerial Council requests a second review, the procedures and timeframe are the same as for the first review.   Once an approved standard has been reviewed twice, the Ministerial Council has 60 days to inform FSANZ that the Council does not intend to amend or reject the approved standard, or to amend or reject the approved standard.  

If the Ministerial Council informs FSANZ that:

FSANZ will publish a notice in the Commonwealth (published by FSANZ as the Food Standards Gazette) and New Zealand Gazettes and in newspapers stating when the standard or variation comes into effect. FSANZ will also publish this notice along with the text of the standard on the FSANZ website and make copies of these available for inspection by the public. The standard becomes legally effective on the date specified in the notice.

MINISTERIAL COUNCIL REVIEW PROCESS (s.21-23)

In accordance with these requirements, FSANZ has completed its First Review in relation to the following Proposal and re-affirmed its approval of the approved draft Standard:

GAZETTAL [s.23A]

Amendment 94 Published

Amendment No. 94 to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code was published by FSANZ on 11 October 2007 (FSC 36). It included amendments resulting from the following Applications and Proposal:

APPLICATION REJECTED [ s.13(2)]

The following Applications have been rejected by FSANZ at Initial Assessment under s.13(2)(b) of FSANZ Act as they are identical to another Application (Application A611):

APPLICATION WITHDRAWN [s.12A(2)]

The following Application has been withdrawn by the Applicant:

OTHER MATTERS

Consultation Paper – Proposal P293 – Nutrition, Health & Related Claims

Prior to the completion of the Final Assessment of Proposal P293, FSANZ is releasing a Consultation paper on specific issues for public comment. FSANZ invites written submissions for the purpose of making a Final Assessment by 6pm (Canberra time) 1 February 2008.

Amendments to the FSANZ Act

Major amendments to the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 passed the Australian Parliament on 20 June 2007 and were proclaimed on 1 July 2007. These amendments affect how FSANZ assesses applications received and proposals prepared to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code from 1 October 2007 onwards. Further information on these changes is available from the FSANZ website at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/standardsdevelopment/informationforapplicants/index.cfm

Email address changes

The email address ‘slo@foodstandards.gov.au’ has been discontinued. Two new email addresses, standards.management@foodstandards.gov.au (for all general inquiries about standards issues) and submissions@foodstandards.gov.au (for public submissions on assessment reports only) have been created. Any emails sent to ‘slo’ will be automatically redirected to the new ‘standards.management’ email address.

*Indicates a matter in relation to which FSANZ has decided not to hold a round of consultation between Initial and Draft Assessment, as it is satisfied that omitting to hold such consultation will not have a significant adverse effect on the interests of anyone/the Application raises issues of minor significance or complexity only (s. 36(1C)). A person whose interests are affected by this decision may: subject to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act 1975, make an application to the Administrative Appeals Tribunal for review of FSANZ’s decision; and except where subsection 28(4) of that Act applies, in accordance with section 28, may apply for a statement in writing setting out the findings of material questions of fact, referring to the evidence or other materials on which those findings were based and giving the reasons for the decision.  

[Australia only] These matters relate to ‘Australia only’ standards that are not part of the joint regulatory arrangements with New Zealand. However, food from Australia complying with these standards may be supplied in New Zealand. Anyone may provide submissions in relation to these matters, if the matter is open for public comment.