FOOD STANDARDS NOTIFICATION CIRCULAR

19 February 2008
[2-08]

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:

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 .

NEW APPLICATIONS AND PROPOSALS

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

FSANZ has prepared the following Proposals and placed them on the FSANZ Food Standards Development Work Plan:  

GENERAL PROCEDURE

• Proposal P1002 – Hydrocyanic Acid in Ready-to-Eat Cassava Chips:   to include a Maximum Level for hydrocyanic acid in ready to eat cassava chips [15 February 2008]
  
  
• Proposal M1001– Maximum Residue Limits (September, October, November, December 2007):   to amend maximum residue limits for a number of agricultural and veterinary chemicals [17 October 2007] [Australia only]

Information on each Proposal, including 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 .   The Administrative Assessment Reports can be accessed on the FSANZ website at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/standardsdevelopment/proposals/ .

If you wish to be advised of any developments relating to the above Proposals, such as calls for public submissions, please contact the Standards Management Officer at standards.management@foodstandards.gov.au .  

Please n ote that the above section is not a call for public comment.

OTHER MATTERS

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 theAustralia New Zealand Food Standards Codefrom 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.

[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.   If the matter is open for public comment, anyone may provide submissions in relation to these matters.