FOOD STANDARDS NOTIFICATION CIRCULAR
11 April 2008
[6-08]
This Notification Circular includes notices that are required to be given to the public, submitters and appropriate government agencies, under theFood 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
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 |
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 and Council processes from the notice below were published on 11 April 2008 in The Australian and TheNew Zealand Herald newspapers, as well as on the FSANZ website.
APPLICATIONS AND PROPOSALS
GENERAL PROCEDURE
Assessment – Applications[s.31]
FSANZ has assessed and prepared draft food regulatory measures for the following Applications; will further consider each of these drafts; and invites written submissions for the purpose of either approving, amending or rejecting the draft food regulatory measures by 6pm (Canberra time) 23 May 2008:
- Application A1001– Food derived from Insect-protected Corn Line MIR162: to approve food derived from corn genetically modified to provide resistance to Lepidopteran species
APPLICATIONS AND PROPOSALS
(Received or prepared before 1 October 2007)
Final Assessment and Council Notification – Applications And Proposals – Draft Standards [s.19(1), s.20(4A) as was in force prior to 1 July 2007 ]
After making a Final Assessment in relation to draft variation for the following Proposal, 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:
- Proposal P293 – Nutrition, Health & Related Claims
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:
- the Ministerial Council process in relation to the standard or variation is finalised; and
- FSANZ has fulfilled the publication requirements under the FSANZ Act.
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:
- maintain its original approval; or
- to amend its approval; or
- withdraw its approval; and
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:
- it does not intend to request a review of the approved standard; or
- it does not intend to amend or reject the approved standard; or
- it has amended the approved standard after the second review;
FSANZ will publish a notice in the Commonwealth (published by FSANZ as the Food Standards Gazette) and New ZealandGazettesand 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.
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 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 .
Amendments to the FSANZ Application Handbook
All applications to amend the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code are required to include certain minimum information as detailed in the FSANZ Act and in any guidelines issued by FSANZ. These guidelines have been consolidated into an Application Handbook, which also contains information on assessment processes, cost-recovery and confidentiality.
FSANZ is able to refuse to accept an application on the basis that it does not meet the
information requirements set out in the Handbook.
FSANZ is proposing a number of amendments to the current version of theApplication Handbook (as at 1 October 2007). The proposed amendments are available in either Word of PDF versions and are now available for public comment at http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/standardsdevelopment/informationforapplicants/consultationopportun3880.cfm . There are links on this page to the current version of the Handbook.
Comments should be provided to FSANZ by 6pm (Canberra time) Monday, 28 April 2008. Please send your comments to submissions@foodstandards.gov.au .
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.