Last updated: 28 August 2020
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is an independent statutory agency established by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (FSANZ Act). FSANZ is part of the Australian Government's Health portfolio.
FSANZ develops standards that regulate the use of ingredients, processing aids, colourings, additives, vitamins and minerals. The Food Standards Code also covers the composition of some foods, such as dairy, meat and beverages as well as foods developed by new technologies such as genetically modified foods. We are also responsible for some labelling requirements for packaged and unpackaged food, for example specific mandatory warnings or advisory labels. FSANZ also develops Australia-only primary production and processing standards.
The FSANZ Board has endorsed a position statement explaining how FSANZ applies the three section 18 (core) objectives of the FSANZ Act to the development of food standards.
Read the position statement on how FSANZ applies section 18 core objectives
(PDF 21 kb) |
(Word 35 kb)
Overarching food policy is set by the ministers in Australia and New Zealand that are responsible for food regulation. These ministers make up the
Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation. The Forum develops food regulatory
policy and policy guidelines that FSANZ must have regard to when setting food standards.
The Forum has general oversight of the implementation of standards. When we develop standards, the Forum has the capacity to adopt, amend or reject them and to ask us to review them, or create new ones.
The FSANZ Act requires FSANZ to have regard, among other matters, to the objective of achieving consistency between domestic and international food standards when it is considering the development of the Food Standards Code. However, FSANZ’s legislation does not permit us to adopt international standards directly. Read more about the
use of international standards and assessments.
Read more about
what we do and don't do.
How we’re organised
FSANZ has offices in Canberra, Australia, and Wellington, New Zealand. We are governed by a
Board with a wide range of expertise and experience in food matters, with members drawn from Australia and New Zealand.
Our vision
Vision: Our vision is that consumers have a high level of confidence in the safety of food.
Corporate documents
Our Corporate Plan, sets out our strategic priorities, operating environment, and key enablers to achieve success in the coming year.
Our
Annual Report provides a summary of our achievements of the past year and a preview of the year ahead.
The Governance Framework provides information about our governance.
The FSANZ Board has developed a risk appetite statement. Read the
Revised Risk Appetite Statement.
Our
Fraud Policy Statement outlines our strategic approach to prevent, detect and respond to fraud and dishonest behaviour.
Our Workforce Diversity Program outlines our commitment to providing an equitable, accessible and inclusive workplace that encourages diversity.
Our Statement of Compliance for the Child Safety Framework is available here.
Stakeholder Engagement
Find out more about our role, our boundaries and
how you can contribute to the stakeholder engagement processes.
Read our 2017 Stakeholder Survey report
(PDF 122 kb) |
(Word 133 kb)
From time to time FSANZ releases requests for tender. Read our
current requests for tender.
