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Food law, treaties and agreements

Food law, treaties and agreements Food Standards Australia New Zealand is a statutory authority operating under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. The Act sets out the functions of FSANZ, including the development of food standards. Under an inter-Governmental Agreement (1991) between the Commonwealth and states and territories, the states and territories adopt, without variation, food standards once they have been gazetted. Gazettal occurs after FSANZ decisions on standards are considered by the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation. Ministers can ask FSANZ to review its decisions. Read more…

Published 3 October 2019

Food business notification requirement

Food business notification requirement Chapter 3 (Australia only) Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code NOTE: The Food Safety Standards do not apply in New Zealand. The provisions of the food standards treaty between Australia and New Zealand do not include food hygiene standards. Under Food Safety Standard 3.2.2 Food Safety Practices and General Requirements, food businesses must notify the appropriate enforcement agency before commencing any food handling operations. Who does the notification requirement apply to? The notification requirement applies to almost every food business in Australia. A food business is any business or activity that involves the sale of food or the handling of any type of food for sale in Australia, with the exception of some…

Published 11 February 2016

Classification of foods and dietary supplements

Classification of foods and dietary supplements

• Australian Health Survey Classification System

• enable easy reporting of trends in food…

  Published 22 September 2014

Diet quality and processed foods

Diet quality and processed foods   Last reviewed 11 September 2020 A nutritious diet is important to the health and wellbeing of Australian and New Zealand consumers. Large studies around the world have reported that diets of lower quality (e.g. high in sugar, salt, and saturated fats) are associated with an increased risk of early death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. Diet scoring systems There is extensive research on ways to measure how nutritious your diet is. Diet scoring systems, also known as diet quality indices, typically rate the quality of your diet based on the different types of foods you eat - such as fruit, vegetables, cereals, meat and fish, and some also look at the nutrients we get from these foods such as sodium, sugars, protein, fibre and fats. For…

Published 30 September 2020

Compendium of Microbiological Criteria for Food

Compendium of Microbiological Criteria for Food Page last updated: December 2022 Microbiological testing can play an important role in food safety management providing the reason for testing is clear and the test applied is appropriate. Microbiological criteria support decision making about a food or process when microbiological testing is used. A microbiological criterion provides microbiological limits that are considered appropriate to a food at a specific point of the food chain and states the actions to be taken when the criterion is not met. Microbiological criteria that are applied to determine the safety of a food lot (food safety criteria) are included in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code). Other microbiological criteria (process hygiene criteria) can be developed and applied at…

Published 13 December 2022

Australian food recall statistics

Australian food recall statistics Page last updated April 2024 FSANZ collects data on Australian food recalls to identify trends and common issues in the food industry and help find ways to prevent future incidents. The volume of food recalled represents a very small proportion of the total amount of food available in the Australian market. Most food recalls are taken as a precautionary measure and are initiated by the food businesses to ensure that potentially unsafe food is removed from distribution and sale. Only a small number of food recalls are linked to reported cases of illness/injury. The following is an analysis of the food recall data. FSANZ updates these statistics annually.    Decade in review: Food recalls over the past 10 years  From 1 January 2014…

Published 1 May 2023

Food for special medical purposes

Food for special medical purposes (June 2016) Food for special medical purposes is used to manage the diets of people with certain diseases, disorders or medical conditions. These special foods are intended for people whose nutritional requirements cannot be met by normal foods. Food for special medical purposes can include formulated dietary products intended for use as the only source of nutrition, and also some formulated products that can supplement a person's food intake. Some of these products can be taken orally, whereas others need to be taken through a feeding tube (e.g. a naso-gastric tube). They are to be used under the supervision of a medical practitioner and other appropriate health professionals. Regulation Standard 2.9.5 of the…

Published 5 March 2018

Development of food measures data

Development of food measures data On this page

• Densities
• Food specific portions
• Not further defined measures

Published 13 November 2020

Reducing acrylamide exposure in food

Reducing acrylamide exposure in food FSANZ is working with international food regulators and the food industry to look at ways to reduce consumer exposure to acrylamide. If you're a food manufacturer or producer it's important that you take steps to reduce the level of acrylamide in your food to as low as reasonably achievable. To help you do this, Food and Drink Europe has developed a toolkit with strategies to help reduce levels of acrylamide formation during the manufacturing process and in agriculture practices. Not all methods will apply to your industry, but the toolbox is a good way to help you evaluate your current production methods and recipes and which strategies can be best applied to your business. You can access the Acrylamide toolbox from the Food and Drink Europe…

Published 30 November 2017

Common food safety terms

Common food safety terms We have put together a list of common food safety terms and what they mean. Contaminant Something that shouldn't be in food and can make the food unsafe to eat. Examples are harmful chemicals, physical objects (e.g. glass, metal fragments) and microorganisms ('germs', bacteria, viruses, parasites - see definition below). Cross contamination When harmful microorganisms or chemicals spread between food, surfaces, hands or equipment. For example, if a cutting board used to prepare raw chicken is then used to prepare salad vegetables, microorganisms from the chicken juice on the board will spread to the salad. Because the salad won't be cooked, the microorganisms will not be killed before it is eaten. Environmental sample A small…

Published 22 December 2020