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Strengthening food safety after a recall

Strengthening food safety after a recall Did you know food recalls can do more than just remove unsafe food from shelves? In response to conducting a recall of their product, most businesses take proactive steps to prevent food safety issues from recurring.As part of food recall reporting requirements, food businesses are required to identify corrective actions they have taken.  Our food recall statistics show businesses take a range of corrective actions including staff training, amending handling procedures, updating product labels, altering ingredients, improving manufacturing practices and changing equipment.  The majority of food business (90%) reported undertaking more than one corrective action. These efforts help reduce the likelihood of recalls happening…

Published 13 March 2025

FAQs about food recalls for consumers

FAQs about food recalls for consumers What is a food recall? A food recall is action taken to remove unsafe (or potentially unsafe) food from distribution, sale and consumption. If a product is recalled, consumers are generally advised to not eat or drink it, and to either return it for a refund or throw it out. Most recalls are initiated by the food business. Only Australian states and territories and the Ministry for Primary Industries have enforcement powers. These jurisidictions have the power to mandate a recall if necessary. FSANZ has no enforcement powers so cannot mandate, order or force a recall to occur. FSANZ coordinates the recall with the…

Published 11 March 2020

What do food additives do?

What do food additives do? Some food additives have more than one use. Food additives are listed in the statement of ingredients according to the most appropriate class name for the purpose of the food additive in that food. Examples of the most common class names are:

• Acids/Acidity regulators/Alkalis help to maintain a constant acid level in food. This is important for taste, as well as to influence how other substances in the food function. For example, an acidified food can retard the growth of some micro-organisms.
• Anti-caking agents reduce the tendency of individual food particles to adhere and improve flow characteristics. For example, seasoning with an added anti-caking agent flows freely and doesn't clump together.…

  Published 26 May 2016

General information about GM foods

General information about GM foods People have been manipulating the genetic make-up of plants and animals for countless generations. This is referred to as traditional cross breeding and involves selecting plants and animals with the most desirable characteristics (e.g. disease resistance, high yield, good meat quality) for breeding the next generation. Today's techniques use new ways of identifying particular characteristics and transferring them between living organisms. For example, it is possible to make a copy of a particular gene from the cells of a plant, animal or microbe, and insert the copy into the cells of another organism to give a desired characteristic. Foods derived from organisms that contain novel DNA are called 'GM foods'. Most GM foods approved so far are from GM plants,…

Published 2 September 2025

How much sodium is in Australian foods?

How much sodium is in Australian foods? FSANZ monitors the levels of sodium in the Australian food supply because it's the sodium from salt in the diet that's linked to major health problems. We analysed sodium in monitoring programs in 2006 and 2008 and in 2009 in a range of packaged and take-away foods. In these surveys, the foods found to contain the highest levels of sodium per 100 g were: potato crisps, processed meat and meat products including sausages, meat pies, sausage rolls and chicken nuggets, cheese and pizza. Other high sodium foods include a range of sauces, spreads and condiments. These analysed values include sodium from salt, naturally occurring sodium and sodium from food additives. The food industry has been reducing salt in various products to reduce sodium levels.…

Published 29 January 2019

Review of the regulatory management of food allergens

Review of the regulatory management of food allergens Executive Summary Food allergy is an important health issue due to the potential for severe and life threatening reactions. Rigorous declaration requirements are considered the most appropriate risk management option for food allergens since even small amounts of the allergen may trigger allergic reactions. Australia and New Zealand were among the first countries to recognise the need to regulate food allergens with the introduction, in 2002, of mandatory declaration requirements in the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code. In October 2006, the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council requested FSANZ to review the regulatory management of food allergens. The overall aim of the review is to determine whether, in the context of…

Published 23 December 2017

Assigning NNPAS foods to ADG classifications

Assigning NNPAS foods to ADG classifications   Every coded food in the 2011-12 NNPAS has been allocated to one of the following three areas in the ADG classification system:   1. Classified foods -NNPAS foods that are directly mapped to one of the ADG Five Food Group or key food group classifications or a sub-group of these major groups. An example of a classified food is white bread.   2. Recipe foods -NNPAS foods that do not have a direct match to one of the ADG classifications and have two or more ingredients, and therefore need to be broken down to their main ingredients via a recipe. The ingredients in the recipe will be at the level which may fit into ADG…

Published 11 May 2016

Food ministers support FSANZ decisions

Food ministers support FSANZ decisions On 25 July 2025, food ministers endorsed 4 FSANZ Board decisions, clearing the way for changes to the Food Standards Code to be formally gazetted in coming weeks. Mandatory energy labelling on alcoholic beverages (P1059) will help consumers make more informed choices by clearly showing how much energy (kilojoules) is in each drink. This change supports national efforts to reduce diet-related chronic disease and improve public health. Changes to clarify carbohydrate and sugar claims on alcoholic beverages (P1049) will support consistent enforcement of Code requirements and provide greater certainty…

Published 7 August 2025

2017 key foods analytical program

2017 key foods analytical program In early 2017 FSANZ undertook a small analytical program to update and expand our food composition data holdings. Seventeen commonly consumed foods were selected for analysis of selected nutrients for which we hold no data, or where the data we do hold is out-dated and no longer reflects the products available for consumption. The range of nutrients analysed differed for each food depending on what data was available, the quality of the data, whether the nutrient was likely to be present in the food and the impact the consumption of the food may have on population intakes of that nutrient. Sampling A total of eight purchases of each food were made across the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia and Western…

Published 15 February 2019

Chemicals in food - maximum residue limits

Chemicals in food - maximum residue limits (November 2022) A maximum residue limit (MRL) is the highest amount of an agricultural or veterinary (agvet) chemical residue that is legally allowed in a food product sold in Australia whether it is produced domestically or imported. MRLs help enforcement agencies monitor whether an agvet chemical has been used as directed to control pests and diseases in food production. In 2022, FSANZ completed M1019 (Review of Schedule 22 - Foods and Classes of Foods). The purpose of this Proposal was to review and update a food naming system that more closely aligns with both codex and the Australian…

Published 14 July 2023