SQMI Information Sheet 1 - The Model Food Act and the Food Standards Code

“The most important change that industry needs to come to terms with is that it must accept more responsibility and accountability in monitoring its own performance ”

Food Safety Legislation in Australia

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is a bilateral authority that develops standards for all food produced or imported into Australia for sale. These standards should:

• Protect public health and safety by maintaining a safe food supply.
• Provide consumers with information about food to enable informed choices.
• Prevent misleading and deceptive conduct by food businesses.

FSANZ has developed the Model Food Act (MFA) and revised the Food Standards Code to provide the legislative framework integral to a nationally consistent approach to the production of safe food in Australia. Regulatory control of the MFA falls under the relevant State legislation.

In Western Australia, food safety for the domestic market and for imported goods is the responsibility of the Health Department of Western Australia (DOHWA) and currently is dealt with under the Health Act 1911. However, following stakeholder consultation, there has been agreement to progress the majority of the MFA as the WA Food and Related Matters Bill. This Bill has been drafted by the DOHWA and is likely to be introduced into State Parliament in 2005. The Bill, once enacted, will replace the food component section contained in the Health Act 1911.

The Food Standards Code (FSC) sits under the MFA. Chapter 1 of the FSC deals with general standards which apply to all foods, whilst Chapter 2 deals with standards affecting particular classes of foods. Included in these sections will be standards for levels of chemical and microbiological contaminants and residuals in foods, standards for labelling, food additives etc.

Chapter 3 describes standards for food hygiene issues, including food safety programs and practices, staff training and hygiene, premises and equipment. However Chapter 3 relates only to “food businesses” and excludes “primary producers” unless selling directly to the public. To fill this gap, FSANZ has commenced the development of the Primary Production and Processing Standards (PPPS) for food production standards for the primary production sector in Australia. These standards, once completed, will form Chapter 4 of the FSC.

Why was the Food Standards Code developed?

The Food Safety Standards were developed for the following reasons:

• To provide more effective food safety regulations and reduce the level of food-borne illness in Australia; 
• To provide nationally uniform food safety standards for Australia so businesses operating in more than one State or Territory have only one set of requirements;
• To replace existing food hygiene regulations that were sometimes significantly out-of-date; and
• To introduce less prescriptive regulations that are simpler to comply with and give businesses more flexibility to determine the best way for them to comply with the requirements – providing food safety is not compromised.

Who do the standards apply to?

The Food Standards Code applies to every business involved in the handling of food for sale, or the sale of food, in Australia, with the exception of businesses involved solely in primary production, provided they do not process their products or sell them directly to the public. Also, there are exemptions from some of the provisions in the standards for charities and community groups and also for temporary premises and home-based food businesses.

How will the standards affect businesses?

Under these Standards, all food businesses (Chapter 3) will be required to:

• Adopt approved food safety practices/programs;
• Notify themselves to a relevant authority;
• Provide for food recalls;
• Ensure that their staff and supervisors have the skills and competencies in food hygiene commensurate with their work activities; and
• Abide by standards which set out good manufacturing practice for food handling, storage, premises and equipment.

It is important to note that, although the Food Standards Code and Model Food Act were legislated in 2002, implementation issues are still being developed and specific issues regarding auditing, food safety programs and training requirements are still to be finalised. Businesses that are affected by these requirements will have between two to six years to comply with the legislation, depending on the degree of risk to which they are assigned (which also hasn't been finalised yet!) with the implementation timetable focussing on the high risk food as a first step.

The information given below is subject to change but does provide a general overview of how the new Food Safety Standards are likely to affect the fishing and aquaculture industry.

How will the new national Food Safety Standards affect the seafood industry ?

Food Safety Programs

Under Chapter 3 of the Food Standards Code, all food businesses will be required to develop their own food safety practices/programs (see SQMI Information Sheet 2). The legislative requirements for each business in regard to food safety practices/programs will be determined by the type of product they are producing. In some cases, a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) (SQMI Information Sheet 3) approach will be required.

Previously, WA food safety regulations were only really concerned about the cleanliness in food preparation areas of walls, floors and hand basins, etc. The Food Standards Code adds a new emphasis on ensuring that food handling is conducted appropriately every day through the development of food safety programs.

There is still discussion between industry and government about how far these programs will have to go. Examples of how this requirement is likely to affect seafood businesses are given below.

Primary producers (Chapter 4):

For example, if a yabby farmer either processes or sells yabbies as a meal at the farm site then he/she will need to have a documented, third party audited food safety plan. On the other hand, if he/she grows yabbies and sells them live to a distributor, he/she will not be required to have an individual plan, but a Code of Practice will be recommended.

However, a farmer should be aware that his/her product could act as a raw ingredient in processed foods (including cooked products) further down the food chain, which may be subject to their customers' food safety program specifications. These specifications may require the farmer to somehow show that the products that he/she is supplying as an initial ingredient are safe and wholesome.

Processors or wholesalers :

Any processor who is currently exporting and has an AQIS approved quality management program in place will not be required to have an additional food safety program. Those who do not have an AQIS or other third party audited quality assurance program (eg SQF 2000 CM) will be required to develop their own documented food safety programs and have them audited.

Retailers and restaurants :

All retailers and restaurants may be required to have documented third party audited food safety programs under this new legislation. Retailers and restaurants are the group which are most likely to feel the immediate impact of this new legislation, as most do not have documented food safety programs currently in place.

Request a copy of the SQMI Quality Assurance Guidebook for a summary of the food safety plan options available to your business. It is essential that seafood retail and restaurant businesses prepares to address these issues now, to ensure that these requirements are met in a cost effective and timely manner.

Notification

Under the new Food Safety Standards, every food premise/ business shall be required to notify their local council of their existence and the nature of the food business. The reason for this is that during recent food poisoning outbreaks in NSW, local authorities had to go through the 'Yellow Pages' to identify where local food businesses were operating, in order to conduct a food recall. This highlighted the need for such a system in each state. Low risk primary industry businesses (e.g. some fishing vessels) will be exempt from this requirement.

Training

The training requirement acknowledges that people in a food business ought to have some understanding of what they are doing and how to handle food in a safe and hygienic manner.

In-house training courses may need to be undertaken in some instances, depending on the degree of risk for the business. The development of the Seafood Industry Training Package (See Information Sheet 5) offers a seafood-specific training option that would be appropriate for employees undertaking higher responsibilities.

Auditing

Each food safety plan will be required to be audited by an independent party to verify the compliance of the plan to government requirements.

From a WA point of view, the WA Health Department has fought hard to highlight the difficulty for food premises in remote areas to cover the cost of bringing in a third party auditor to regional areas and argues that local environmental health officers should be able to provide both advice for implementing a food safety plan and audit in these circumstances. FSANZ initially suggested government should only be responsible for enforcement. This issue will be resolved at the state level.

More information

For further information please contact:

SQMI Project Manager, WA Seafood Quality Management Initiative at the Department of Fisheries.