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SYDNEY, Oct. 28 /MediaNet International-AsiaNet/ –

FINAL JOINT COMMUNIQUE

The seventh meeting of the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation
Ministerial Council was held in Sydney today, chaired by Christopher Pyne,
Parliamentary Secretary to the Australian Government Minister for Health and
Ageing.

The Ministerial Council comprises Ministers responsible for food issues in
Australia and New Zealand. At the meeting today the Ministerial Council
considered a number of policy issues and projects related to food regulation in
Australia and New Zealand. These included:

Country of Origin Labelling

The Ministerial Council considered the proposed draft standard for Country
of Origin Labelling.

The standard will see comprehensive consumer information relating to
country of origin labelling on many products sold in Australia. It provides
for broader requirements on unpackaged foods and increased requirements for
packaged foods.

Arrangements for adopting the standard in Australia require final work to
be completed during November. Once adopted, the standard will include a
transitional period so that manufacturers can transit from the current system
to the new in a measured way. Implementation detail will be made available in
the FSANZ website. The application of the standard to New Zealand is yet to be
determined.

The issue of country of origin labelling of packed fruit and vegetables,
and the Trade Practises Act application of the terms ‘Made in…’ and ‘Product
of…’ to food were considered. The Ministerial Council supported the Australian
Government proposal to Direct Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to
undertake further work to assess the merit of extending country of origin
labelling to two or less fruit or vegetables whole food components packaged
together including where other incidental ingredients are included.

Two or less fruit and/or vegetable whole food components packed together
include frozen, preserved, dehydrated and packaged product, and juice, with a
requirement to identify the actual country of origin of each of the two
principal whole food components, including where other incidental components
are included, with identical whole food components from different countries
being separately identified. The work undertaken should be capable of being
expressed as a standard, if agreed to by the Ministerial Council, with minimal
delay.

The Australian Government has also written to its Treasurer and Minister
for Industry, Tourism and Resources, requesting their consideration on how to
address the issues relating to the Trade Practices Act including those arising
from the ‘Made in’ and ‘Product of’ claims, with a view to greater clarity
about the place of origin of food, rather than the place it is packaged.

Fortification of Food with Calcium

The Ministerial Council agreed to permit the addition of calcium to fruit
and vegetable juices, drinks, soups and savoury biscuits. Ministers endorsed
work currently underway by FSANZ including:

* a review to be implemented over 5 years to assess the impact of voluntary
fortification;

* commencing a process to review the Food Standards Code with a view to
aligning vitamin and mineral claims into the new health claims standard; and

* a workshop for officials to consider and potentially solve a range of
issues relevant to voluntary fortification.

FSANZ will now gazette this Standard. The Foods Standards Code can be
viewed at: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodstandardscode/.

Review of Food Standards Australia New Zealand Assessment and Approval
Process – Protection of Confidential Commercial Information and Timeliness

The Ministerial Council has largely finalised its review of FSANZ
assessment and approval processes. The review also considered options for the
appropriate treatment of confidential commercial information.

The Council strongly endorses that the primary objectives of food
regulation are to protect public health, provide information for consumer
choice and prevent misleading conduct. However, it is important that processes
for developing food standards are efficient and minimise the regulatory burden
on industry.

Ministers have agreed to a number of measures that will assist FSANZ to
expedite food standards development and protect commercially valuable
information.

In brief, the recommendations relate to:

* prescribing the form of an application, including full substantiation
requirements, in order to cut down on the number of times additional
information has to be requested from applicants;

* reforming the assessment and consultation processes – so that the
complexity and nature of applications and proposals links to the level of
consultation required;

* the Ministerial Council – particularly in relation to reducing the number
of rounds of reviews, ‘stop the clock’ provisions, and giving ‘directions’ to
FSANZ; and

* the protection of commercially valuable information in relation to health
claims.

The agreed measures that require legislative change have been referred to
the Australian Government Minister for Health and Ageing for further
consideration and consultation. FSANZ also supports these changes and has
indicated that implementation of administrative changes has already commenced.

The Ministerial Council will get regular updates on the progress towards
achieving the implementation of these recommendations and the effectiveness of
the changes in expediting the food regulator’s processes.

Strategy for Consistent Implementation and Enforcement of Food Regulation

The Ministerial Council is pleased to announce that it has agreed to a
Strategy for Consistent Implementation and Enforcement of Food Regulation. A
copy of the Strategy will be made available on the Food Regulation Secretariat
Website at www.foodsecretariat.health.gov.au.

The objective of this strategy is to provide a framework for collaborative
work amongst Australian food safety regulators (and New Zealand regulators as
appropriate). This will lead to the development of a consistent approach to
implementation of food regulations and standards.

Media contact:

Adam Howard, Media Adviser to Mr Pyne 61-400-414-833
Kay McNiece, Media Liaison to Ministerial Council 61-412-132-585

SOURCE: Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council