Damon Mcknight
Australia has a joint food regulation system in place with New Zealand, where both governments work together to create food laws and standards and ensure their consistent enforcement. The Food Imitations (Safety) Regulations, which were implemented in 1989, prohibit the supply of products that are not for human consumption but resemble food in terms of shape, smell, colour, appearance, packaging, labelling, volume, or size. This directive is also applicable to products that are not food but could be mistaken for food by children, leading them to put such items in their mouths and risking death or personal injury. It is unclear whether Australia's food regulation system is influenced by or aligns with the EU's Food Imitations (Safety) Regulations.
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What You'll Learn
Australia's joint food regulation system
The Food Ministers' Forum sets the food policy framework, which is then translated into food standards by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). FSANZ, a key contributor to the bi-national food regulatory system, develops the food standards outlined in the Food Standards Code. This process involves seeking advice from other government agencies and considering input from stakeholders.
The legislative standards within the Food Standards Code are regularly updated by FSANZ staff, who utilise the best available science and productive stakeholder collaboration. This ensures a high degree of consumer confidence in the safety and quality of food produced. All levels of government—local, state, and national—play a vital role in enforcing these food standards, actively engaging industry and public health stakeholders to maintain a stable food sector.
The Implementation Subcommittee for Food Regulation (ISFR), established by the Food Regulation Standing Committee (FRSC), fosters a consistent approach to implementing and enforcing food regulations across jurisdictions. Through face-to-face meetings, out-of-session business, and separate collaborations, the ISFR ensures the alignment of food regulations in Australia and New Zealand.
The joint food regulation system's primary objective is to ensure the safety of food for consumption. This is achieved through the collaborative development and enforcement of food laws and standards, promoting consumer confidence in the food sector.
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Food standards and safety
Food safety is a critical issue in Australia, with approximately 4.1 million cases of foodborne illnesses occurring each year. To combat this, Australia has strict regulations and standards in place to ensure the safety of its food supply chain and citizens, such as the Food Standards Code. This code provides guidelines and regulations for the Australian food industry to follow, and all food businesses in the country are required to comply with it and establish a Food Safety Program. The National Measurement Institute is responsible for administering laws for selling foods by weight and measure and works with the Australian food sector to ensure accurate labelling and food safety.
The Food Standards Code covers various topics, including labelling requirements, nutrition information, and warnings. For example, the code requires that most packaged foods have a label with nutrition information, such as sugar, salt, and saturated fat content. It also includes standards for food storage, with specific requirements to minimise contamination. Food businesses that handle potentially hazardous and/or ready-to-eat foods, such as restaurants and takeaway outlets, are subject to more stringent standards to mitigate the high risk of hazardous contamination. These businesses must implement monitoring systems to document all food safety operations, including temperature control for food supply deliveries and storage.
Food Safety Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) plays a crucial role in setting and enforcing food safety standards in Australia and New Zealand. They conduct public consultations and welcome feedback from stakeholders and the community on proposals to change the Food Standards Code. FSANZ also coordinates and monitors food recalls, ensuring that contaminated or mislabelled products are removed from the market.
Non-compliance with the Food Standards Code can have severe consequences, including bad publicity and business closure. The Australian federal enforcement agency has identified that most foodborne illness outbreaks are due to non-compliance with food safety legislation. Therefore, it is essential for food businesses to understand and adhere to the relevant standards and regulations to ensure the safety of their customers.
Overall, Australia takes food standards and safety seriously, implementing strict regulations and codes to ensure the safety of its citizens and visitors. By enforcing these standards, Australia aims to provide a reliable, safe, and nutritious food supply for all.
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Food imports and inspections
Australia's food regulation system includes the monitoring of imported food intended for sale at the border to ensure safety and compliance with Australian food standards. This is done as part of the Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS), which is based on the Imported Food Control Act 1992. The Australian Customs and Border Protection Service (Customs) is responsible for protecting the safety and security of Australians, including facilitating legitimate trade and collecting border revenue. Customs refers import consignments to the Department of Agriculture for assessment and inspection for biosecurity regulation under the Quarantine Act 1908 and food safety regulation under the Imported Food Control Act 1992.
The Department of Agriculture classifies food as risk food, compliance agreement food, or surveillance food. Risk food is determined based on advice from Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) that the food poses a medium or high risk to public health. Compliance agreement food is food imported under a Food Import Compliance Agreement (FICA), which importers may elect to enter into. To qualify for a FICA, importers must have a quality assurance regime and meet other conditions, including mandatory reporting of non-compliant food. Surveillance food is food that is not risk food or compliance agreement food, and 5% of surveillance food consignments are referred for inspection.
Food consignments inspected under the IFIS undergo a visual and label assessment, and samples may be taken for analytical tests depending on the type of food. Laboratories that test imported food must apply and meet the conditions of appointment to become appointed analysts. The rate of inspection of food consignments is based on the food's history of compliance, which is developed based on the producer, country of origin, and tariff code. As a producer builds up a history of compliance with Australian import requirements for a particular food, the rate of inspection reduces to a minimum of 5% for that food from that producer. If a food consignment fails inspection, the rate of inspection for future consignments of that food from that producer is increased to 100% and stays at this rate until a history of compliance is re-established.
From mid-2025, imported food safety requirements will be incorporated into the Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON).
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Food regulation and policy papers
Australia's food policies and regulations are developed and implemented by different departments and statutory agencies, collectively known as the Australian Public Service. Food policies and regulations are influenced by the federal legislative government, the federal executive government, and the judiciary.
The Australian food regulation system is jointly managed by the Australian, New Zealand, and state and territory governments. This group of ministers oversees the food regulation system and issues food policy guidelines. The Food Ministers' Meeting and the Food Regulation Standing Committee develop food policies, while Food Standards Australia New Zealand is responsible for setting, amending, and enforcing food standards.
An analysis of Australia's national food policies and policy actions revealed that 24 food policies and 62 policy actions were identified across eight AFG departments and the Food Regulation System. Most policies were led by individual departments, indicating a lack of a unified approach to food policy in Australia.
School food policies in Australia have been identified as an area with potential to positively impact healthy eating in schools. Each state has developed its own school food policies or guidelines, which are typically implemented by non-governmental or civil society organisations. Compliance with healthy canteen policies and the implementation of nutritional guidelines in schools have been key areas of focus in Australian school food policy studies.
One policy paper outlines preferred approaches for improving the composition, labelling, and texture of commercial foods for infants and young children. It provides guidance on the composition, labelling, advertising, and promotion of infant formula products for children up to 12 months old.
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Food advertising and promotion guidelines
Australia does not have any government regulations to protect children from unhealthy food marketing. The Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) has developed the following codes relevant to the marketing of food to children: Food and Beverages Advertising Code (Food and Beverages Code) and Children's Advertising Code (Children's Code). Both codes apply to all advertisers and all forms of media, including new and emerging technologies, and promotional activities, with some exceptions such as product packaging and board reports.
The Food and Beverages Code has been in effect since 1 November 2021 and contains rules about advertising and children, including a requirement that advertising of occasional food or beverage products must not target children. The Children's Code contains some limits around advertising that encourages or promotes an inactive lifestyle, unhealthy eating or drinking habits, encourages excess consumption, uses popular personalities, undermines parental authority, or states or implies that a product will give children an advantage.
The AANA Food and Beverages Advertising Code: Practice Note provides more detailed guidance on responsible food and beverage advertising. This includes avoiding false or misleading claims about food or beverages, even if the advertiser's intention is not to mislead. For example, using phrases such as 'Australia's favourite' or 'blended in Australia' does not imply that the product comes from Australia as a whole. However, showing a food product in its best light does not necessarily mean that the ad is misleading or deceptive if the purchased products don't look the same. It is also understood by most members of the community that plant-based chicken is not real chicken meat.
Other guidelines include:
- Ads must not undermine the importance of healthy or active lifestyles, the promotion of healthy balanced diets, or encourage excess consumption through the representation of products, portion sizes, or otherwise.
- Ads must not encourage what would reasonably be considered excess consumption through the representation of portion sizes disproportionate to the setting.
- Ads must not promote an unhealthy product in itself or undermine the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle.
- Ads must not use phrases similar to 'try/buy them all' or show individuals consuming an unhealthy product as an ingredient in an overall healthy meal.
- Ads must not depict a person with a large amount of food where there is no indication that the person will consume all the food at once.
- Ads must not target children through the visuals and themes in the ad that are of significant appeal to children.
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Frequently asked questions
The Australian, New Zealand, and state and territory governments work together to make food laws and standards, and ensure they are consistently enforced.
All imported food intended for sale in Australia must be safe and meet Australia's food standards. The Imported Food Control Act 1992 provides for the government to operate the Imported Food Inspection Scheme.
The Imported Food Inspection Scheme is a program that inspects and tests imported food intended for sale to check if it is safe and compliant with Australia's food standards. The frequency of inspection and testing depends on the food safety risk of the food imported.
All imported food must meet biosecurity import conditions first. You must provide certain information when importing food, and foreign government certificates may be required for certain foods.
There are specific policies in place regarding the composition, labelling, advertising, and promotion of infant formula products.
