Dar seafood ppp standard

7.3.2.3 Government

This option will not significantly expand the responsibilities of government enforcement agencies for the shellfish sector, as these arrangements already exist (e.g. ASQAP), and hence the impact on their resource requirements should be small.

7.4 Option 3 – A risk-based Primary Production and Processing Standard to improve the overall safety in the seafood supply chain

7.4.1 Benefits of Option 3

7.4.1.1 Consumers and the community

Consumers benefit from the greater assurance of safety of the high risk seafood products of oysters and bivalve molluscs, as with the previous option.

In addition, Option 3 addresses safety risks comprehensively across the seafood industry so that consumers also benefit from greater assurance of the safety of all the lower risk products. This option will achieve a through-chain consideration of food safety, and eliminate gaps and inconsistencies in State and Territory approaches to the current management of seafood safety. It will improve on the status quo where there are inconsistencies in safety practices, particularly at the primary production and processing end of the seafood industry, and at the interfaces between the primary production and the processing sectors.
While the seafood industry has benefited from industry codes of practice and guidelines, these codes and guidelines are voluntary and a proportion of seafood businesses are not compliant with them⁴¹. The proposed Standard would make a clear statement, obliging all seafood businesses involved in primary production and processing to achieve an appropriate level of hygiene and safety. Basic food safety requirements across these sectors of the industry will improve the safety of seafood products for consumers by reducing food-borne illness.
The international literature shows that the burden of food-borne illness attributable to seafood is sourced from a broad range of products, the high risk and the lower risk products.⁴² The consequence of implementing a comprehensive set of management strategies under this option, including for the majority of seafood products that are lower risk, will be to significantly reduce the likelihood and severity of food-borne illness in the Australian population. The costs to consumers of food-borne illness – personal distress, medical treatment, and time off work (both patients and carers) which implies some foregone household income – will be reduced under this option and the greater assurance of the safety of all seafood products will benefit consumers.
Imported seafood products will be required to demonstrate an equivalent level of safety to domestically produced products. This measure will ensure that consumers can feel secure in the knowledge that all seafood, regardless of where it is sourced, meets the same level of food safety.
If the current cost of food-borne illness associated with seafood is estimated to be $150 million p.a. and the greater safety of the full range of seafood products under this option can reduce food-borne illness by between 20 and 50 per cent, then the benefit to the community would be in the range of $30 million to $75 million per year.