Dar seafood ppp standard

Attachment 4A

Consultation on Initial Assessment Report

FSANZ has a statutory obligation to consult with stakeholders in relation to food regulatory measures. This is undertaken through two rounds of public consultation: one following release of the Initial Assessment Report, and the other following the release of the Draft Assessment Report, as described on Pages (ii) and (iii).

In addition to statutory consultation, further consultative mechanisms have been built into the development process for the Primary Production and Processing Standard for Seafood. This reflects recognition of the need for close consultation with industry, regulators and consumers throughout the development of the Standard. This is considered particularly important as the setting of primary production and processing standards is a new function of FSANZ. Accordingly, in the early stages of standard development, the level of awareness of FSANZ processes in the community and within the primary production sector may be minimal.
In recognition of the need for broad and active consultation throughout the development of the seafood standard, FSANZ is committed to seeking stakeholder involvement via the following mechanisms:

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  Seafood SDC - the role of the SDC is to provide input and advice from consumer, industry, government and research perspectives to FSANZ in the development of the Standard;
  

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  Working Groups - the Seafood SDC has established working groups to address the health risks associated with seafood, to facilitate risk assessment and to propose and assess risk management measures;
  

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  Meetings coordinated by regulators in partnership with FSANZ, held in each of the jurisdictions, to exchange information and allow consultation with industry and other community members throughout the development of a seafood standard. Meetings have already been held in many jurisdictions;
  

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  Regular progress updates posted on the Primary Production and Processing Standards section of the FSANZ web site;
  

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  An electronic executive bulletin intended for CEOs and other executives of organisations with an interest in the development of a new national food primary production and processing standard for seafood; and
  

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  Updates and progress reports included in a range of industry publications.