Dar seafood ppp standard

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This Report proposes, for the first time, that there be a single, national food safety standard for the primary production and processing of seafood.

Australia enjoys a high level of food safety protection but, like many other nations, we face the challenge of improving food safety. It is recognised that the risks from seafood are usually well managed and are therefore considered low. There are only a very small number of products that may present higher public health and safety risks.
Food-borne illness is a growing public health problem globally because of the increasing global trade in food, changes in the way food is produced and consumers’ changing requirements. These changing patterns are causing new challenges in the way food safety is managed.
A recent study conducted by the food-borne illness surveillance network of Australia, OzFoodNet, estimates that there are 5.4 million cases of food-borne illness in Australia each year from a variety of foods. There is a need to ensure that there are appropriate strategies in place to effectively manage food safety across all food sectors in the current environment of global food trading and in light of the estimates of the incidence of food-borne illness.
A whole of government approach is now being taken in Australia to the management of food safety. Governments have agreed that food safety should be managed throughout the food supply chain. This approach aims to improve public health and safety and ensure that consumers continue to have the highest confidence in the safety of the food they consume.
FSANZ has been given responsibility for the development of food safety standards in the primary production and processing part of the food supply chain – in addition to its existing responsibilities for the manufacturing, retail and food service sectors. Under the FSANZ Act, the objectives for developing all food standards, in descending order of priority, are:

• 
  the protection of public health and safety;
  
• 
  the provision of adequate information relating to food to enable consumers to make informed choices; and
  
• 
  the prevention of misleading or deceptive conduct.
  

Seafood is one of the first industries to be examined in relation to a national approach to improving the primary production end of the food supply chain. The seafood industry itself has encouraged this early work.

Seafood is an important part of the diet for consumers in Australia and New Zealand. The sector is an important part of the Australian food industry - the fourth largest after beef, wheat and milk – with a considerable focus on exports.
This Final Assessment Report outlines how industry and government currently achieve seafood safety in Australia – generally with a mixture of industry self-regulation, licensing schemes, and general and specific (albeit differing) State legislation. While providing a measure of assurance, this mix of arrangements, both voluntary and mandatory, creates some gaps in the management of food safety.

FSANZ has consulted widely in the development of this proposed Standard. A Standards Development Committee, consisting of representatives from State and Territory jurisdictions and New Zealand, and industry and consumer representatives, has carefully considered the results of committee discussions, opinion at public fora and written feedback from stakeholders on both the Initial Assessment Report and the Draft Assessment Report for this Proposal.

FSANZ, with assistance from the Seafood Standards Development Committee, has examined how to improve further the management of public health and safety issues in the sector in Australia. A number of options have been considered and these are outlined in the table below: