The Australian food industry is regulated and supported by a number of bodies, both within and outside the federal government. Each of these organizations is responsible for a different part of the industry, but they all work together in order to make sure that Australian food as a whole is both safe and nutritionally valuable, as well as supporting innovation in food technology.
The main standards body for the country is an umbrella body which also covers New Zealand. Known, therefore, as Food Standards Australia New Zealand, or FSANZ, it has a wide range of responsibilities. These include vital tasks such as making sure that Australian food is safe to eat, and operating recalls in cases where there are doubts about a product’s safety. This body is also the one which carries out research in the area of food and nutrition.
The Food Regulation Secretariat sits above the previous body, and develops the standards which FSANZ implements. It aims to provide a link between those such as farmers who actually produce Australian food in the first place, the country’s food processing industry, and consumers themselves. It is supported by the the Australian Native Food Industry company, which deals with indigenous foodstuffs, or what is often called bush tucker.
Because of Australia’s unique and fragile environment, the country takes the subject of keeping out potentially contaminating foods extremely seriously. The Australian Quarantine & Inspection Service has a broad remit, and anyone who has visited the country will appreciate that it does not do things by halves when it comes to cracking down on unauthorized food imports. Much the same level of surveillance applies to exports.
Finally, there are some other organizations and departments which concentrate on the scientific aspect of Australian food development. These include CSIRO Gene Technology, which considers how best to bring genetically modified foods to market. Associated with this part of the industry is the GMO Record, which makes sure that Australians themselves are kept informed about progress in this area.
We really apperciate Mr Mark Paton‘s contribution to our website.
