Recently, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Enviro
nment (the Department) issued an im
ported Food Notice - IFN 02-21 - Changes to tests applied to surveillance food to advise im
porters and brokers of changes to tests applied to surveillance food that come into effect for all entries lodged from 19 July 2021. Foodmate will share relevant key information with you in respo
nse to this im
ported Food Notice.
1 Background
im
ported food is inspected by the Department through an inspection program known as the im
ported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS). Under the IFIS, the Minister classifies food as either risk food or surveillance food. Risk food is food that has been assessed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) as posing a medium to high risk to public health, thereby requiring stricter border controls. Surveillance food is co
nsidered to pose a low risk to human health and safety. There are many standards in the Australia and New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) and it is not practicable to inspect against all standards, particularly for low-risk food. The department inspects im
ported food against a selec
tion of standards but not all standards. Tests that apply may change from year to year to ensure compliance against different standards over time. Changes to existing tests or the introduction of new tests may also occur if the department receives new or updat
ed risk advice from FSANZ.
2 Revisions
Schedule 27 of the Code has two microbiological limits, Salmo
nella and Cro
nobacter that apply to infant formula and one microbiological limit, Salmonella, that applies to infant follow-on formula. The limits in the Code reflect those set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the internatio
nal food standards setting body. Introducing Cro
nobacter testing for infant formula and applying Salmo
nella testing to follow-on formula will allow them to verify that im
ported product is compliant with the limits in the Code for these pathogens.
Besides, im
ported finfish have been targeted for testing for antimicrobial residues ba
sed on a list of fish species known to be raised under aquaculture co
nditions since August 2017. The department is aware that there are significant quantities of milkfish (Chanos chanos) of the Chanidae family being im
ported into Australia. Milkfish is typically raised under aquaculture co
nditions and are potentially exposed to antibiotics during their production. As milkfish was not previously co
nsidered in scope for the antimicrobial residue screen, it is unknown if this food is compliant with the Code regarding chemical (antimicrobial) residues. The list of fish species targeted for the antimicrobial residue screen will be increased to include Chanos chanos (milkfish) of the Chanidae family.
The following table is a summary of the upcoming changes in food categories and their testing requirements.
3 Summary
Australia will revise the inspection requirements for some surveillance foods, which is expected to have a greater impact on the export trade of dairy powder and fish from various countries, so please keep an eye on the new regulations and be prepared in advance to avoid trade losses. In addition, Foodmate will also pay attention to the subsequent revision of regulatory developments, to give export enterprises timely reminders and analysis.