The Australia New Zealand Food Authority advises progress on the following matters relating to food standards.
You can get further information on each of these matters (including advice on the Authority's policy regarding submissions, where applicable) from the ANZFA website www.anzfa.govt.nz or from:
The Information Officer
Australia New Zealand Food Authority
PO Box 10 559
Wellington
Call For Submissions-Matters At Full Assessment
The authority has made preliminary assessments, accepted the following applications for further consideration and will now make full assessments of them.
You are invited to present written submissions to the authority on these matters, including the potential regulatory impact on consumers, industry and government, by Wednesday, 16 August 2000:
o Esters as Novel Food Ingredients (A410)-An application from Unilever Foods to approve the continued use of phytosterol esters derived from vegetable oils as novel food ingredients in table spreads.
o Maximum Residue Limits (A414)-An application from the National Registration Authority to amend Australian maximum residue limits (MRLs) for a number of agricultural chemicals as currently prescribed in the Australian Food Standards Code.
Food sold in New Zealand which is either domestically produced or imported (other than from Australia) must comply with the MRL provisions in the New Zealand (Maximum Residue Limits of Agricultural Compounds) Mandatory Food Standard 1999. Food imported from Australia must comply with either the New Zealand MRLs or the Australian MRLs.
Matters Before Council
The authority has completed its inquiry into the variations
to standards prepared at full assessment of the following matter and has made a recommendations to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council that the variations be adopted into the Food Standards Code:
o Folate Health Claims (P221)-A proposal to amend the Food Standards Code to list additional products in
the table to subclause (e) of Standard A1(19) and the folate/neural tube defects health claims register.
Application Rejected
The authority has made a full assessment of the following application and has decided to reject it. A statement of reasons for the rejection is available from the Authority:
o Labelling of Alcoholic Beverages (A359)-An application from the Society Without Alcoholic Trauma to include a requirement that all alcoholic beverages be labelled with a warning statement regarding excessive consumption.