NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE

No. 108

General Section

Australia New Zealand Food Authority

Australia New Zealand Food Authority Act 1991

Variations to the Food Standards Code

(Amendment No. 45)

1. Preamble

The variations set forth in the Schedule below are variations to the Food Standards Code (hereinafter called ‘the Code’) which was published by the National Health and Medical Research Council in the Commonwealth of Australia Gazette, No. P 27, on 27 August 1987, and which has been varied from time to time.

The Schedule contains variations adopted by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council in August 1999.

These variations are published pursuant to section 32 of the Australia New Zealand Food Authority Act 1991.

2. Citation

These variations may be collectively known as Amendment No. 45 to the Code.

3. Commencement

These variations commence on the date of publication of this Gazette.

Schedule

[1.] Standard A12 is varied by omitting in columns 2 and 3 respectively of the Table to clause 2, in relation to the entry in column 1 for cadmium –

Peanuts .. 0.05

and substituting -

Peanuts .. 0.1

[2.] Standard A16 is varied by inserting after Decaffeinated coffee in column 2 of Group VI of Table II – Decaffeinated tea and inserting 2 in the corresponding entry in column 3.

[3.] The Food Standards Code is varied by inserting after Standard A16 -

STANDARD A17

IRRADIATION OF FOOD

Purpose

This Standard prohibits the irradiation of food, or ingredients or components of food, unless a specific permission is given. The specific permission may impose conditions relating to matters such as dose, packaging materials, approved premises or facilities. Even where this Standard permits irradiation, food should only be processed by irradiation where such processing fulfils a technological need or is necessary for a purpose associated with food safety. Food should not be processed by irradiation as a substituted procedure for good manufacturing practices.

The absorbed radiation dose applied for the purpose of irradiating food should be the minimum that is reasonably commensurate with the technological and public health purposes to be achieved. It should also be in accordance with good radiation processing practice. Food to be processed by irradiation, and the packages and packing materials used or intended for use in connection with food so processed, should be of suitable quality and in an acceptable hygienic condition appropriate for the purpose of such processing. They should also be handled before and after irradiation according to good manufacturing practices, taking into account, in each case, the particular requirements of the technology of the process. The operation of irradiation facilities and control of the irradiation process should be undertaken in accordance with any relevant State, and Territory, and New Zealand law governing radiation control. They should also be undertaken in accordance with an appropriate Code of Practice such as the 1983 Codex Alimentarius General Standard for Irradiated Foods and its associated Code of Practice for the Operation of Irradiation Facilities Used for the Treatment of Foods.

This Standard also sets out permitted sources of radiation, requires the keeping of certain records in relation to the irradiation of food, and requires the labelling of food which has been irradiated.

Table of Provisions

1. Definitions
2. General prohibition on irradiation of food
3. Permitted sources of radiation
4. Foods permitted to be irradiated
5. Record keeping
6. Labelling

Clauses

1. Definitions

In this Standard -

irradiation means the processing of food by subjecting it to the action of ionising radiation, but does not include ionising radiation imparted to food by measuring or inspection instruments, and ‘irradiate’ and ‘irradiated’ have corresponding meanings.

re-irradiate does not include the irradiation of food -

(a) prepared from materials that have been irradiated at low dose levels (not exceeding in any case 1 kGy) and are irradiated again; or

(b) which contains less than 50 g/kg of irradiated ingredients; or

(c) where the required full dose of ionising radiation is applied to the food in divided doses for a specific technological reason;

provided that the cumulative maximum radiation dose absorbed by the food does not exceed that specified in the Table to clause 4.

technological need, in relation to the irradiation of food, refers to the minimum dose of ionising irradiation required to ensure the safety or quality of the food, provided the process is performed in accordance with good manufacturing practice, and includes the extension of shelf life, the destruction of certain bacteriological contamination or pest disinfestation.

2. General prohibition on irradiation of food

(1) Food must not be irradiated unless there is a specific permission in this Standard to irradiate the food.

(2) A permission to irradiate a food is not a permission to