On 20 March 2017, the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resource, the Hon. Barnaby Joyce MP, announced the Australian Government’s decision to introduce changes to the management of imported food safety risks through a package of legislative and non-legislative reforms.
The minister said comprehensive changes would be introduced to give Australian consumers greater assurance at the supermarket that imported food is safe, without burdening local importers with unnecessary red tape. He added, “Australia is the proud exporter of premium, clean and safe food that meets the very high standards set by our international trading partners. Aussie consumers must have the same level of assurance if they choose to buy imported food at local supermarkets or the corner store.â€
The reforms should not result in price increases for imported food or a reduction in the range of food available. Food importers with strong food safety systems in place should be well-placed to manage the changes.
– The value of food being imported is increasing, with a five year trend growth rate of 10.3 per cent for processed food and 7.9 per cent for unprocessed food.
– There are around 16,000 food importing businesses bringing food into Australia per annum. Around 11 per cent of these businesses are fundamentally in the business of imported food.
– Foodborne illness is a serious public health and safety issue in Australia. It is estimated there are around 4.1 million episodes of gastrointestinal foodborne illness in Australia each year, some of which are fatal.
For more information, visit http://www.agriculture.gov.au/imported-food-reform or contact us here at Colless Young.
Source: http://minister.agriculture.gov.au/joyce/Pages/Media-Releases/Protecting-Australians-from-unsafe-food.aspx
