2. Food hygiene reforms
At present the national food standards as set out in the Food Standards Code apply to the composition, safety and labelling of food products. There are currently no national standards pertaining to the hygienic production and processing of food in the Food Standards Code.
Food hygiene regulations are presently developed and enforced separately by the States and Territories, resulting in significant variation. State and Territory health departments have recently sought a nationally consistent approach that is less prescriptive and have asked ANZFA to develop a new set of food hygiene standards.
The new food hygiene standards would promote a preventative rather than a reactive approach to food safety and ensure that the same hygiene requirements are enforced throughout Australia. In this way regulatory duplication and overlap will be avoided and national consistency achieved. The hygiene reforms are a major change in the way food is regulated in Australia from a ‘catch us if you can’ mentality by business and government to a commitment by all food businesses to preventing food safety failures from occurring in the first place.
A key feature of the new food hygiene standards will be the requirement for all food businesses in Australia, that can identify one or more potential food safety hazards, to develop and implement food safety programs based on the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. The details and scope of individual programs would vary according to the size and nature of the business and the level of risk it posed to the community. It is recognised that for some food businesses it is beneficial to integrate a food safety program with an appropriate quality management system, although government would only assess for compliance with the food safety program component.
The requirement for food safety programs will be supported by two additional food hygiene standards currently being developed requiring food businesses to engage in good hygiene practices (GHP). These proposed GHP standards focus on outcomes to be achieved rather than specifically prescribing detailed requirements.
All three hygiene standards will be enforced by officers authorised by relevant authorities which in most cases will be the State and Territory health department. Enforcement officers would be encouraged to shift from an inspectorial role to one involving education, facilitating the implementation of food safety programs and auditing food safety systems. Implementation of the standards would be phased in over a six-year period using criteria based on the risk classification of food businesses.
To support the implementation of the food hygiene standards in a nationally consistent manner several infrastructure initiatives are being developed. These initiatives include the development of industry guidelines, a food business risk classification system, training competency standards for food industry workers and a national food safety audit system.
The audit system currently under development will require a shift from a ‘single point in time’ inspection to government being responsible for auditing the food safety management system of all food businesses in Australia. To ensure national uniformity the audit system will need to be consistently applied in all Australian States and Territories.
These food hygiene reforms are occurring in an environment where governments are seeking to ensure that the regulatory burden on industry is effectively targeted, monitored and reviewed to ensure intended outcomes are achieved at least cost to industry.