Wollongong academic on new food standards board

01-July-2002

A health and nutrition expert from the University of Wollongong has been appointed by the Federal Government to the inaugural Food Standards Australia New Zealand Board (FSANZ).

The composition of the board membership will be officially announced in Canberra on July 1 by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Ms Trish Worth. Dr Heather Yeatman (member nominated by public/health science organisation) is a current Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) board member. She has a strong background in science and nutrition and is a member of a number of committees and groups dealing with food safety, health and nutrition issues.

The former Victorian Health Minister, Mr Rob Knowles, has been appointed the Chairperson of the inaugural board. The appointment of the Chairperson and Australian Board members were agreed to by Commonwealth, State, Territory and New Zealand Food Standards Ministers. New Zealand board representatives were nominated by the New Zealand Government. Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is a new Statutory Authority that will replace the existing ANZFA. It is responsible for ensuring a high quality, safe food supply in Australia, by setting the food laws that specify what ingredients can go into foods, what information is required on food labels and what standards must be met by manufacturers of food. The Authority will have a Board with broader areas of expertise than does the current ANZFA.

The prime function of the Authority will be to develop food standards that are to be adopted in Australia and New Zealand (within the scope of the Treaty between Australia and New Zealand) and then notify those standards to the new Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council. These standards are to be developed based on scientific and technical criteria and in accordance with the objectives of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991, dealing with protection of public health and safety and the provision of information to consumers.

A new feature of the system is that FSANZ will also develop standards relating to primary production and processing under its normal standards setting process (for Australia only)

. "This means that for the first time we have an organisation setting standards for the whole food chain. A key feature of the new authority will be its continued emphasis on the protection of consumer rights," Ms Worth said.

For further information contact Dr Heather Yeatman from the Graduate School of Public Health on 0409 849 679.