Seeking Comments on Microbiological Criteria for Seafood in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code

Source:  SafeFish (with FSANZ)

FSANZ is seeking initial comments from SafeFish and its stakeholders on the microbiological criteria for seafood in the Food Standards Code. If you would like to provide comment please respond to Natalie Dowsett, SafeFish Executive Officer by clicking here before 9^th June 2019.
 
Seeking comments on microbiological criteria for seafood in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code
 
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is reviewing Standard 1.6.1 — Microbiological Limits in Food of the Food Standards Code. The Standard is being reviewed to ensure it is fit for purpose for the current risk-based preventative approach to food safety management.
 
The purpose of this STAG Bulletin is to seek initial comments from the seafood industry on the general approach to the review of seafood criteria, before releasing a public consultation paper on the broader review of the Standard. Further opportunity to comment will be provided through the public consultation paper, as well as subsequent consultation on any proposed amendments to the Code (through FSANZ’s normal proposal process).
 
A key component of the review is to clarify whether microbiological criteria are ‘food safety criteria’ or ‘process hygiene criteria’:

• Food safety criteria are applied to assess the safety of a food lot. Failure to meet these criteria normally means the food is considered unsafe. Corrective actions may involve, for example, food recall if product is in market.
• Process hygiene criteria are applied to verify that hygiene measures or controls of process (e.g. pasteurisation, fermentation) are working as intended. Failure to meet these criteria indicates a problem with production but does not necessarily mean the food is unsafe. Corrective actions may include further testing for pathogens, a review of the process and associated controls.

• Which criteria in the current Standard are considered to be food safety criteria? And why?
• Which criteria are considered to be process hygiene criteria? And why?
• Are criteria (whether food safety or process hygiene) for raw crustacea considered appropriate, given raw product is intended to be cooked (which would eliminate Salmonella)?
• Is there merit in applying criteria (whether food safety or process hygiene) to a new category of ‘ready to eat crustacea’, instead of the current raw and cooked crustacea?
• What, if any, would be the implications for industry if process hygiene criteria are removed from the Standard, but there is a delay in incorporating these criteria into guidance material such as FSANZ’s Compendium document?

STAG Bulletins, Alerts & News Bites are available at http://www.seafoodtradeadvisory.com