Hemp is a plant that has long been used by humans for a variety of purposes. In many countries around the world, processed hemp seeds are permitted to be used in certain food types.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has requested submissions on an application for processed hemp seeds to be allowed to be used in certain food types. Whole or viable seeds are not part of the application.

This will require an amendment to the Food Standards Code if it is approved by the Board and then presented to the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council. The change will be subject to a maximum level of delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

Steve McCutcheon, the FSANZ Chief Executive Officer, said, “The assessment confirms low THC hemp foods are safe to eat and may provide a useful alternative dietary source of many nutrients and polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularly omega-3 fatty acids.”

This is the final round of public comment to the application before it goes to the FSANZ Board in early 2012. FSANZ are leaving the round open until 01 February 2012.

Comments can be made through the submission section at www.foodstandards.gov.au

The following is a media release for the 28 November 2011 from The Hon Catherine King MP, Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, which has been forwarded by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), and is included here with permission.

You can subscribe to receive such free updates at subscriptions@foodstandards.gov.au. For more information please call the FSANZ media phone on 0401 714 265

Study confirms safety of Australia’s food supply

The latest Australia-wide study of our food has confirmed the overall safety of Australia’s food supply, Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King said today.

“The 23rd Australian Total Diet Study released today by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), has reaffirmed the Australian food supply is safe for consumers,” Ms King said.

“The ATDS investigated agricultural and veterinary chemicals, contaminants and nutrients in 92 foods commonly consumed in the Australian diet. In total more than 1500 samples of food were taken as part of the study. The foods were tested as they would be eaten, for example apples were tested without cores and chicken was cooked.

“Estimated dietary exposures to all 214 agricultural and veterinary chemical residues tested, were well below the relevant reference health standards, which is consistent with previous studies.”

The study also detected no Mycotoxins (toxins produced by fungi) in any of the foods analysed.

“For all contaminants, estimated dietary exposures were also below the relevant reference health standards for all population groups, including people who eat a lot of specific foods,” Ms King said.

“The ATDS also provided a general indication of nutrient intake amongst Australians which will inform further studies, such as national nutrition surveys, that will investigate and further define nutrient adequacy.”

Ms King said the study gave FSANZ important information that helps to guide the next ATDS, which is already underway. “For example, the 24th ATDS will look at acrylamide in food and issues like chemical migration from food packaging, building on work FSANZ has already done in this area.

“The ATDS is a very important tool for keeping an eye on our food and ensuring its safety for all Australians.”

For more information, contact the Parliamentary Secretary’s Office on 02 6277 4230

So good wine is always packaged in glass bottles right? There are some people who believe that corks are superior to caps in all ways. With the exception of sparkling wines and champagnes, most wine is now sealed with caps not cork. Change is not bad, it can be good, very good.

An Australian winemaker has made a dramatic change by placing some of it’s top shelf wine into cans not glass bottles. A Gold Medal at the 2011 International Wine Challenge in London shows that change can be very good.

It is innovative and like the introduction of caps instead of corks, is creating waves throughout the wine industry.

The many advantages of the new “Vinsafe” product include; increased outdoor use, lighter weight, recyclable material, rapid cooling, portable, hardy, sunlight resistant, not able to be used as a weapon, safer for use, completely sealed and easily transportable.

Due to the nature of the wine and it’s constant changes, there had to be a lot of design work done, including the development of a special lining and a specific process to allow aeration. The company also required that the packaging supported a shelf-life of two years.

The wine also had to be adjusted to work with the new process and packaging. Th

The following is from a media release from Food Standards Australia new Zealand and is include here with permission.

A new primary production and processing standard for seed sprouts has been approved by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Board.

FSANZ Chief Executive Officer, Steve McCutcheon, said the states and territories would enforce the standard, which has an 18-month implementation period.

“FSANZ has worked with the seed sprouts industry, governments and consumers to develop this standard,” Mr McCutcheon said.

“In recent years, outbreaks of food-borne illness both in Australia and overseas have been associated with eating seed sprouts and the cost to the Australian community from outbreaks in 2005 and 2006 has been estimated at $2.1 million .

“The objective of this standard is to reduce the incidence of food-borne illness associated with seed sprouts by introducing food regulatory measures for sprouts processors.”

Measures in the standard include requirements for producers to identify potential hazards and implement control measures to address those hazards. Sprout producers must also have evidence to show that control measures have been implemented.

Mr McCutcheon said the approval had been notified to the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council . Once FSANZ has notified the council, the council has 60 days to either ask FSANZ to review the application or inform FSANZ that it does not intend to request a review.

The FSANZ notification circular also contains details on a number of other approvals and a call for submissions on an application to include a new processing aid in the Food Standards Code.

The application is seeking permission to approve the use of 1,3-dibromo-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (DBDMH) as an antimicrobial processing aid to be added to water for treating all foods, though it is primarily proposed to treat poultry and meat carcasses and other animal parts. Further information can be found at the links below.

The period for submissions closes 6pm (Canberra time) 22 December 2011:

The Australian Dietary Guidelines set the recommended consumption levels of the five food groups for healthy adults to maintain a healthy lifestyle. It is based on the fact that people will also exercise regularly and not smoke.

These Guidelines are an important tool for food manufacturers, governments, dieticians, nutritionists, medical professionals

It has been eight years since the last review and Australia’s National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has just released it’s newly revised draft dietary guidelines.

The draft is based on a review of more than 55000 scientific journal articles and other research by the NHMRC team.

The new draft includes a few significant changes to the current Dietary Guidelines;

Increased intake of some food groups – Australians need to increase their consumption of vegetables and fruit, as well as whole grain foods and reduced fat milk products.

Changes in types of food groups consumed by different people – women generally need to consume more red meat to increase iron intake, whilst males generally need to reduce the amount of meat eaten.

Reduction in consumption of energy rich /nutrient poor foods – this is particularly for those foods that are either high in saturated fat, salt or sugar or combination. A particular focus is on limiting the consumption of sugar sweetened drinks.

With the rapid increase of obesity in our community, the NHMRC has focussed on foods that are recognised to be contributors to this and the increase in health related issues like, diabetes. It is believed that obesity is in some way implicated in more than 56percent of all deaths in this country and costs at least A$8 billion a year.

Feedback and comment about the draft guidelines has been very positive to date.

The public and all stakeholders are invited to make comment until 29 February 2012 about the draft by going to www.eatforhealth.gov.au

The NHMRC expects that the new Dietary Guidelines will be released later in 2012 and it will be a requirement that all food manufacturers must then follow them.

The 49th Export Awards were recently held in Brisbane to recognise those businesses that have excelled in the export area.

The Awards are one of the oldest award programs in Australia and are jointly presented by Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) and the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Two food companies were recognised in the 2011 Awards.

The Agribusiness Award went to Longwarry Food Park as recognition of it’s 60percent increase in exports to Asia, Africa and the Middle Eastover the last 12 months. Longwarry produces milk powders and dairy-based products.

The Regional Export Award was presented to Almondco for achieving A$38 million in exports for the 2010 almond season. The company is supplied by more than 80percent of the Australian almond growers and exports to at least 35 countries. Almonco supplies both natural and value added almond products.

The awards were presented to the overall winners from the successful75finalists from competitions throughout all Australian states and territories

The Federal Trade Minister, Craig Emerson, said, “Australia is a vibrant, competitive economy which owes its good reputation in the world to its entrepreneurs, business people and investors. With the high Australian dollar making life difficult for most of our exporters, these finalists and so many more have excelled in finding new ways of successfully marketing their products and services in tough global markets.”

Manufacturing in Australia is recognised as struggling. Food businesses make up the largest part of this sector and are having a very hard time.

Imported product is well known as being cheaper than Australian made goods due to reduced labour and material costs. The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) believes that this difference may be as much as 25 percent less.

With the economic situation that we have all been through, and most likely will continue to over the next 12 months, price is definitely a determining factor in the purchase decision. Although environmental issues are starting to have an impact, it is still price that is king.

The sales of Australian made goods are suffering as a result. A strong Australian dollar is also having a poor effect.

The competitiveness and profitability of food businesses across the country are being strongly affected. With higher process for water, electricity and raw materials, as well as increased labour costs, food businesses are having major trouble. There is only so much in terms of costs that can be reduced while maintaining quality, food safety and people safety.

The two large supermarket chains are now selling more of their own branded products, and due to costs savings, many of these are being made overseas. This is reduces shelf space available for the Australian made brands. This is also reducing the sales of Australian made food products.

In December, the AFGC launched a campaign to encourage Australians to buy product made here. Australians are well known as being strong supporters of Australian made product and now is definitely the time to step up.

AFGC Chief Executive Kate Carnell said “To encourage investment in Australia, government needs to provide tax incentives to enable busine

Coles Chicken and Vegetable Pies 4 pack- frozen (Foreign matter- bone fragments)

Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd is recalling Coles Chicken and Vegetable Pies (frozen) from Coles, BI-LO and Pick n’ Pay stores nationally due to presence of foreign matter (bone fragments). Customers should not eat this product and should return to place of purchase for a full refund.

Date notified to FSANZ -03 January 2012

Food type -Mixed and/or processed foods

Product names – Coles Chicken and Vegetable Pies 4 pack (700g)

Package description & size – Plastic tray with plastic over wrapper

Date marking – Best Before 18 MAR 13 and 19 MAR 13

Country of origin -Australia

Reason for recall -Presence of foreign matter (bone fragments)

Distribution -Nationally available in Coles, BI-LO and Pick n’ Pay stores

Consumer advice -Consumers should not eat the product and should return to place of purchase for a full refund.

Contact – Coles Supermarkets Pty Ltd  1800 061 562

An average shopping trolley coasts around $150, and some can climb as high as $600 when modifications or additions are made.

So beside being an increasing cost issue, shopping trolleys, when abandoned, are also a safety problem and an environmental hazard.

The problem is increasing and there is a dilemma as to how to stop it.

Many supermarkets have introduced the token or coin system to encourage people to return the trolleys and get their coin / token back. These are reasonably effective but the problem is still increasing.

A council in New South Wales has joined other councils around the country, by introducing a bylaw which allows Council Officers to impose an on the spot fine of $110 to a person if they abandon a trolley in the street.

The government of the Australian Capital Territory recently enacted a law that allows local councils to have “Trolley Collection Days” and inform the retailers in their area that they will pay a fine, of $190 per trolley, if any of their trolleys are not collected within 24 hours of that day.

This law also allows councils to fine large retailers for not keeping their trolleys within their property unless it can be shown that the business is taking steps to do so. It goes further and lets Councils impose a fine of $60 on any person not following a Council Officer direction to return a trolley to a shop.

It is not only penalties and fines that are being used to encourage people to do the right thing, The large retailers have also introduced schemes that will reward people for informing them of any abandoned trolleys.

It is estimated that trolley maintenance, replacement and retrieval costs around $50million a year. This is a cost that is passed directly back to all of us in food and other product prices. It is not difficult to take that little extra time to just do the right thing and to ensure that we teach our children to do it as well.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand today invited comments on an application for food derived from a corn line genetically modified to be tolerant to the herbicide glyphosate.

FSANZ acting Chief Executive Officer Melanie Fisher said that the application was received from Monsanto Australia Limited and seeks to vary Standard 1.5.2 – Food produced using Gene Technology, in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.”

“Approval of GM foods under this Standard is contingent upon completion of a comprehensive pre-market safety assessment.The safety assessment finds that there are no potential public health and safety concerns and that the corn is safe for human consumption. FSANZ welcomes comments from government agencies, public health professionals, industry and the community on issues raised in the report,” Ms Fisher said

The period for submissions closes on 27 February 2012.

More information

Application A1066 – Food derived from Herbicide-tolerant Corn MON87427

Information on how to make a submission

Media contact: 0401 714 265 (Australia), +61 401 714 265 (from New Zealand) or email media@foodstandards.gov.au