The Food Standards Code and food industry training in Australia
The Food Standards Code is law in the food industry in Australia through the Food Acts in each state and territory.
The Code has four parts;
- The General Standards
- The Food Standards
- The Food Safety Standards
- The Primary Production Standards
The General Standards includes the introduction to the Code and the requirements for;
- Additives
- Allergen labelling
- The Maximum Residual Limits
- Microbiological Standards
The Food Standards includes the definitions and additive and other requirements for specific foods.
The Food Safety Standards includes all the requirements for food safety for the food industry.
The Primary Production Standards covers the food safety requirements of all foods and processes in primary production. There are generally standards for each type of industry; eg; dairy, meat. Seafood, and egg.
The General and Food Standards also apply to all food businesses in New Zealand. The other two Standards do not as New Zealand already had it’s own Standards in operation.
The Standards are being constantly reviewed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand to ensure they always meet world’s best practice and protect the health of all Australians and New Zealanders at all times.
This process can be done internally through reviews of standards or it can be done through applications from businesses and others for additions or changes to be made to the Code.
There is also a need to constantly keep adding new inclusions into the Standards because of changing processes and foods. As an example, with new methods being developed to pasteurise foods, which do not utilise heat, there will be a need in the not too distant future for required microbiological requirements for these processes to be added into the specific standards.
The Code does not function on it’s own, it is made law by the Food Act in each state and territory and is the key document used in developing Food Safety and HACCP programs across the country.
The Food Standards Code is also an very important reference for the development of food related Training Packages used to train and assess people in the food businesses.
The latest of these training packages being developed is focussing on a growing part of the food industry, the artisans and gourmet food businesses like the breweries, cheesemakers, confectioners and condiment makers.
If you are in one of these type of businesses and would like to be involved in making sure that the training for this very specialised industry not only meets the requirements of the Food Standards Code but addresses the very real issues of these very small businesses, go to this link to get more information.