Aussie budget confirms commitment to food safety

The Australian government is to provide a total​ of A$2.8 million (€1.5m) over four years to strengthen food safety standards in Australia, through the development of new Primary Production and Processing (PPP) Standards and information to the food industry.

In a recent statement by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) the agency said that the PPP Standards will be developed by FSANZ in a bid to ensure that all domestic food standards are integrated into a single national framework, applied from 'the paddock to the plate'.

The PPP Standards aim to contribute to public health and safety, provide nationally consistent guidelines to industry for producing safe food and help enhance consumer confidence in the safety of Australian food.

Initiatives that lower the incidence of food-borne illness (estimated to be seven million cases in Australia each year) will reduce the significant health costs and effects to consumers, government and the nation's economy.

FSANZ hopes that foreign markets will be assured of consistent levels of food safety in Australia, providing favourable conditions for growth in export trade. The new measures will also harmonise Australia's domestic requirements with the export requirements of the Australian Quarantine Inspection Service.

A$0.8 million of the total funding over four years will be used to assist in the implementation and to inform stakeholders of the changes to FSANZ , especially in rural and regional areas.