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COVID-19 and Food Safety Updates

We are continuing to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic and update information on our website on safe food practices for consumers and those working in the food industry. We’ve also added new information for charities, groups and volunteers donating food.

Read more here

Imported food risk advice

We’ve recently published a range of imported food risk advice to our website. This advice was developed for the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) to help them determine risk management measures at the Australian border on a range of foods. The risk advice (28 microbiological and 8 chemical assessments) relates to: human milk and human milk products; pure and highly concentrated caffeine products; ready-to-eat (RTE) berries; pomegranate arils; cooked poultry meat, and RTE cooked crustaceans.

See our website for more.

Eating for a healthy headspace while working from home

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is vital for your wellbeing. You can do this by staying active, eating well and staying connected with family and friends. Find out more ways you can stay healthy during the coronavirus outbreak: https://headtohealth.gov.au/covid-19-support/covid-19

Food Safety Culture

A strong food safety culture is important for all food businesses, especially during times of uncertainty and emergency. We know many businesses have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are adjusting the way they operate during this time. Our Food safety and coronavirus webpage has useful information to guide food businesses. Our food safety hub also has a range of tools and information to ensure food safety remains a top priority during these times.

You can also check out our Autumn edition of Food Safety Culture Connections – a newsletter for the food industry and regulators supporting a strong food safety culture. It includes examples of how food safety can be improved through management commitment, working across teams and pro-actively preventing food safety incidents.

Work Plan

Our Work Plan was updated on 16 April to include extended timeframes for some of the work we are currently looking at. If you are struggling to meet one of deadlines, please get in touch standards.management@foodstandards.gov.au.

Call for comment

We are calling for comment on the following Applications:

A1196 - Food derived from nematode-protected and herbicide-tolerant soybean GMB151: to seek approval for food derived from nematode-protected and herbicide-tolerant soybean line GMB151, genetically modified to provide resistance to nematodes and the HPPD group of herbicides.

A1192 – Food derived from herbicide-tolerant corn line MON87429: to seek approval for food derived from herbicide-tolerant corn line MON87429, genetically modified to provide resistance to dicamba, glufosinate, 2,4-D and the aryloxyphenoxypropionate group of herbicides (‘FOPs’). MON87429 is also genetically modified to provide tissue-specific resistance to glyphosate to facilitate the production of hybrid seeds.

Current food recalls

A full list of food recalls is available here:
https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/industry/foodrecalls/recalls/Pages/default.aspx