- 01 August 2017
Importer take note - Biosecurity Update | August 2017
Imported food reforms coming and are you prepared???
Biosecurity are expected to introduce a range of imported food reform amendment in up-coming legislation planned for mid - 2017 which will have a real impact on food importers.
Key elements to the changes are:
- Increase Importers accountability for food safety
- Increase importers responsibility in sourcing safe food
- Improve monitoring and management of new and emerging food safety risks
- Improve incident response
Importers of food need to be aware of their responsibilities. The legislative changes to the existing legislation and regulation will be:
- Mandate documentary evidence that importers have effective international recognised safety controls
- Broaden Australis emergency powers to aloe foods to be held at the border where there is uncertainty about the safety of a particulate FOOD
- Provide additional powers to monitor and manage new and emerging risks through temporary application of a variable ratr of inspection or inspection and analysis
- Enable recognition of a foreign country’s food safety regulatory system
- Require all importers to have a system in place to be able to trace food one step forwards and one step backwards
- Establish differential enforcement provision that are consistent with domestic food safety legislation where applicable to imported food
These changes are planned to take effect in 2018. Food importers will have 12 months to adjust business practice before the new supply chain assurance and traceability requirement s come into force. For further information please refer to the link.
Biosecurity changes to certain commodities no longer require an import permit when new conditions met.
As from 30th June 2017 the following selected goods no longer require an import permit when alter-native conditions set out in BICON are met
- Chrysanthemum spp. as fresh cut flowers and foliage from all countries
- All species of bark, other than slippery elm bark powder (Ulmus spp.), for human consumption and hu-man therapeutic use from all countries
- Fresh grapes for human consumption from China
- Fresh mango for human consumption from Vietnam and all regions of India
- Fresh apricots and interspecific stone fruit hybrids for human consumption from the United States of America
- Fresh Agrocybe cylindracea mushrooms for human consumption from all countries
- Dried Trametes versicolor mushrooms for human consumption from all countries
- Frozen Cantharellus cibarius and Craterellus cornucopioides mushrooms for human consumption from all countries
All goods entering Australia must continue to meet the import conditions published in BICON. For further information please refer to the link.