Page 987 - Week 04 - Thursday, 18 June 1992
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .
establishment of the National Food Authority. This authority has as members representatives from all the States and Territories. One of the functions of the National Food Authority is to review the food code and update and make changes to the code. Extensive and detailed consultation with the ACT Attorney-General's Department has resulted in the decision to prepare legislation in four parts.
I present to you today part one of a staged series of legislation that will ensure that the ACT has model and leading food legislation covering all aspects of food safety, quality, licensing and enforcement. The Bill I present today, Madam Speaker, requires that food available for sale in the ACT meet the standards contained in the National Food Standards Code. The code contains standards agreed to by the National Food Standards Council after consideration of recommendations from the body responsible for preparing the standards, the National Food Authority. To enable an appreciation of how comprehensive the National Food Standards Code actually is, I will outline its main provisions. The Food Standards Code includes standards for packaging, labelling, advertising, date marking of packed food, food additives, including preservatives, colourings, flavourings and flavour enhancers such as MSG, artificial sweetening substances, vitamins and minerals, and metal and other contaminants in food. The composition of foods specifically and generally is included, and microbiological standards are prescribed for certain foods.
Madam Speaker, the Bill I present today fulfils an agreement made in 1991 by the ACT Government, along with other States and the Northern Territory, to adopt or incorporate the National Food Standards Code, by reference, of course, without amendments, into the food legislation of each State and Territory and to phase out conflicting existing standards. Under the new legislation, Madam Speaker, there will no longer be any differences in food standards between the ACT and the rest of Australia. This Bill will do away with the present anomaly whereby, for example, minced meat sold in Queanbeyan cannot contain preservative, yet in Canberra butchers may use preservative in the same type of product. It addresses, among other matters, two areas of public concern, food dumping in the ACT and date marking of food. Imported food or food prepared in the States which does not comply with national standards in the legislation in those areas and which, prior to this legalisation, could be sold in the ACT will no longer comply with ACT requirements and an offence will be committed if it is sold here.
The problems associated with the ACT's lack of legislation preventing food dumping were illustrated by an incident in April 1991. Sixteen samples of fish fillets were submitted to the ACT Analytical Laboratory for examination for the presence of the preservative sulphur dioxide. The Analytical Laboratory reported that all samples contained less than 20 parts per million of sulphur dioxide. Since 20 parts per million is the limit of sensitivity for the test of sulphur dioxide, it was assumed that the preservative was not present in any of the samples. However, while the fish was found not to contain excessive amounts of sulphur dioxide, two samples were found to contain in excess of 1,000 parts per million of ascorbic acid. The Food Standards Code permits the addition of up to 1,000 parts per million of ascorbic acid in frozen fish. Amounts of ascorbic acid in excess of the Food Standards Code are undesirable as such amounts could be being used to mask poor handling and storage techniques, but no offence was committed in the ACT as the Food Standards Code controlling the use of preservatives and additives in foods was not, of course, in force in the ACT.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . .