Page 988 - Week 04 - Thursday, 18 June 1992
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The requirement for date marking of food is also of particular significance. Specific types of food as identified in the standards will be required to carry date markings. Consumers in Canberra will be able to see exactly how much shelf life remains on perishable foods before purchasing, just as they would if they were shopping in Sydney or Melbourne. At present the National Food Standards Code does not address the issue of sale of food which has an expired use-by date. Neither the Food Standards Code nor any legislation in force in the States or the Northern Territory makes it an offence to sell food that is beyond its use-by date. However, there are offence provisions to guard against the sale of food that has deteriorated or is in some way unfit to eat. The ACT has and will continue to have such a provision. The Government is concerned about the whole issue of sale of foodstuffs which have passed their use-by dates and will be raising this matter with the National Food Authority to explore legislative options.
In view of the concerns over this particular issue I intend to explore fully the question of whether or not to make it an offence to sell or offer for sale food with an expired use-by date and to include such an offence in the later stages of this legislative process. If agreement is reached through the National Food Authority to the inclusion of the sale of food past its use-by date as an offence, the offence will then be incorporated into legislation in all States. That is the national approach. However, the ACT Government will not proceed in isolation with any such changes if they are inconsistent with the spirit of the national agreement signed by the Chief Minister.
There is, however, an argument against making it an offence to sell food which has an expired use-by date and this may explain why it is not currently an offence under the food code. Should it be made an offence to sell food which is beyond its use-by date, national suppliers may be encouraged to extend the shelf life of their products to beyond what they consider to be the optimum time for protecting the quality of the food. It is this issue that will be addressed in discussions with the National Food Authority. Madam Speaker, the national standards are continually being updated and revised in line with changes in food technology, public health and analytical methods by the National Food Authority. This Bill will ensure that new and amended standards are automatically incorporated into our law, and the ACT will no longer fall behind the rest of Australia in this regard.
The Bill also provides the Executive with powers to prescribe food standards in the case of an emergency in order to protect public health. Such emergency provisions are part of the 1991 national agreement. Last, but not least, the Bill establishes a number of offences in relation to the composition, packaging, labelling and advertising of food prepared for sale, or sold or dispatched from the Territory for sale. Substantial penalties are prescribed - up to $5,000 or six months' imprisonment for most offences, and $3,000 for others. A body corporate, that is a registered company, can expect to pay up to $25,000 for contraventions. As I mentioned earlier, the present Bill represents only the beginning of our reform process in relation to food regulation. Subsequent stages of this process will address licensing and enforcement issues. Madam Speaker, I present the explanatory memorandum for the Bill.
Debate (on motion by Mrs Carnell) adjourned.
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