Food Safety Research Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Performance Benchmarking of Australian and New Zealand Business Regulation: Productivity Commission Food Safety Research Report December 2009 © COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA 2009 ISBN 978-1-74037-298-5 This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, the work may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes, subject to the inclusion of an acknowledgment of the source. Reproduction for commercial use or sale requires prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the Commonwealth Copyright Administration, Attorney-General's Department, 3-5 National Circuit, Canberra ACT 2600 or posted at www.ag.gov.au/cca. This publication is available in hard copy or PDF format from the Productivity Commission website at www.pc.gov.au. If you require part or all of this publication in a different format, please contact Media and Publications (see below). Publications Inquiries: Media and Publications Productivity Commission Locked Bag 2 Collins Street East Melbourne VIC 8003 Tel: (03) 9653 2244 Fax: (03) 9653 2303 Email: [email protected] General Inquiries: Tel: (03) 9653 2100 or (02) 6240 3200 An appropriate citation for this paper is: Productivity Commission 2009, Performance Benchmarking of Australian and New Zealand Business Regulation: Food Safety, Research Report, Canberra. JEL code: A, B, C, D, H. The Productivity Commission The Productivity Commission is the Australian Government’s independent research and advisory body on a range of economic, social and environmental issues affecting the welfare of Australians. Its role, expressed most simply, is to help governments make better policies, in the long term interest of the Australian community. The Commission’s independence is underpinned by an Act of Parliament. Its processes and outputs are open to public scrutiny and are driven by concern for the wellbeing of the community as a whole. Further information on the Productivity Commission can be obtained from the Commission’s website (www.pc.gov.au) or by contacting Media and Publications on (03) 9653 2244 or email: [email protected] Foreword Benchmarking the burdens imposed on business by regulation is an important part of the regulatory stream of the National Reform Agenda of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG). This rightly focuses on reducing the regulatory burden imposed by the three levels of government. In addition to Australian jurisdictions, New Zealand also participated in this benchmarking study. This broadened the regulatory functions which could be benchmarked, such as the regulation of international trade in food. Each business along the food production chain from the farmer’s gate to the consumer is affected by an array of complex food safety regulation, some of which appears unnecessarily burdensome. In undertaking this review, the Commission compared written regulation and assessed the performance of food safety regulators to identify where administration and enforcement practices may be imposing unnecessary burdens on business. The insights provided should help governments seek to ensure that the benefits from regulation are not outweighed by the costs imposed and remove unnecessary compliance costs. The study was overseen by Commissioner David Kalisch and Associate Commissioner Paul Coghlan, with a staff research team led by Sue Holmes. The Commission has been greatly assisted by many discussions with participants in the sector, by the regulators (including those in local government) who filled in detailed questionnaires, as well as the submissions received. Thanks are extended to all those who have contributed. Gary Banks AO Chairman December 2009 III Terms of reference IV TERMS OF REFERENCE Contents Abbreviations VIII Overview XI 1 About the study 1 1.1 Origins of this study 1 1.2 Harmonisation of food regulation 1 1.3 Purpose and scope of the study 4 1.4 Conduct of the study 9 1.5 Outline of the report 11 2 The regulatory objectives and framework 13 2.1 The broad regulatory and institutional framework 14 2.2 The jurisdiction-based food regulatory system 23 2.3 Other food safety regulation 30 3 Food safety outcomes 35 3.1 Intermediate indicators 36 3.2 Food-borne illness 39 3.3 Outcomes and regulation 52 4 Approach to benchmarking food safety regulation 55 4.1 Why benchmark business regulation? 56 4.2 Insights from international benchmarking studies 58 4.3 Challenges in benchmarking 60 4.4 Process for selecting areas of food safety regulation to benchmark 64 4.5 Regulatory concerns raised in submissions and during consultation 65 4.6 Areas of food safety regulation selected for benchmarking 74 CONTENTS V 5 Consumer food safety regulation 77 5.1 Adoption of the Model Food Act in Australia 78 5.2 Differences in Australian food laws, regulations and standards 81 5.3 Comparisons with New Zealand food safety laws 88 6 Influencing the culture of compliance 97 6.1 Food safety supervisors 99 6.2 Food safety programs 103 7 Consumer food safety regulators 119 7.1 Introduction 120 7.2 Role of government in food safety regulation 120 7.3 Methodology 122 7.4 Resourcing of regulators 124 7.5 Enforcement approaches 132 7.6 Enforcement practices 146 7.7 Transparency, accountability and coordination 153 8 Regulators of primary production and processing: enforcement and accountability 167 8.1 Institutional structure 168 8.2 Methodology 169 8.3 Resources of primary production and processing food safety regulators 171 8.4 Enforcement approaches and practices 175 8.5 Direct burdens on business 193 8.6 Transparency, accountability and coordination 198 9 Food safety in meat production and processing 203 9.1 Scope of meat regulation 204 9.2 Licensing, accreditation and registration of meat businesses 214 9.3 Inspections, audits and compliance monitoring 226 10 Food safety in egg production and processing 235 10.1 Scope of regulation of eggs and egg product safety 236 10.2 Comparison of regulatory requirements across jurisdictions 240 VI CONTENTS 11 Food safety in dairy production and processing 253 11.1 Scope of dairy and dairy product safety regulation 254 11.2 Comparison of regulation across jurisdictions 259 11.3 Audits and compliance monitoring 268 12 Food safety in seafood production and processing 275 12.1 Scope of seafood regulation 276 12.2 Licensing and accreditation 283 12.3 Compliance monitoring 291 13 Maximum residue limits 297 13.1 Introduction 298 13.2 Specifying and varying the MRLs in food regulation 300 13.3 Business compliance with MRLs 318 14 Compliance with food import and export regulations 329 14.1 Introduction 330 14.2 Issues with the administration of food import regulations 330 14.3 Issues with the administration of food export regulation 339 14.4 General organisational and procedural issues 353 15 Comments from jurisdictions 359 A Conduct of the benchmarking study 373 B Approach to gathering information 385 C Regulation of food imports and exports 409 References 437 VII Abbreviations ACCC Australian Competition and Consumer Commission ACSWA Aged and Community Services Western Australia ACT Australian Capital Territory ACVM Group Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines Group AFSA Australian Food Safety Assessment AHEA Australian Horticultural Exporters Association AIPWG Australian Implementation Working Group AMRA Survey Australian Milk Residue Analysis Survey ANAO Australian National Audit Office ANZFRMC Australian and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council ANZFS Code Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code APVMA Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority AQIS Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service ASQAP Australian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program BMS Bivalve Molluscan Shellfish BSE Bovine spongiform encephalopathy CAC Codex Alimentarius Commission COAG Council of Australian Governments DAFF Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Commonwealth) DASA Dairy Authority SA DFSV Dairy Food Safety Victoria DHHS Department of Health and Human Services (Tasmania) DHS Department of Human Services (Victoria) DMO Delivered meals organisation VIII ABBREVIATIONS ECCB Exclusive capturable commercial benefit EHO Environmental Health Officer ESR The Institute of Environmental Science and Research Ltd EU European Union FAO Food and Agriculture Organization (of the United Nations) FCP Food Control Plan FRSC Food Regulation Standing Committee FSANZ Food Standards Australia New Zealand FSP Food safety program (or plan) FSS Food safety supervisor HACCP Hazards Analysis and Critical Control Points HUS Haemolytic uraemic syndrome IFIS Imported Food Inspection Service IFN Imported Food Notice IFR Imported Food Requirements ISC (Food Standards) Implementation Subcommittee LPA Livestock Production Assurance MoH Ministry of Health (New Zealand) MOU Memorandum of Understanding MRL Maximum Residue Limit NARM National Antibacterial Residue Minimisation NCRP National Chemical Residue Programme NFA National Food Authority NFAS National Feedlot Accreditation Scheme NLIS National Livestock Identification System NORM National Organochlorine Residue Management NRS National Residue Survey NSWFA NSW Food Authority NSWMOA New South Wales Meals on Wheels Association NT DoHF Department of Health & Families (Northern Territory) ABBREVIATIONS IX NT DRDPIFR Department of Regional Development, Primary Industry, Fisheries and Resources (Northern Territory) NVD National Vendor Declarations NZFSA New Zealand Food Safety Authority NZFSA VA New Zealand Food Safety Authority