Explanatory Statement

1.       Authority

Section 13 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (the FSANZ Act) provides that the functions of Food Standards Australia New Zealand (the Authority) include the development of Standards and variations of Standards for inclusion in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code).

Division 1 of Part 3 of the FSANZ Act specifies that the Authority may accept applications for the development or variation of food regulatory measures, including Standards. This Division also stipulates the procedure for considering an application for the development or variation of food regulatory measures.

The Authority accepted Application A1133 which sought to harmonise Codex MRLs for avilamycin in specific pig commodities with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. The Authority considered the Application in accordance with Division 1 of Part 3 and has approved a variation to Schedule 20.

Following consideration by the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation, section 92 of the FSANZ Act stipulates that the Authority must publish a notice about the Standard or draft variation of a Standard.

Section 94 of the FSANZ Act specifies that a Standard, or a variation of a Standard, in relation to which a notice is published under section 92 is a legislative instrument, but is not subject to parliamentary disallowance or sunsetting under the Legislation Act 2003.

2.       Purpose

The Authority has approved a variation to the table to section S20—3 to include maximum residue limits for avilamycin for specific pig commodities to harmonise with Codex MRLs.

Section S20—3 lists the limits for agricultural and veterinary chemical residues which may occur in foods. If a limit is not listed for a particularly agricultural or veterinary chemical/food combination, there must be no detectable residues of that chemical in that food. This general prohibition means that, in the absence of the relevant limit in the Code, food may not be sold where there are detectable residues.

3.       Documents incorporated by reference

The variations to food regulatory measures do not incorporate any documents by reference.

4.       Consultation

In accordance with the procedure in Division 1 of Part 3 of the FSANZ Act, the Authority’s consideration of Application A1133 included one round of public consultation following an assessment and the preparation of a draft variation to Schedule 20 and associated report. Submissions were called for on 7 November 2016 for a four-week consultation period.

A Regulation Impact Statement was not required because the Office of Best Practice Regulation provided an exemption relating to MRLs in 2010 (ID 12065).

5.       Statement of compatibility with human rights

This instrument is exempt from the requirements for a statement of compatibility with human rights as it is a non-disallowable instrument under section 94 of the FSANZ Act.

6.       Variation

The draft variation amends the table to section S20—3 by inserting into that table an entry for the chemical Avilamycin. The new entry will provide maximum residue limits for Avilamycin using the permitted residue marker, dichloroisoeverninic acid for four specific pig commodities.