Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) (

Māori Māori or Maori can refer to: Relating to the Māori people * Māori people of New Zealand, or members of that group * Māori language, the language of the Māori people of New Zealand * Māori culture * Cook Islanders, the Māori people of the Co ...

: ''Te Mana Kounga Kai – Ahitereiria me Aotearoa''), formerly Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA), is the

statutory authority A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example reg ...

in the Australian Government Health portfolio that is responsible under the

Joint Food Standards Treaty The Joint Food Standards Treaty is a bilateral treaty between Australia and New Zealand, signed in Wellington on 5 December 1995, which entered into force on 5 July 1996. It constitutes the legal basis for the two countries' harmonised system of ...

for developing the

Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (ANZFSC) is the legal code governing food safety and food labelling in Australia and New Zealand. It is administered by Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Officially, it is issued as Australian sec ...

, which contains food standards for

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

Description

FSANZ develops the standards in consultation with experts, other government agencies and stakeholders; the standards are enforced by state and territory departments, agencies and local councils in Australia, the

Ministry for Primary Industries The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI; ) is the public service department of New Zealand charged with overseeing, managing and regulating the farming, fishing, food, animal welfare, biosecurity, and forestry sectors of New Zealand's primary ...

in New Zealand, and the Australian

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment The Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) was an Australian Government department which operated from 1 February 2020 until 30 June 2022. It represented Australia's national interests in agriculture, water and th ...

for food imported into Australia. According to legislation, the recommendations made by the body should be open and accountable, and based upon a rigorous scientific assessment of risk to public health and safety, though FSANZ's commitment to this has been disputed by leading public health and consumer representatives across Australia and New Zealand. All decisions made by FSANZ must be approved by the

Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands. It has a total area of , making it the sixth-largest country in ...

, which is composed of the Health Minister from each of the Australian states and territories, and the

Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

from New Zealand, and other participating Ministers nominated by each jurisdiction. Publications from FSANZ include the '' Australian Total Diet Survey'' and '' Shoppers' Guide to Food Additives and labels''.

History

FSANZ began as an Australia-only agency, the National Food Authority, established under the ''National Food Authority Act 1991''. In 1995, the National Food Authority's jurisdiction was extended to New Zealand, under the

, and it was consequently renamed the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA). It subsequently adopted its present name, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, in 2001.

Nomenclature

This authority is sometimes cited variously as Australia and New Zealand Food Standards/Safety Authority (ANZFSA), possibly incorrect nomenclature arising due to confusion with the old

initialism An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial letter of each word in all caps wi ...

ANZFA, and with the

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

of the New Zealand authority, New Zealand Food Safety, which previously managed such questions in New Zealand.

Fellows

In 2000 FSANZ established a programme to appoint Fellows to provide expert advice. As of 2024 there are 24 such fellows. Notable fellows include Louise Burke, Jim Mann, Cliona Ni Mhurchu,

Indrawati Oey Indrawati Oey (born 29 April 1970) is a New Zealand food scientist, full professor at the University of Otago. Early life and education Oey was born in Malang, East Java, Indonesia in 1970. Academic career After a PhD at Katholieke Univers ...

, and

Nicole Roy Nicole Clémence Roy was a Canadian–New Zealand academic, and a full professor at the University of Otago, specialising in nutrition and digestive health, including gastrointestinal physiology and microbiome–host interactions. She was a Fe ...

Notes and references

External links