Food Focus November 2008
NZFSA news
A year of stories that made the news
The 12 months from October 2007 proved just as busy for NZFSA but no less rewarding than previous years, with keen public interest in many food safety topics from toxic honey to melamine. Let’s take a look at a selection of the stories that made the news …
October 2007
In response to a new book claiming safety concerns with A1 milk, NZFSA reaffirms confidence in milk and commissions independent reviews of the science related to A1/A2 milk and NZFSA’s decision-making processes in response to the scientific evidence.
Dr Andrew McKenzie, Chief Executive of NZFSA says: “We hope these two peer reviews will answer the allegations about the safety of milk that we believe are creating unnecessary fear and concern for New Zealanders – and show that NZFSA’s science-based decision-making processes remain credible, reliable and trustworthy”.
Also in October we announce our intention to test more imported foods as part of regular monitoring to ensure New Zealand’s food safety systems are working effectively and that those selling food meet their legal food safety responsibilities.
November 2007
Food Safety Minister Lianne Dalziel and the Foodsafe Partnership mascot Foodsafe Freddie launch Foodsafe Week with help from a Wellington primary school. They hand out balloons and stickers to help push home the golden rules of food safety in the home: clean, cook, cover, chill and the 20+20 hand washing rule (20 seconds wash + 20 seconds dry = clean hands).
The annual Foodsafe Week, run at the start of summer by the Foodsafe Partnership, serves as a timely reminder that warmer temperatures mean bacteria on food can double in numbers within minutes.
December 2007
A major NZFSA study, conducted by ESR, is released, with the shocking estimate that more than five million working days are lost each year in New Zealand due to gastrointestinal illness. The first of its type in New Zealand, the year-long study indicates that New Zealand’s rate of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) is comparable to other developed countries.
NZFSA appoints Charles (Bunny) Romi Tumai as its kaumatua. This is an important step for NZFSA to ensure that the mana of the organisation is upheld in relationships with Māori. As NZFSA’s kaumatua, Bunny will provide expert leadership and direction on food safety initiatives with whānau, hapu and iwi, and in particular on Marae.
February 2008
With the beginning of another school year we remind school kids and their parents how to keep their lunchboxes safe. We also remind tertiary students about food safety when flatting, so they don’t end up having to take time off from their studies to recover from illness caused by poor food handling.
Early in the month we are privileged to host one of the most influential committees in the setting of standards governing international trade in food – the eighth session of the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products – held in Queenstown on behalf of the 172 member nations.
March 2008
Honey hits the headlines in March but there’s not much sweetness in the story as some people fall ill after consuming honey bought from three Coromandel outlets. NZFSA advises consumers to check with the supplier that their honey has been harvested in accordance with requirements and if in doubt not to eat it.
The toxin causing the problems comes from the native tutu bush and is incorporated into honey when bees gather honeydew produced by an insect feeding on tutu plants. This year’s hot dry conditions, with a shortage of food for bees, is thought to have led to increased honeydew consumption.
April 2008
The biggest ever fine handed down under the Animal Products Act 1999 is welcomed by NZFSA. In September 2007, NZFSA brought a case to court against Sea Resources Company Limited and Ian Kenneth William Pharaoh for having sold more than 1.5 tonnes of squid, despite knowing it had not been processed in accordance with the proper requirements. Both parties were found guilty on all counts. Fines and costs were handed down totalling $225,780.
Also in April, Dr Stuart Slorach’s review of the organisation’s risk management framework and its application is welcomed by NZFSA Chief Executive Dr Andrew McKenzie: “The report states that our food safety risk management framework provides ‘a very good structure for systematically and flexibly managing the wide variety of food safety risks currently encountered in New Zealand and for handling new risks and is comparable with those applied by similar authorities in Sweden, Denmark and Ireland’.”
May 2008
Tea is on the menu in May as NZFSA issues a Privileged Statement to warn against consuming seeds that could be found in a Chinese herbal tea made from the plant Abrus Cantoniensis. Such statements are issued infrequently.
The plant product is not permitted to be sold as a food or food ingredient under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. It is believed that the seeds and possibly the seed pods are toxic, and anyone who has the product is advised not to consume it and to return it to the place of purchase.
The product is withdrawn from sale and is recalled by the importer. NZFSA works with Customs, Public Health Units and Medsafe to identify any other importers or retail outlets, and GPs are alerted of the potential to cause illness.
Also in May, results from NZFSA’s Food Residue Surveillance Programme (FRSP) show that a range of New Zealand produce indicates generally good pesticide practices. This year capsicum, strawberries, lettuce, mushrooms and courgettes went under the microscope.
The latest results, which look at chemical residues found in fresh, unwashed produce, are released, and although some samples show residues slightly over the permitted level, Paul Dansted, NZFSA Principal Advisor (Chemicals) says none of them represent any food safety or health concerns.
June 2008
The lack of a registered risk management programme (RMP) sees an illegal poultry farm in Papakura shut down in a joint operation between NZFSA, the Police, various Territorial Authorities and MAF.
“This processor has consistently failed to comply with their legal obligation of having a registered risk management programme in place”, NZFSA Assistant Director Justin Rowlands announces. More than 137,000 eggs at an estimated value of $21,000 are seized and destroyed, and as a result of the animal welfare inspection more than 1,100 mainly broiler chickens are euthanised.
Serving dishwasher detergent instead of mulled wine costs a Queenstown café operator more than $4000 in a case brought by NZFSA. Two women were hospitalised after drinking the poisonous substance on 9 July 2007.
NZFSA Director of Compliance and Investigation, Geoff Allen, comments, “it clearly illustrates the care that has to be shown when handling and preparing food, and the crucial need for food to be stored separately from chemical agents and labelled appropriately”.
July 2008
An imported rice product that tests positive for trace quantities of the unauthorised genetically modified rice variety, Bt63 is withdrawn by NZFSA. NZFSA is not aware of any health concerns for the product, but Bt63 is not approved for sale in food in New Zealand.
Two of NZFSA’s long-serving staff are honoured for their commitment to food. Assistant Director (Production and Processing) Judy Barker and Programme Manager (Composition) with the Joint Food Standards’ nutrition team, John van den Beuken, are made Fellows of the New Zealand Institute of Food Science and Technology (NZIFST).
August 2008
NZFSA releases a wild food safety DVD and two complementary booklets, Food safety for hunters and Food safety for seafood gatherers, with information for the growing number of Kiwis who either hunt, fish or gather food from the wild. These resources will help minimise risks posed by wild foods and assist wild foodies to make decisions about how to safely catch, store and eat foods such as wild game, ducks and other game birds, and seafood.
A Food Control Plan (FCP) especially written for restaurants, cafés and catering businesses is launched. The FCP provides operators with a ready-written food safety management system that identifies potential risks at each step of their production process and contains procedures to keep food safe at each of those steps.
Within a few weeks, 58 local councils, representing over 80% of New Zealand’s population, sign up to take part in the voluntary scheme to introduce FCPs, meaning most operators of food businesses will have easy access to them.
September 2008
Some brands of Chinese infant formula sold in China are found to be contaminated with the chemical melamine. It is thought that the milk used to produce the infant formula has been watered down and that melamine was added to give the milk a false high-protein result, thereby hiding its dilution. More than 50,000 infants fall sick and at least four die as a result of the contamination.
In a subsequent month of activity and intense media interest, NZFSA samples and tests all infant formula products sold in New Zealand and finds none containing any melamine. After this initial testing NZFSA looks at other foods for sale in New Zealand that could contain Chinese dairy products, and discovers a brand of imported sweets contains a dangerously high level of melamine. NZFSA releases a Privileged Statement warning people not to consume the sweets and works with importers, distributors and the Customs service to contain and control supply.
All NZFSA sampling results are posted on the website and kept up to date. Very low levels of melamine are subsequently found in a New Zealand-originated dairy extract, Lactoferrin, though in levels determined as posing no health risk.
NZFSA holds its annual conference in Rotorua, bringing it to a regional centre rather than a main centre this year. In another departure, two workshops are held either side of the conference. The first is for Territorial Authorities, introducing the voluntary implementation of Food Control Plans, as well as a presentation on New South Wales regulatory programmes and inspections. The second workshop is a science-based discussion of NZFSA’s risk management framework, using the toxins in honey episode as a case study.
The conference is very well attended, hosting speakers from the UK Food Standards Agency, European Food Safety Authority and US Department of Agriculture who offered international perspectives on food safety.
October 2008
The melamine issue spills over into October and NZFSA continues testing of products. The agency updates its table of foods tested for melamine presence, and Dr Geoff Allen, NZFSA Director (Compliance & Investigation), notes: “It is pleasing to see that most of the products we have tested continue to show no presence of melamine.
“However, there has been one food imported from China, a milk-based drink called ‘Wahaha AD milk drink’ in 100ml bottles that has 3.3 parts per million (ppm) of melamine. NZFSA’s scientists have assessed the risks to consumers from this low level and we can advise people who may have drunk it that the level is below established safety limits and is unlikely to pose any health risk.” Despite little risk to consumers, NZFSA informs the importer of the test result, and he voluntarily removes the product from his shop shelves.
Serious about food safety
People eating out now have the option of choosing a business that has made an extra commitment to taking food safety seriously
A special window sticker is now being displayed by food businesses that are following the new Food Control Plan.
Carole Inkster, NZFSA’s Policy Director says: “People are becoming more discerning about many aspects of food, including where they eat out. This new window sticker may help diners decide which business to choose. Operators who display the sticker must have registered a Food Control Plan (or have a registered Food Safety Programme), which involves putting in place a food safety management system covering all relevant parts of their business. In essence, it means they’re totally committed to providing their customers with the safest food possible.”
A Food Control Plan provides an operator with procedures to keep products safe, at each step of the process, and emphasises the importance of staff training and hygiene.
More information about Food Control Plans
NZFSA’s Statement of Mandate
Following recommendations made in April by Dr Stuart Slorach (a food safety expert who reviewed NZFSA’s risk management decision-making), NZFSA has clarified its mandate
On 15 September, the New Zealand Cabinet agreed that: “The New Zealand Food Safety Authority’s mandate is to protect consumers by providing an effective food regulatory programme covering food produced and consumed in New Zealand as well as imports and exports of food products.”
In delivering this mandate, NZFSA is to:
• engender high levels of trust and confidence in the New Zealand regulatory programme covering food and related products both domestically and internationally
• base risk management decisions designed to protect consumers on sound science and an evidence base, applying precaution when faced with scientific uncertainty
• apply the principles of openness and transparency
• engage with stakeholders including consumers and industry sectors
• minimise the costs of regulatory actions/interventions, recognising the economic benefits to domestic and export food businesses and the flow-on effects in consumer food prices
• communicate food risks, hygienic practices and nutritional information as far as these are known and relevant to the food supply and consumer behaviour
• recognise that there are New Zealand customs and practices that involve the non-commercial hunting, gathering and/or preparation of food where the public do not expect regulatory intervention
• utilise any capacity to improve business opportunities for domestic and export focused food industries
• maintain the integrity of official assurances provided to importing countries’ governments
• work at the multilateral and bilateral level to ensure neither international standards nor importing country standards pose unjustified ‘technical barriers’ to trade.
In pursuing this mandate the overriding priority will always be to protect consumers.