FSANZ's annual report defined by safety & scientific progress

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has released its 2024–25 Annual Report.

FSANZ CEO Dr Sandra Cuthbert said the year was defined by significant regulatory and scientific progress driven by collaboration with stakeholders and Food Regulation System partners.

“We finalised 20 applications and 7 proposals that advanced food standards and helped maintain trust in the safety of our food supply,” Cuthbert said.

“Our work covered new and emerging areas of food regulation, including the first cell-cultured food approved for sale in Australia and New Zealand and updated definitions for genetically modified food.

“We also continued work to strengthen egg safety standards and review the Health Star Rating system and nutrition information panel to ensure labelling supports consumers to make informed food choices.”

In line with the 10-year average of 86 recalls annually, Cuthbert said FSANZ continued to deliver on its core functions, coordinating 87 food recalls and supporting the management of 10 significant food safety issues. These included issues with frozen açaí products, contaminated cooking oil in China and multi-jurisdictional outbreak investigations. FSANZ also worked with state food and health authorities to respond to the tomato brown rugose fruit virus outbreak in South Australia.

“We also strengthened our international partnerships, from collaborative assessments with Health Canada to new science dialogues across the Asia–Pacific region, ensuring Australia and New Zealand remain leaders in evidence-based food regulation,” she said.

The full report can be downloaded here: www.foodstandards.gov.au/publications/annual-report-2024-25.

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