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The First Three Years

Food Standards Group

The Food Standards Group continued and further strengthened New Zealand’s involvement in the Australia-New Zealand joint standards arrangements covering labelling and composition.

On establishment of NZFSA, a core team of mainly Ministry of Health staff focused on continuing and improving the contribution to the joint food standards development system. This gave reality to the development, review and implementation of labelling and composition standards shared with Australia. The Group was also responsible for dietary supplements and a range of other food regulations outside the joint standards system.

In late 2002, the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code took full effect, and attention and effort turned to the work needed in areas not yet covered by the Code or that needed review. This included:

• submissions on all assessments undertaken by FSANZ

• technical input to policy guidelines for FSANZ such as novel foods, fortification with vitamins and minerals and health claims

• science around areas such as iodine, folate, vitamin D and food composition

• technical input on new and existing standards such as novel foods, infant foods and health claims.

As well, joint projects with the Ministry of Health were undertaken in relation to vitamin D research and fortification with both folate and iodine.

The Group was expanded by one person in 2004 to provide a level of technical expertise in dietary supplements.

Finally, the Group provided New Zealand’s contribution and head of delegation to the Codex Committees on Food Labelling, Food Additives and Contaminants and Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses.