The new online tool to assist you to determine and down load the correct Country Of Origin labelling mark for your food product has been released.
It is available for use on  www.business.gov.au/foodlabels. 
This online tool will assist you in choosing an appropriate label for the food product you are planning to sell in Australia. The tool will help you determine if you need a label, and if you need a standard mark that features graphics as well as text, it will then find, customise and download an appropriate label for your food product so your food products are compliant with the new Country Of Origin food labelling requirements that commence on 1 July 2016.

FSANZ has released a new recall template to assist businesses to plan and to conduct a product recall.
“The Food Recall Plan template is in an easy to follow, quick-reference style document that will help businesses manage food recalls.
“This resource is an important addition to our other food recall resources for businesses, such as the Food Industry Recall Protocol.”
The Food Recall Plan template and Food Industry Recall Protocol are both available for download from the FSANZ website." FSANZ  09/06/2016.

Clause 12 of Standard 3.2.2 – Food Safety Practices and General Requirements, requires Australian food businesses engaged in food manufacture, importation or in the wholesale supply of food to have a written food recall system. 
Businesses are advised to complete and use this template as part of their food safety plan as well as referring to the FSANZ Recall Protocol.( current version #7 2014)
FSANZ Recall Template information and guides can be found here.
New Food Recall Template downloaded here...   fsanz_food_recall_plan_template_final.docx.

NSW Food Authority has approved the use of High Pressure Pasteurisation of milk.
The Food Standards Code requires milk to be pasteurized by some means- usually achieved by heating the milk 72oC for 15 seconds, to kill the pathogenic or dangerous bacteria in the raw milk.
After rigorous testing of using High Pressure Pasteurisation equipment "the cold pressed milk" has been declared as a safe product and the High Pressure Pasteurisation process has been validated by the NSW Food Authority.
See ABC story here
The HPP process that retains the flavour, colour, and nutritional benefits of raw milk, which can be lost during the  heat pasteurisation process.
Correct Food Systems works with clients who want to use the High Pressure Pasteurisation technology for their products. See our High Pressure Pasteurisation page.

By the publication of a hamburger food safety guideline in February 2016, the NSW Food Authority has stirred up a controversy on how the current crop of new burger bars should be managing the cooking of the meat pattie.
Burger bars are all on trend in Sydney at the moment, serving "america style" burgers, often not thoroughly cooked, with pink "juicy" centres.
However as Lisa Owens CFS consultant explains , the very act of mincing meat means that the minced meat burger is higher risk and must be cooked thoroughly all the way through. 
Correct Food Systems advises all retailers to follow the NSW Food Authority guideline that can be found here- thoroughly cook your minced meat burgers, and avoid a possible breach of food safety laws, or worse- a customer who becomes ill with food poisoning.

​ThatsY interview here....

Woolworths have released documents and information on their Supplier Excellence Program on their Woolworths wowlink website. 
Woolworths have also presented the information on the new updated program to suppliers in a road show presentation ( also available on the wowlink website).
Suppliers to Woolworths are advised to be familiar with the changes and altered structure of the new Supplier Excellence program by accessing the information from wowlink. CFS has a short summary of the information here

The Australian Government is changes to Country of Origin labelling from 1 July 2016.
​However, there is a two-year transition period so that businesses have time to adjust to the new obligations which will be mandatory in July 2018.
​Further Information here on the new CoOL labelling and also the Health Star scheme

​Businesses that manufacture or wholesale food in NSW fall under the NSW Food Authority’s
Manufacturer/Wholesaler Inspection Program (MWIP) and are required to have inspections.
All facilities are inspected against the Food Standards Code.
Table 1 in this document provides a indication of compliance requirements for various types of food stuffs.
Table 2 provides information for compliance -  indicative CAR gradings. 

The Allergen Bureau has published a PDF of a presentation on Allergen Fundamentals.
This resource can be downloaded from the Allergen Bureau here.
This free resource is provided by the Allergen Bureau for:

1. people new to the subject of food allergens in manufacturing, or
2. people in the food industry who feel they might benefit from a ‘going back to the basics’ refresher.

Overview of the Allergen Bureau Food Allergen Fundamentals

• Food allergy and food allergens
• Managing food allergens
• Resources available
• The Voluntary Incidental Trace Allergen Labelling (VITAL®) Program
• The Allergen Bureau

Should you want further information or training on how to access and apply the VITAL online tool please contact our associate company  Correct Training Systems, who are approved by the Allergen Bureau to conduct Training on VITAL

FSANZ published a statement of egg safety in January 2016 in response to concerns about eggs being unrefrigerated in retail storage. FSANZ conducted a major risk assessment of eggs safety in 2011 and has concluded there is no food safety reason to require whole eggs to be refrigerated at retail, however retailers may choose to refrigerate eggs for their own reasons (for example, to maintain quality of the egg such as firmness of the yolk or reduce spoilage).
Whole un-cracked eggs aren’t required to be refrigerated at retail supermarkets within Australia.
Dishes containing raw eggs as an ingredient, like raw egg mayonnaise, are considered high risk and they do require refrigeration. This is because pathogens may contaminate the raw egg when the egg is cracked.
Refer to the statement for safe egg handling strategies, including hand washing, use of a egg separator and avoidance of raw egg products by vulnerable populations

This AFGC form is used to notify major Australian Retailers in the event of a food product recall.
This is updated regularly at  http://www.afgc.org.au/publications/
​This is the form as at January 2016 (Click Here)