1Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 1.5.1 – Novel foods

Standard 1.5.1 Novel foods

Note 1 This instrument is a standard under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth). The standards together make up the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. See also section 1.1.1—3.

Note 2 The provisions of the Code that apply in New Zealand are incorporated in, or adopted under, the Food Act 2014 (NZ). See also section 1.1.1—3.

Note 3 Paragraphs 1.1.1—10(5)(b) and (6)(f) provide that a food for sale must not consist of, or have as an ingredient or a component, a novel food, if the food is offered for retail sale, unless expressly permitted by this Code. This Standard contains the relevant permissions.

1.5.1—1 Name

This Standard is Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 1.5.1 – Novel foods.

Note Commencement:
This Standard commences on 1 March 2016, being the date specified as the commencement date in notices in the Gazette and the New Zealand Gazette under section 92 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth). See also section 93 of that Act.

1.5.1—2 Definitions

Note Section 1.1.2—8 (Definition of novel food) provides as follows:

(1) In this Code:

novel food means a non-traditional food that requires an assessment of the public health and safety considerations having regard to:

(a) the potential for adverse effects in humans; or

(b) the composition or structure of the food; or

(c) the process by which the food has been prepared; or

(d) the source from which it is derived; or

(e) patterns and levels of consumption of the food; or

(f) any other relevant matters.

Note Possible categories of novel foods are described in guidelines issued by FSANZ. Categories of novel foods may include, but are not limited to, the following:

 plants or animals and their components;
 plant or animal extracts;
 herbs, including extracts;
 dietary macro-components;
 single chemical entities;
 microorganisms, including probiotics;
 foods produced from new sources, or by a process not previously applied to food.

non-traditional food means:

(a) a food that does not have a history of human consumption in Australia or New Zealand; or

(b) a substance derived from a food, where that substance does not have a history of human consumption in Australia or New Zealand other than as a component of that food; or

(c) any other substance, where that substance, or the source from which it is derived, does not have a history of human consumption as a food in Australia or New Zealand.