Explanatory Statement
1. Authority
Section 13 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (the FSANZ Act) provides that the functions of Food Standards Australia New Zealand (the Authority) include the development of standards and variations of standards for inclusion in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code).
Division 1 of Part 3 of the FSANZ Act specifies that the Authority may accept applications for the development or variation of food regulatory measures, including standards. This Division also stipulates the procedure for considering an application for the development or variation of food regulatory measures.
FSANZ accepted Application A1097 which seeks permission for the sale and use of food derived from herbicide-tolerant and insect-protected corn line MON87411 (MON87411). The Authority considered the Application in accordance with Division 1 of Part 3 and has approved a draft Standard.
Following consideration by the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation[1], section 92 of the FSANZ Act stipulates that the Authority must publish a notice about the standard or draft variation of a standard.
Section 94 of the FSANZ Act specifies that a standard, or a variation of a standard, in relation to which a notice is published under section 92 is a legislative instrument, but is not subject to parliamentary disallowance or sunsetting under the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.
2. Purpose
The variation inserts a reference to herbicide-tolerant and insect-protected corn line MON87411 into the Schedule 26 of the Code in order to permit the sale, or use in food, of food derived from that corn line.
3. Documents incorporated by reference
The variations to food regulatory measures do not incorporate any documents by reference.
4. Consultation
In accordance with the procedure in Division 1 of Part 3 of the FSANZ Act, the Authority’s consideration of Application A1097 included one round of public consultation following an assessment and the preparation of a draft variation and associated report. Submissions were called for on 16 December 2014 for an eight-week consultation period.
A Regulation Impact Statement was not required because the Application is likely to have a minor impact on business and individuals.
5. Statement of compatibility with human rights
This instrument is exempt from the requirements for a statement of compatibility with human rights as it is a non-disallowable instrument under section 94 of the FSANZ Act.
6. Variation
Item [1] of the Variation inserts Item 2(v) into the Schedule 26 of the Code. Item 2(v) refers to food derived from herbicide-tolerant and insect-protected corn line MON87411.
[1] convening as the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council