EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991
Food Standards (Application A1292 – Phospholipase C from Bacillus licheniformis as a processing aid) Variation
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.
The Authority accepted Application A1292, which sought to amend the Code to permit the use of phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3) from B. licheniformis containing the phospholipase C gene from B. thuringiensis, as a processing aid in degumming vegetable fats and oils. The Authority considered the Application in accordance with Division 1 of Part 3 and has approved a draft variation—the Food Standards (Application A1292 – Phospholipase C from Bacillus licheniformis as a processing aid) Variation (the approved draft variation).
Following consideration by the Food Ministers’ Meeting (FMM), section 92 of the FSANZ Act stipulates that the Authority must publish a notice about the draft variation.
2. Variation will be a legislative instrument
The approved draft variation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003 (see section 94 of the FSANZ Act) and is publicly available on the Federal Register of Legislation.
The instrument is not subject to the disallowance or sunsetting provisions of the Legislation Act 2003. Subsections 44(1) and 54(1) of that Act provide that a legislative instrument is not disallowable or subject to sunsetting if the enabling legislation for the instrument (in this case, the FSANZ Act) (a) facilitates the establishment or operation of an intergovernmental scheme involving the Commonwealth and one or more States; and (b) authorises the instrument to be made for the purposes of the scheme.
Regulation 11 of the Legislation (Exemptions and other Matters) Regulation 2015 also exempts from sunsetting legislative instruments a primary purpose of which is to give effect to an international obligation of Australia.
The FSANZ Act gives effect to an intergovernmental agreement (the Food Regulation Agreement) and facilitates the establishment or operation of an intergovernmental scheme (national uniform food regulation). That Act also gives effect to Australia’s obligations under an international agreement between Australia and New Zealand. For these purposes, the Act establishes the Authority to develop food standards for consideration and endorsement by the FMM. The FMM is established under the Food Regulation Agreement and the international agreement between Australia and New Zealand, and consists of New Zealand, Commonwealth and State/Territory members. If endorsed by the FMM, the food standards on gazettal and registration are incorporated into and become part of Commonwealth, State and Territory and New Zealand food laws.
These standards or instruments are then administered, applied, and enforced by these jurisdictions’ regulators as part of those food laws.
3. Purpose
The Authority has approved a draft variation to amend the table to subsection S18––9(3) of the Code to permit the use of the enzyme phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3) from B. licheniformis containing the phospholipase C gene from B. thuringiensis as a processing aid in degumming vegetable fats and oils.
This permission is subject to the condition that the maximum permitted level or amount of the enzyme that may be present in the food must be consistent with good manufacturing practice (GMP).
4. Documents incorporated by reference
The approved draft variation does not incorporate any documents by reference.
However, existing provisions of the Code incorporate documents by reference that would prescribe identity and purity specifications for the processing aid to be permitted by the approved draft variation. Section 1.1.1—15 of the Code requires substances used as processing aids to comply with any relevant identity and purity specifications listed in Schedule 3 of the Code when added to food in accordance with the Code or sold for use in food.
Section S3—2 of Schedule 3 incorporates by reference the specifications listed in the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) Compendium of Food Additive Specifications (FAO/WHO 2021), the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (2022) Food Chemicals Codex (13th edition). These include general specifications for the identity and purity parameters of enzyme preparations used in food processing.
5. Consultation
In accordance with the procedure in Division 1 of Part 3 of the FSANZ Act, the Authority’s consideration of Application A1292 included one round of public consultation following an assessment and the preparation of a draft variation and associated assessment summary.
FSANZ called for submissions on the draft variation between 15 July and 26 August 2025. Further details of the consultation process, the issues raised during consultation and by whom, and the Authority’s response to these issues are available in an approval report published on the Authority’s website at www.foodstandards.gov.au.
A regulation impact statement (RIS) was not prepared. FSANZ’s assessment was that a RIS was not required for this application. This was on the basis that the application was minor and deregulatory in nature. It sought to permit the use of a processing aid found to be safe and that use is voluntary.
6. 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 44 of the Legislation Act 2003.
7. Variation
References to ‘variation’ in this section are references to the approved draft variation.
Clause 1 of the variation provides that the name of the variation is the Food Standards (Application A1292 – Phospholipase C from Bacillus licheniformis, as a processing aid) Variation.
Clause 2 of the variation provides that the Code is amended by the Schedule to the variation.
Clause 3 of the variation provides that the variation commences on the date of gazettal of the instrument.
Schedule to the variation
Item [1] of the Schedule to the variation inserts a new entry, in alphabetical order, into the table to subsection S18—9(3) of the Code.
The new entry consists of the following enzyme in column 1 of the table:
- ‘Phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3) sourced from Bacillus licheniformis containing the gene for phospholipase C from Bacillus thuringiensis’.
The permitted technological purpose for this enzyme is prescribed in column 2 of the table. The prescribed purpose is ‘For use in degumming vegetable fats and oils.’
The permission is subject to the condition, as prescribed in column 3 of the table, that the maximum permitted level or amount of this enzyme that may be present in the food must be consistent with GMP.
The effect of the proposed amendment in item [1] is to permit the proposed use of the enzyme, phospholipase C (EC 3.1.4.3) sourced from Bacillus licheniformis containing the phospholipase C gene from Bacillus thuringiensis, as a processing aid in accordance with the Code.