Explanatory Statement
Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991
Food Standards (Application A1332 – Cross-linked polyester resins as an adsorbent processing aid in wine) 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 A1332 which sought to permit molecularly-imprinted adsorbent resins (molecularly-imprinted polymers or MIPs), which are a type of cross-linked polyester resin, as a processing aid in Australian wine production, specifically as an adsorbent agent. The Authority considered the application in accordance with Division 1 of Part 3 and has approved a draft variation – the Food Standards (Application A1332 – Cross-linked polyester resins as an adsorbent processing aid in wine) 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 (www.legislation.gov.au).
This 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.
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). 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 food laws, where applicable 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 Standard 4.5.1 (an Australia only standard) to permit the use of cross-linked polyester resins as a processing aid - an adsorbent agent - in the production of wine, sparkling wine and fortified wine in Australia.
This permission is subject to the condition that the maximum permitted level or amount of the processing aid 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—3 of Schedule 3 incorporates by reference the specifications listed in the 2022 compilation of the United States Code of Federal Regulations. These include general specifications for the identity and purity parameters of cross-linked polyester resins.
5. Consultation
In accordance with the procedure in Division 1 of Part 3 of the FSANZ Act, the Authority’s consideration of Application A1332 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 from 13 January – 24 February 2026. 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.
The Office of Impact Analysis (OIA)[1] has delegated to relevant decision-makers, in this case FSANZ, the assessment of whether an application requires a regulation impact statement. FSANZ’s assessment was that a regulation impact statement was not required for this application. FSANZ’s decision not to develop a regulation impact statement for this application was consistent with the OIA’s prior advice about applications relating to permitting the use of processing aids that have been determined to be safe and if their use will be 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 A1332 – Cross-linked polyester resins as an adsorbent processing aid in wine) 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 will commence on the date of gazettal of the instrument.
Schedule to the variation
Item [1] of the Schedule to the variation amends Standard 4.5.1 by inserting, in numerical order, a new subsection (4) into clause 4.
The new subsection provides that polyester resins, cross-linked may only be used in the production of wine, sparkling wine and fortified wine as an adsorbent agent.
Item [2] of the Schedule to the variation inserts a new entry, in alphabetical order, into the table to clause 4 of Standard 4.5.1.
The table to clause 4 lists substances permitted to be used as processing aids in the production of wine, sparkling wine and fortified wine in Australia.
The new entry lists the following substance in column 1 of the table: ‘Polyester resins, cross-linked’.
‘Polyester resins, cross-linked’ includes molecularly-imprinted adsorbent resins.
Subclause 5(8) of Standard 4.5.1 requires that the use of this processing aid must be consistent with conditions of GMP (as defined by section 1.1.2—2 of the Code).
The effect of items [1] and [2] of the variation is to permit the use of polyester resins, cross-linked as a processing aid (only as an adsorbent agent) in the production of wine, sparkling wine and fortified wine in Australia in accordance with the Code.
[1] Regulatory Impact Analysis Guide for Ministers’ Meetings and National Standard Setting Bodies | The Office of Impact Analysis (pmc.gov.au).