BANFF, Alta. -Ten years ago a national food safety strategy did not exist in Australia.
The discovery of bacterial contamination in meats and subsequent food safety scares moved this exporting nation into action in the late 1980s.
“The meat inspection system had not changed for 100 years,” said Phil Corrigan of the meat safety enhancement program in Australia.
It evolved from a packing plant inspection of lymph nodes for tuberculosis to a full-fledged scrutiny based on bacterial counts at every step of the production line.
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Corrigan told an international food safety conference held here recently that the integration of the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points program in 1996, quality assurance programs and routine inspection is working.
Within five years all sectors will be operating to quality assurance and HACCP systems with a third party review, said Corrigan.
Under the new system, each plant has its own customized quality assurance manual outlining each critical control point and standard operating practice.
Since these systems were introduced, plants have reported lower microbe counts in their operations.
The Australia-New Zealand Food Authority handles risk analysis and inspection is done by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service.
Meat is inspected by qualified inspectors employed by the company but working under government-approved certification.
But the system has shortcomings, says an Australian meat marketing specialist.
The three-tiered system involving federal, state and local governments oversees food safety domestically and for world markets.
“It is harder to ship a food product from one state to another in Australia than it is internationally,” said Oswin Maurer of the University of New South Wales.
As well, testing has brought high costs to the processing industry and recalls have damaged the reputation of some companies.
There is also a wide mix of regulatory approaches that include consumer protection programs, 150 acts and regulations governing national food product standards.
“It is fragmented and inconsistent and contributes to confusion for consumers,” said Maurer.
