30 May 2001
15/01
FULL ASSESSMENT REPORT AND REGULATION IMPACT ASSESSMENT
Full Report [ pdf 179kb ]
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- In early 1999, a food poisoning outbreak occurred in South Australia that affected over 500 people. The implicated food was unpasteurised orange juice, which had been contaminated with Salmonella typhimurium phage type 135a.
- In August 1999, the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council (ANZFSC) discussed the management of public health risks associated with the consumption of unpasteurised orange juice. ANZFSC supported a proposal by the South Australian Department of Human Services to make an application to ANZFA to amend Standard O7 - Orange Juice and Related Products of the Food Standards Code.
- In March 2000, ANZFA received an application from the South Australian Department of Human Services to require all orange juice, other than freshly squeezed orange juice for immediate consumption, to be pasteurised or labelled to ensure consumers are informed of the risks associated with the consumption of unpasteurised orange juice.
- In response to the application, eleven submissions were received. Submissions generally supported processing requirements for all juices, not just orange juice, and some form of labelling to enable unpasteurised juices to be identified.
- The objective of this report is to assess the public health risks associated with orange juice and other juices and if a risk is identified, to propose an appropriate management strategy to address this risk.
- The risk assessment concludes that all juice (fruit and vegetable) has the potential to be contaminated with microbiological hazards and that juice that has not undergone any form of treatment is more likely to be contaminated with pathogens than treated juice. It also concludes that while there is a low probability of untreated juice being contaminated with dangerous pathogens, if it is, the consequences can be severe for at risk groups and in extreme cases death could occur.
- Five options are considered for managing the risks associated with untreated juices, ranging from having no management strategy to requiring all juice to be processed in accordance with a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) system that includes a 5-log reduction process for the destruction of pathogens that may be present in the juice.
- The preferred option is option 4 as it outlines the most cost effective way of managing the potential risks associated with untreated juice and is in line with ANZFA' s section 10 objectives. Option 4 is a combination of regulatory and non-regulatory measures. These measures are outlined below.
Regulatory measures
- labelling of packaged juices as ' unpasteurised ' if they have not undergone a process capable of achieving at least a 5-log reduction in the most resistant pathogen of public health significance likely to occur in the juice; and
- mandatory microbiological criteria for untreated juice requiring not detectable levels of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp.
Non-regulatory measures
- a voluntary code of practice for producers of untreated juices outlining ways to minimise the contamination of fruit while it is being grown, harvested, stored and processed to make juice; and
- consumer education to increase awareness of the potential risks associated with the untreated juices, particularly for at-risk groups and advice on how to distinguish between treated and untreated juices in the marketplace.
It is recommended that the regulatory measures not commence until six months after the gazettal of the requirements to provide producers of juice sufficient time to become familiar with the requirements and if necessary, make labelling changes and change any of their processing practices.
This matter does need to be advised to the WTO as a Technical Barrier to Trade Notification because imported product will come under the scope of the proposed requirements and there are no similar requirements specified by codex.
Full Report [ pdf 179kb ]