Standard 1.5.1

Novel Foods

(Note: Clause 2 Takes Effect on                    16 June 2001)

This Standard regulates the sale of novel food and novel food ingredients.  This Standard prohibits the sale of these foods unless they are listed in the Table to clause 2, and comply with any special conditions of use in that Table.  The specific permission may impose conditions relating to matters such as the need for preparation or cooking instructions, warning statements or other advice, or the need to meet specific requirements of composition or purity. 

The purpose of this Standard is to ensure that non-traditional foods which have features or characteristics which raise safety concerns will undergo a risk-based safety assessment before they are offered for retail for direct consumption in Australia and/or New Zealand.

The Authority will assess the safety for human consumption of each novel food prior to its inclusion in the Table.  The safety assessment will be performed in accordance with the Authority’s safety assessment guidelines.

Foods produced using gene technology and foods which have been irradiated are regulated in Standards 1.5.2 and 1.5.3 respectively.

Table of Provisions

1 Definitions

2 Sale of novel foods

Clauses

1 Definitions

In this Standard-

non-traditional food means a food which does not have a history of significant human consumption by the broad community in Australia or New Zealand.

novel food means a non-traditional food for which there is insufficient knowledge in the broad community to enable safe use in the form or context in which it is presented, taking into account -

(a) the composition or structure of the product;  or

(b) levels of undesirable substances in the product;  or

(c) known potential for adverse effects in humans;  or

(d) traditional preparation and cooking methods;  or

(e) patterns and levels of consumption of the product.

2 Sale of novel foods

A novel food must not be sold by way of retail sale as food or for use as a food ingredient unless it is listed in column 1 of the Table to this clause and complies with the conditions of use, if any, specified in column 2.

Table to clause 2