Australia Implements New BSE Policy for Imported Beef

Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) has lifted a nine-year ban on imported beef and beef products, implementing a new policy that requires export countries to undergo a risk assessment for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). According to FSANZ, “certain beef and beef products may be imported from countries that apply and are assessed by Australian authorities as being able to
demonstrate they have in place, and appropriately monitor, controls necessary to ensure that beef and beef products exported to Australia are derived from animals free of BSE.” Australian regulators will also conduct in-country inspections when warranted.

The policy uses the BSE risk assessment methodology developed by the World Organization for Animal Health to determine the BSE risk status of a cattle population and to assess whether the beef and beef products from a country represent a health risk. These restrictions currently cover meat, bone and offal from cattle, bison and buffalo but exclude milk, dairy products, gelatin and collagen derived from
bovine skins and hides, edible bovine fats, and bovine tallows included as a minor ingredient of a processed product. “In addition,” notes FSANZ, “the importation of beef and beef products for human consumption into Australia from a country is
subject to a market access request and quarantine requirements determined by Biosecurity Australia.”