G/TBT/N/AUS/157  
7 July 2023  
(23-4618) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  English  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6  
 
1. Notifying Member:  AUSTRALIA  
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):   
2. Agency responsible:   
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers , email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from a bove:   
Australian TBT Enquiry Point  
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade  
Ph +61 2 6261 1111  
tbt.enquiry@dfat.gov.au  
www.dfat.gov.au   
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10.1 [  ], 5.6.2 [  ], 5.7.1 [  ], 3.2 [  ], 7.2 [  ], 
other :  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Bivalve 
molluscs sold in Australia (bot h imported and domestically produced)  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Assessment for 
Application A1243 – harmonisation of marine biotoxin standards for bivalve shellfish; (19 
page(s), in English)  
6. Description of conte nt: To align with international standards and to protect public 
health and safety, FSANZ has drafted an amendment to the Australia New Zealand Food 
Standards Code to amend the maximum levels (MLs) for diarrhetic shellfish toxins  
(DST) and paralytic shellfi sh toxins  (PST) with the equivalent MLs set by the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and with those set in New Zealand.  
MLs for marine biotoxins are necessary in order to protect public health and safety, as 
marine biotoxins cause serious and sometimes long term toxicity in humans.  
The proposed changes are:  
· Lower the ML for DST, expressed as okadaic acid equivalent, from 0.20 to 0.16 mg/kg 
in bivalve molluscs  
· Define PST in mg saxitoxin dihydrochloride equivalents/kg rather than mg saxitoxin  
equivalents/kg. The net effect of this change to a more specific reporting unit is to lower 
the ML for PST from 0.8 to approximately 0.6 mg/kg.  G/TBT/N/AUS/157  
 
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  7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable:  All applications to chan ge the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, 
must be assessed in the context of the following objectives: (a) the protection of public 
health and safety; (b) the provision of adequate information relating to food to enable 
consumers to make informed c hoices; and (c) the prevention of misleading or deceptive 
conduct. FSANZ must also have regard to the promotion of consistency between domestic 
an international foods standards.  
The objective and rationale is to align the standards for two marine biotoxins  (DST and 
PST) with those set by Codex.; Consumer information, labelling; Prevention of deceptive 
practices and consumer protection; Protection of human health or safety; Harmonization  
8. Relevant documents:   
Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code  (English)  
Available at https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/Pages/default.aspx  
9. Proposed date of adoption:  Notification to Australian and New Zealand Government 
anticipated early November 2023 with adoption (gazettal) to follow by mid January 2023, 
pending Government consideration.  
Proposed date of entry into force:  Approximately mid January 2025, after a one year 
transition period.  
10. Final date for comments:  60 days from notification  
11. Texts available from:  National enquiry point [ ] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available , of other body:   
The assessment summary (call for submission report) and supporting documents are 
available from the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website.  
https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/code/applications/Pages/A1243Harmonisation -of-
marine -biotoxin -standards -for-bivalve -shellfish -.aspx