Australia assesses resistant maltodextrin
the celebrated French raw sheeps milk cheese Roquefort all fall
into the comment zone, said the Food Standards Australia New
Zealand (FSANZ) this week.
FSANZ is calling for comments on a number of possible changes to the recently cemented Food Standards Code.
According to the Australian and New Zealand food body the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has applied to FSANZ to amend Standard 1.2.1 to exempt individual portion packs from allergen labelling where the food product requires further preparation or heating or are sold frozen and intended to be consumed in the frozen state.
Japanese company Matsutani Chemical Industry is looking to amend Standard 1.2.8 - Nutrition Information Requirements - to include the method AOAC 2001.03, Total Dietary Fibre in Foods Containing Resistant Maltodextrin for the measurement of dietary fibre.
This amendment would enable resistant maltodextrins (RMD) to be included in the calculation of total dietary fibre content for nutrition labelling purposes. The assessment considered if RMDs met the definition of dietary fibre.
FSANZ received an application from ADM Kao, a subsidiary of the US agri-giant, to approve the use of diacylglycerol oil (DAG-oil) as a novel food under Standard 1.5.1 - Novel Foods.
DAG-oil consists mainly of diglycerides and the assessment focussed in particular on the safety and nutritional aspects of Diacylglycerol-oil as a novel food. "The scientific evaluations concluded there was no evidence of any public health and safety concerns associated with the consumption of DAG-oil at the proposed levels of use," commented FSANZ.
Onto liqueurs, the authority has proposed to clarify the original intent of the drafting in the Food Standard Code with respect to 'ready-to-drink' products (RTDs) and liqueurs, to "lead to more certainty for industry members, consumers and enforcement agencies as to which products fit the definition of 'liqueur'."
Finally, turning to Roquefort, the French government is pushing Australia to lift the current ban on the sale of this cheese produced from raw ewe's milk.
"This application will be assessed to determine whether a variation of Standard 2.5.4 is warranted that would permit the sale of Roquefort cheese," said FSANZ.
Submissions for comment are due by 28 April 2004.
