Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or 'mad cow disease' is a disease of cattle which it is believed can be transmitted to humans and cause variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD).
Australia has a comprehensive system in place to protect Australians from exposure to the BSE agent via the human food chain. The current Australian system involves regulatory requirements for BSE and food safety and an assessment process for all countries seeking to export beef products to Australia that works in conjunction with a certification scheme described in the following sections below.
On 20 October 2009 the Australian Government announced a change in Australia’s BSE food safety policy for imported beef and beef products. The new policy which will come into effect on 1 March 2010, allows the import of certain beef and beef products 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 meet Australia’s requirement that beef and beef products be produced from animals free of BSE. This measure is administered by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service informed by risk assessment advice from Food Standards Australia New Zealand. The FSANZ advice will be based on a review of the National applications for Country Classification of BSE Risk to the OIE and that agency’s assessment report of those submissions. The FSANZ advice will be supported, where warranted, by in country audits in conjunction with AQIS and other Australian agencies as appropriate. Procedural and administrative details for the new approach will be posted to this website when available.
There are transitional provisions in place for those countries that currently export beef and beef products to Australia under the previous policy. Those countries will be able to continue to do so but they will also be subject to a risk assessment of their systems. The transitional arrangements allow those countries until 30 June 2011 to apply for an assessment.
Further information on the new policy can be found at the information link on the right
BSE requirements in the Food Standard Code
Standard 2.2.1, Clause 11 of t he Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code) states that only those bovine meat and bovine-derived food ingredients from animals free from BSE can be sold on the Australian domestic market. Food ingredients and products that are exempt from these requirements are;
- collagen and gelatine from bovine skins and hides;
- bovine fat and/or tallow included as a minor ingredient of a processed product (no more than 300 g/kg of the food); and
- bovine dairy products.
These products are exempt because the scientific evidence shows that they do not pose a risk of transmitting the BSE agent.
These requirements were developed after consideration of a comprehensive scientific risk assessment, undertaken by FSANZ in consultation with national and international experts. The scientific risk assessment examined the available scientific data and information to evaluate the risk to human health from consumption of beef and beef products containing the BSE agent and is available from the following link:
Details of the history of Australia’s regulatory response to BSE and food safety can be found at:History of Australia’s regulatory response to BSE as it relates to food safety
Importation of beef and beef products
Australia relies on a system of country categorisation and certification to implement the BSE requirements in the Code for imported food. Details of the process can be obtained from the following link
The Australian Assessment Process for BSE Country Categorisation
Countries wishing to export beef and beef food products to Australia must apply to the Australian BSE Country Categorisation Committee for assessment. The request for assessment must be accompanied by the completed Australian Questionnaire to Assess BSE Country Status. Based on the outcome of the assessment the country will be placed in a trading category and will be required to certify to a number of requirements for each consignment of beef and beef products exported to Australia. The certification requirements depend on the category assigned and are detailed in the document - BSE: Human health requirements for the importation of beef and beef products (8 July 2001) ”.
Further information can be obtained from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) website or from Amanda Hill , FSANZ on phone +61 2 6271 2222, email information@foodstandards.gov.au.