Australia New Zealand Food Authority Food Standards The Australia New Zealand Food Authority advises progress on the following matters relating to the Australian Food Standards Code. You can get further information on each of these matters in information papers which are available from: The Officer Administrator Australia New Zealand Food Authority P.O. Box 10-559 The Terrace WELLINGTON 6036 NEW ZEALAND Telephone: (04) 473 9942 Facsimile: (04) 473 9855 Email: anzfa.nzanzfa.gov.au Matters at Full Assessment The authority has made a preliminary assessment, accepted the following application and will now make a full assessment of it: Swiss hard and semi-hard cheeses made from unpasteurised milk (A357). An application from the Swiss Federal Veterinary Office received on 24 March 1998 to permit the use of milk which has not been pasteurised or thermised but subjected to other measures which in combination with the storage of the cheese provide an equivalent level of public safety protection for Swiss hard and semi-hard cheeses. You are invited to present written submissions to the authority on matters relevant to this application, including the potential regulatory impact on consumers, industry and government, by 24 June 1998. The information paper on this matter provides further information, including advice on the authority's policy regarding submissions. Matters Before Council The authority has completed an inquiry into the variations to standards prepared at full assessment of the following proposal and has made a recommendation to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Council that the variations be adopted into the Food Standards Code: Pilot of a health claims management framework (P170). A proposal to amend the Standard A1(19) of the Australian Food Standards Code to conduct a pilot of a health claims management system, focussing on the link between increased maternal intakes of the B-group vitamin folate in the month prior to and 3 months following conception, and a reduction in the incidence of neural tube defects in babies. With respect to this proposal the authority is satisfied that a recommendation should be made to the council as a matter of urgency and has therefore decided to omit to invite public submissions prior to making a full assessment and recommendation to council. If council accepts the authority's recommendation, a further notice will be published by the authority inviting public submissions as part of its inquiry into the variation to the Food Standards Code.