Irradiation of all fresh fruit and vegetables approved by FSANZ

On May 12, 2021 Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) published the approval report regarding Application A1193 submitted by the Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (QLD DAF).  As a consequence Standard 1.5.3 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code will be amended to permit irradiation as a phytosanitary measure for all fresh fruit and vegetables.

Irradiation was already approved for use on 26 fruits and vegetables but for any addition to the existing list a specific petition and nutritional studies were required. The conditions as well as the dose range (150 – 1,000 Gy) are unchanged.

FSANZ received 480 eligible submissions in response to its public call for comment on October 30; 2020. Of these, 456 were unsupportive and 24 (including the iia”s submission) were supportive of the application.  FSANZ assessed and considered each individual submission and the issues raised. After careful consideration of submissions and based on the available evidence (including
additional risk assessments), FSANZ’s risk assessment conclusion and risk management response remained unchanged:  irradiation of fresh fruit and vegetables as a phytosanitary measure at the proposed doses is safe and suitable.

The full approval report is available here.