Food Standards Australia New Zealand: A food incident is defined as ‘any situation within the food supply chain where there is a risk, potential risk or perceived risk of illness or confirmed illness, associated with the consumption of a food or foods’ and relates to an issue that could, or is expected to, impact on multiple government jurisdictions’.

A food incident may be identified through a number of sources, for example food recalls, a multi-jurisdictional outbreak investigation and intelligence from industry, local/state government or international counterparts.

When a food incident occurs action is coordinated through the Bi-National Food Safety Network which is made up of the Australian state and territory and New Zealand food enforcement agencies and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).

FSANZ’s role is to coordinate (meetings etc), share information and communicate including in many cases developing public statements.

Read the full post at Food Standards Australia New Zealand