22 May 2026
Attention
Importers of cheese and brokers acting on their behalf.
Purpose
To advise importers that the department will commence activities to verify Imported Food Inspection Scheme (IFIS) Importer Declarations for cheese, as previously notified by IFN 05/24 - Verification of importer declarations.
Key points
- The department will soon commence activities to verify Imported Food Inspection Scheme Importer Declarations currently used for cheese.
- Identified importers will be asked to provide evidence to support these declarations.
- The evidence may include, but is not limited to:
- product specification sheets issued by the manufacturer, producer, or affineur
- evidence of pH, water activity, refrigerated shelf life, or validation studies demonstrating that Listeria monocytogenes will not increase by greater than 0.5 log cfu/g over the stated shelf life of the cheese
- any other documentation from the cheese producer that supports your declaration.
- The department’s documentation requirements are specified in our Minimum documentary and import declaration requirements policy.
- Giving false or misleading information is a serious offence.
Background
Importers may lodge IFIS importer declarations to demonstrate that certain foods do not support the growth of Listeria monocytogenes.
In schedule 27 – Microbiological limits in food, of the Food Standards Code, ready-to-eat foods supporting the growth of Listeria monocytogenes must have no detectable Listeria monocytogenes present, whereas foods that do not support the growth of Listeria monocytogenes are permitted to have up to and including 100 cfu/gm present in one of five samples taken.
Additional information can be found on Imported Food Inspection Scheme Importer Declarations.
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