Improving access to imported food safety requirements
From mid-2025 imported food safety requirements will be incorporated into the Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON).
See more about the Inclusion of food safety requirements in BICON.
All biosecurity requirements must be met before Imported Food Inspection Scheme requirements apply.
Check our Biosecurity Import Conditions system (BICON) for biosecurity import conditions.
We classify imported food that presents a potential medium or high risk to public health as risk food. All risk food is listed in the Imported Food Control Order 2019.
Raw beef and beef products are classified as risk food
This includes raw (chilled or frozen) beef and beef products:
- carcasses
- whole muscle meat and bone-in cuts
- ground beef or beef trim for grinding (excluding offal)
You can only import raw beef and beef products that originate in a country:
- with a satisfactory BSE risk status
- covered by a recognised foreign government certificate.
Current certification arrangements
These countries currently:
- have a satisfactory BSE risk status
- issue recognised foreign government certificates.
Japan
| Type of information | To include |
|---|---|
| National competent authority: | Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries |
| Mandatory declaration: | The meat is derived from cattle that have been born, raised and slaughtered in Japan and that passed ante-mortem inspection by an official veterinarian and post-mortem veterinarian inspection under official veterinary supervision. The meat is fit for human consumption. While hygienically preparing product for Australia, establishments have conducted slaughter, preparation and storage of meat in accordance with Codex Alimentarius Recommended International Code of Practice – General Principles of Food Hygiene CAC/RCP 1-1969, Rev.3 (1997). The establishment where the cattle were slaughtered, and where the meat derived from these animals was prepared, processed and/or stored, has a HACCP based food safety program approved and supervised by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare to control food safety risks, including risks associated with Shiga toxigenic Escherichia coli (STEC) and Salmonella spp. |
| Recognised certificate title: | Export quarantine certificate for Beef from Japan to Australia |
| ICS document code: | BSECERTJPR |
Declaring certificates
When lodging a Full Import Declaration (FID), use the correct ICS document code and certificate number for the food.
Clearly describe the food on the certificate.
See lodging declarations and documentation.
Testing and inspection
We refer consignments of raw chilled or frozen beef and beef products for analytical testing at the rate of 5%. During inspection, we will also conduct a visual and label assessment.
Table 1 shows the tests that will be applied and permitted results for each food type.
Table 1, Food type, test applied and permitted results
| Food type | Test applied | Permitted result |
|---|---|---|
Raw (chilled and frozen) beef
| Escherichia coli | n=5, c=3, m=10, M=100 |
| Meat antimicrobial screen | Refer to meat and edible offal | |
Raw (chilled and frozen) beef
| Escherichia coli | n=5, c=3, m=100, M=1000 |
| Salmonella spp. / 25g | n=5, c=0, m=0 | |
| Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC)/g Includes STEC 026, 045, 0103, 0111, 0121, 0145, 0157 | n=15, c=0, m=0 | |
| Meat antimicrobial screen | Refer to meat and edible offal |
n = the number of sample units that must be examined from a lot of food.
c = the maximum allowable number of defective sample units, that have counts between ‘m’ and ‘M’.
m = the acceptable microbiological level in a sample unit.
M = the level, which when exceeded (the level is greater than M), in one or more samples would cause the lot to be rejected.
Food safety risks
Food Standard Australia New Zealand has given us advice that raw beef and beef products present a potential medium or high risk to public health for the pathogenic microorganisms Salmonella spp. and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC). The risk increases for ground product. To make sure there are food safety controls in place to manage these hazards, imports must be:
- covered by a recognised foreign government certificate
- tested to verify these controls are effective.
Glossary
Beef means the flesh, bone, offal or any other tissue of an animal in the subfamily bovinae.
Beef products means food prepared from or containing beef, but does not include gelatine, collagen, rendered fats, tallow or di-calcium phosphate.
Version history
| Date | Reference number | Amendment details |
|---|---|---|
| 28/01/2022 | RBE 01/2022 | First version of this webpage. Information previously contained in beef and beef products webpage (Reference number BEF 11/2018). |