Fish and fish products for use as pet food and stockfeed

We have completed our assessment of a prescribed heat treatment as a risk management measure for fish and fish products for use as pet food and stockfeed. The report includes updated import conditions. Publication of this report represents the end of the process.

Steps to complete this risk analysis

When we do a risk analysis, we:

• start the risk analysis by reviewing the science on pests and diseases of concern
• assess and analyse biosecurity risks
• develop proposed risk management measures
• consult the public on the draft report and then review comments
• publish a final report
• develop import conditions
• publish import conditions in our Biosecurity Import Conditions System (BICON)

About the final report

We initiated this assessment in response to stakeholder requests for an alternative heat treatment for fish and fish products for use as pet food and stockfeed imported into Australia.

As it is the most resistant aquatic animal virus to thermo-chemical conditions, we used infectious pancreatic necrosis virus (IPNV) as the minimum standard to determine if the proposed heat treatment inactivates aquatic viruses.

Following public consultation on the draft report and a further review of scientific information, the department will be implementing the following risk management measures:

• Fish product material of salmonid origin for use as pet food and stockfeed must have been treated to meet the following condition:
  • moist heated to a core temperature of at least 85°C for at least 25 minutes, or, to an equivalent core temperature and specified time agreed by the department.
• The current restrictions on the percentage of salmonid material contained in the fish products (no more than 2%) will no longer apply.
• Fish products containing only material of non-salmonid fish for use as pet food and stockfeed (excluding non-salmonid fish products sourced from New Zealand) must meet existing conditions:
  • moist heated to a core temperature of at least 85°C for at least 15 minutes, or, at least 80°C for at least 20 minutes, or to an equivalent core temperature and specified time agreed by the department.
• All fish products must have been processed and packaged in premises approved by and under the control of the Competent Authority.
• All fish products must have been manufactured from ingredients which have not been derived from terrestrial or avian animals. This includes egg products, dairy products and feathers.

Download final report

Stakeholder consultation

We released a draft report in September 2021 seeking comments on:

• the technical content of our draft report
• our proposed risk management measures.

We received a total of 5 submissions.

Download the draft report

Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment, September 2021

Next steps

The new import conditions will be published on BICON on 31 October 2022. From this date, importers will be able to apply for import permits with the new import conditions.

After this we will:

• consider all feedback
• develop a final assessment

We will then release the final assessment and publish any new import conditions on BICON. Register in BICON to receive an alert when we publish the import conditions.

Register as a stakeholder

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Contact us

For more information about this review email Animal Biosecurity.

Learn

Learn more about why we carry out risk analyses and our international obligations.