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Animal Biosecurity Advice 2022-A07 - Heat treatment as a risk management measure for fish and fish products for use as pet food and stockfeed

31 October 2022

From 31 October 2022, new import conditions will apply for fish and fish products imported into Australia for use as pet food and stockfeed.

Following public consultation on a review of a prescribed heat treatment and a further review of scientific information, the department will be implementing the following measures:

  • Fish products 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 of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
  • 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 of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry.
  • All fish products must have been processed and packaged in premises approved by and under the control of the Competent Authority (CA)
  • 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.

The conditions above will be the basis of any import permits issued. From 31 October 2022 applications can be submitted through BICON. An alert to the new conditions will be published in at bicon.agriculture.gov.au/BiconWeb4.0/Home/Notice/. Register in BICON to receive an alert when we publish the import conditions.

On 31 October 2022, import conditions for fish and fish products for use in pet food and stock feed will be updated in BICON. From this date, fish products may be exported to Australia from a country with a listed Competent Authority (CA) and must be accompanied by an Official Government Certificate.

The Official Government Certificate must state that the fish product:

  1. has been treated to meet the relevant thermal treatment requirements
  2. has been processed and packaged in premises approved by and under the control of the CA
  3. has been manufactured from ingredients which have not been derived from terrestrial or avian animals. This includes egg products, dairy products and feathers.

Each consignment must be packed in clean and new packaging and must be free of Biosecurity Risk Material (BRM) prior to arrival into Australian territory.
The biosecurity measures for fish products material of salmonid origin imported for use as pet food and stockfeed differ from existing measures. The changes are:

  • The current heat treatment to a core temperature of 100°C for no less than 30 minutes will be reduced to a moist heat treatment to a core temperature of at least 85°C for no less than 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.

The biosecurity measures for fish products containing only material of non-salmonid origin imported for use as pet food and stockfeed remain unchanged from existing measures. This is because the existing measures were considered to still manage the biosecurity risks to achieve Australia's appropriate level of protection (ALOP). These measures also apply to whole non-salmonid fish imported into Australia for further processing at an approved arrangement (AA) site for the manufacture of pet food.

Why are changes necessary?

The Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry assessed an alternative biosecurity measure to the current heat treatment requirements for salmonid and non-salmonid fish products imported into Australia for use as pet food and stockfeed. This assessment was requested by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (NFSA). The alternative biosecurity measure is the European Union’s processing method for category two and three material of fish origin (for definitions see European Commission Regulation No 1069/2009 of 21 October 2009).

Throughout this review, the department took advice from scientific experts into account, and considered relevant industry practices, operational practicalities, international standards, and feedback from public consultation. No additional scientific information was found or provided to suggest the proposed measures for fish product material of salmonid origin would not achieve the required biosecurity outcome. On this basis, the department has decided to implement the measures for salmonid products as originally proposed. For fish products containing only material of non-salmonid fish, scientific evidence found after the stakeholder consultation process determined that the 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) will continue to meet Australia’s ALOP and that no changes to existing import conditions were necessary.

Consultation

On 6 September 2021, stakeholders were invited to comment on a draft assessment of a prescribed heat treatment as a risk management measure for fish and fish products for use as petfood and stockfeed (Animal Biosecurity Advice 2021-A04 and WTO SPS notification G/SPS/N/AUS/527). We considered all comments in finalising the review and new import conditions.

Dr Peter Finnin
Assistant Secretary
Animal Biosecurity
Email aquaticbiosecurity@aff.gov.au

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Page last updated: 31 October 2022

We acknowledge the continuous connection of First Nations Traditional Owners and Custodians to the lands, seas and waters of Australia. We recognise their care for and cultivation of Country. We pay respect to Elders past and present, and recognise their knowledge and contribution to the productivity, innovation and sustainability of Australia’s agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries.

Artwork: Protecting our Country, Growing our Future
© Amy Allerton, contemporary Aboriginal Artist of the Gumbaynggirr, Bundjalung and Gamilaroi nations.

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