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Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Science Strategy 2015–2019

Contents

Message from the Chief Executive Officer......................................................................................2

Executive summary............................................................................................................................3

Introduction..........................................................................................................................................6

How science supports FSANZ’s mission and core business........................................................8

Aim and scope of the science strategy............................................................................................9

Implementation..................................................................................................................................11

Strategic Area 1: Scientific capability.............................................................................................12

Strategic Area 2: Evidence..............................................................................................................16

Strategic Area 3: Collaboration.......................................................................................................19

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FSANZ SCIENCE STRATEGY 2015–2019

Message from the Chief Executive Officer

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is well respected domestically and internationally as a world-class provider of advice on food-related health risks.

High quality science is at the core of our work. It provides a foundation for ensuring the quality and safety of the food available in Australia and New Zealand and, through this, the health and safety of our citizens.

FSANZ has a strong need to maintain a clear strategic direction for its scientific activities, particularly in an environment of increasing scientific complexity and significant changes in the diversity and source of food products and changing eating patterns. In addition, in an environment of resource constraints, the efficient and effective use of available resources is becoming increasingly important.

I am therefore delighted to present the FSANZ Science Strategy 2015–2019, which builds on the success of our previous strategies. It provides us with a solid framework to enable FSANZ to meet its current and future needs through developing and enhancing our scientific capabilities, tools and partnerships.

Though the scope and aims of this science strategy may differ from those that came before it, the fundamental values that guide our work, embodied by professionalism and excellence, will continue to underpin our scientific activities and help maintain our position as trusted experts in food regulatory science.

I commend this document to our regulatory partners, the broader scientific community and other stakeholders everywhere.

Mr Steve McCutcheonChief Executive Officer

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Executive summary

Food regulatory systems have been established by governments to address the desire for a safe food system and protect health and safety. Underpinning these systems is a suite of scientific disciplines that provide the evidence required to make regulatory decisions.

FSANZ’s evidence base, built over twenty five years, is substantial, but is a work in progress. Levels of detection for chemical contaminants are lower each year. Our knowledge about the interactions between food nutrients and their effect on human health increases. And, advances in the microbiological sciences are improving our ability to detect and minimise the debilitating effects of harmful pathogens. Despite this scientific uncertainty about available evidence is still common.

The FSANZ Science Strategy 2015–2019 has been developed to enhance our scientific capabilities in food regulatory science, tools and partnerships. It positions FSANZ to respond effectively to the strategic challenges of a complex operating environment. Figure 1 summarises the aims and priorities for FSANZ science in 2015‒19.

We have aligned this strategy more closely to the FSANZ Corporate Plan than in the past. As a result, we have focused attention on three main areas: our scientific capability, the FSANZ evidence base and increased collaboration with other organisations, in Australia and New Zealand and overseas.

Scientific capability includes the knowledge and expertise available to the agency through our scientific staff and sources of external advice, but it also encompasses the effectiveness of our systems and processes.

FSANZ has a reputation as a leader in food regulatory science and so we generally have little difficulty recruiting suitably qualified people to the agency. This means that we have a disproportionate percentage of people in the Executive Level ranks (58%) compared to the Australian Public Service average (27%). As a specialist agency, this is to be expected. Our challenge lies in retaining and developing our scientific workforce particularly in certain fields where there is an identified need for an increased capability and/or staffing capacity.

As for our processes, we will continue to use the Codex risk analysis model to provide a framework for our risk assessment, risk management and risk communication activities. However, we will refine this model to reduce the regulatory burden on the food industry and to achieve a more fit-for-purpose approach to risk analysis.

In 2015–2019, we will make greater use of regulatory impact assessment to inform our regulatory decisions and adopt approaches for assessing and managing the risks of foods and food substances that are more proportionate to the risks involved.

While FSANZ’s scientific activities must necessarily focus on the immediate needs of standards development and other regulatory measures, we have a responsibility of ensuring

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that our evidence base represents ‘best available science’ (as required by the FSANZ Act), in a form that is relevant to needs and easily accessible.

FSANZ is a data-centric organisation, generating its own data and importing data from a range of government, industry and community sources. Recently, we consolidated two of our major databases onto a new software platform called Harvest, providing faster and more effective interrogation of dietary modelling and food composition information. We estimate, however, that there are more than thirty other active databases in FSANZ. We will develop a framework for auditing these data sets and introducing a common structure and nomenclature. This will improve our ability to search across all our databases and retrieve a complete dataset of all relevant information to assist our decision-making.

FSANZ is also undertaking a four year project to make information more available to our stakeholders. We will build on our existing digital portals to create an ‘information and referral hub’. One aim will be to enhance our ability to provide other agencies and non-governmental organizations with ‘raw’ scientific data that they can analyse and use in their own projects.

A key to success in this activity will our ability to forge partnerships and links (collaboration) with other organisations. FSANZ is one part of a broader food regulatory system, which has links with other national and international bodies. We have a long tradition of being a leader in our region, through the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation , and an active participant in, and contributor to, bi-national and global forums.

We rely on such organisations for warnings about emerging food safety issues, for identifying gaps in our scientific knowledge and for information about which regulatory options are likely to achieve the aims.

FSANZ will be more outward looking in 2015–2019, domestically and internationally. Our limited resources mean that we cannot continue to maintain an acceptable in-house level of expertise in every scientific discipline.

We will intensify our relationship with Health Canada, for example, to harmonise requirements for genetically modified (GM) applications and to enable bio-companies to submit common information to both countries. We will consider the feasibility of adopting overseas risk assessments, as recommended by the Australian Government. We will initiate discussions with research organisations and universities about gaps in our evidence base.

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Figure 1: Summary of strategic aims, priorities and activities under the FSANZ Science Strategy 2015–2019.

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Aim Priority areas ActivitiesScientific capability

Improve scientific capacity and expertise

Data science Recruit adequate in-house capacity and expertise in key strategic fields.

Support professional development in key strategic fields.

Ensure internal and external peer reviews of FSANZ’s scientific outputs, systems & practices.

Regulatory economics, behavioural and consumer sciences

Systematic reviews and meta-analysesFood contact materials and new technologies

Improve risk analysis processes and methodologies

Graduated risk analysis Develop and implement a graduated approach to risk analysis to ensure that application of FSANZ’s risk analysis resources are proportional to the risks being managed.

Develop and refine risk analysis tools.

Increase use of a variety of domains of evidence related to food beyond those traditionally based in the natural sciences (e.g. the behavioural and consumer sciences).

Risk analysis tools

Nature of the evidence base

EvidenceGrow our capacity to generate and/or improve access to data and information

External data sources Identify, assess and validate external data sources to add to the FSANZ evidence base.

Identify key priority areas for generating surveillance data, in collaboration with others, where possible.

Strengthen microbiological evidence base from existing and new data.

Surveillance activities

Microbiological evidence base

Improve our data collection, storage, analysis and reporting systems

FSANZ Data Management Strategy Finalise and implement a data management strategy for the agency.

Produce a centralised and secure data repository.

Make data holdings more publicly accessible.Collaboration

Develop productive partnerships with key national and international organisations

Mapping and network analysis Identify national and international individuals and organisations with whom we collaborate.

Leverage expertise, information and resources on food regulatory issues.

Underpin partnerships with MoUs, where appropriate.

Collaborate effectively with our stakeholders to share knowledge, advice and information

Industry Improve our understanding of food production, processing, manufacturing and food innovation.

Universities, research agencies and other academic institutions

Establish initiatives such as an intern or student program for graduates in key scientific areas and collaborate on research projects.


Introduction

FSANZ’s operating environment

New foods and food production methods have radically altered the food landscape in the past twenty years and globalisation of the food chain has enhanced our eating experiences. However, both these trends have changed the risks associated with the food supply.

Consumers are experiencing an increased prevalence of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity. We are inundated with information on food from the food industry, via food labels, and government and non-government organisations from a range of domestic and international sources and, from all over the world, through various forms of social media.

It is in this challenging and ever-changing environment that FSANZ, working collaboratively within the Australian and New Zealand food regulatory system, conducts its role as an expert, science-based, source of advice on a broad range of food related issues and assessment of food related risks. FSANZ’s work underpins the work of the food regulation system to achieve confidence in the food supply.

Also contributing to this environment are the requirements and obligations of the FSANZ Act, which prescribe our role in the food regulatory system.

This system is a matrix of public sector organisations, using the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) risk analysis model for managing food safety risks. All levels of government have a role in this regulatory system—national, state, territory and local. Each operates in an evidence-based system, where the regulatory burden on industry should be the minimum required to ensure the safety of our food supply and the health and well-being of the community.

FSANZ’s roles are to develop food regulatory measures based on the best available scientific evidence of risk and potential risk; coordinate food surveillance and monitoring, food recalls and responses to national incidents; and collect and provide food related information and advice. Further information on how FSANZ uses risk analysis to undertake its food regulatory activities is available in our publication, Risk Analysis in Food Regulation .

Science capability and capacity

Our core functions have not changed significantly in twenty years and are unlikely to change in the foreseeable future. Through the organisational reforms of 2014, FSANZ carried out a detailed analysis of our work plan into the next three years to ensure that all necessary scientific skills and expertise (capability) were represented in the agency, that a critical mass of these capabilities (capacity) existed to carry out the tasks at hand and that contingency plans were in place to mitigate against temporary absences or gaps in capability or capacity.

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http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/riskanalysisinfoodregulation


FSANZ has made a commitment that, during the current period of fiscal restraint, we will not compromise on the quality and timeliness of our scientific advice. Greater inter-agency collaboration is one way forward, including the leveraging of expertise and resources. Another is the continuous improvement of our business and science processes to ensure that they lead to the best possible outcomes for all.

Following an extensive evaluation of our previous performance, including consultation both in the agency and with key external parties, we identified future-focussed gaps in our science needs and capabilities. We are adjusting our internal capability so that we can more readily source scientific information, both internally and externally. We already have collaborative arrangements with the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) (e.g. input to MPI’s Food Safety Operational Research Program) and with Health Canada (e.g. trialling a harmonised assessment process GM foods). This science strategy outlines work to identify additional areas for collaboration within the domestic and international food regulatory system and academia, leading to mutual advantage.

One organisational reform project currently in progress has the potential to increase our ability to more closely align our efforts with the levels of potential risk being considered—that is, fit-for-purpose risk assessments and management responses.

Another initiative will enable us to improve how we prepare impact statements for proposed regulatory changes. This involves identifying real world problems that need to be fixed, by increasing the use of other domains of evidence beyond those traditionally used in the natural sciences, including studies of consumer behaviour and economic modelling.

These and other reform initiatives will necessarily redefine the role of FSANZ’s regulatory scientists. However, there are core capabilities that will always be required.

Regulatory science refers broadly to the scientific and technical foundations upon which regulations are based in various industries, particularly those involving health or safety. The food industry and the enforcement agencies rely on FSANZ to provide food standards and other measures that are fair, equitable, fit-for-purpose and enforceable. We are required to use the ‘best available science’ in making our decisions.

Our regulatory scientists—whether they act as risk assessors or risk managers—must, and do, work together to critically assess the world’s body of scientific evidence, wherever it appears, and determine the weight of that evidence for one position or another. This requires extensive overseas peer networks, the interrogation of journal papers and reports, and the collection of data and statistics from trusted sources.

They must also possess enhanced stakeholder engagement and negotiation skills, as well as a detailed knowledge of the Australian and New Zealand food regulatory environment (including trade matters), and regulatory systems overseas.

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The way forward

The Science Strategy 2015–2019 aims to build on FSANZ’s scientific strengths to complement, support and, where appropriate, lead food regulatory science in Australia and New Zealand.

An area where we can add value to the regulatory system, for example, is the gathering, analysis and storage of scientific data and information. FSANZ is a data-centric organisation, dependent on data from trusted sources to maintain its scientific evidence base. In collaboration with our regulatory partners, we intend to develop this capability further, with a particular focus on enhancing the evidence base for existing and emerging areas of microbiological food safety.

Other areas for development will become apparent through our partnering arrangements with other members of the food regulatory system. We have always involved scientists from academia, the food industry and other government agencies in our peer review process and on our expert panels. Our priority in 2015–2019 will be to bring these relationships to bear more fully on emerging food safety issues and elements of risk analysis, where we have limited capability.

This greater reliance on external scientific collaboration will require a subtle, but real, change to the way we develop our scientific evidence base. It will require more project management on the part of our scientists, as well as effective communication and stakeholder engagement.

How science supports FSANZ’s mission and core business

The FSANZ Corporate Plan 2015–2019 provides the overarching strategic framework for achieving our mission to support food regulation by building a high level of confidence in the quality and safety of food sold in Australia and New Zealand.

The Corporate Plan states three areas of core business1. These are: Develop food regulatory measures or contribute to other control measures using

the risk analysis process Coordinate recalls, manage food incidents and conduct surveillance and monitoring Provide food-related scientific and technical advice and information.

The Corporate Plan also identifies five key enablers that will operate across the agency to assist staff to deliver on these areas of core business. Recognising the critical nature of FSANZ’s scientific work, one of these key enablers is ‘Science: robust evidence and sustained, high quality scientific capability’. The use of high quality science and robust evidence will enable FSANZ to achieve its mission and to effectively support the Australian and New Zealand food regulatory system into the future. The science strategy establishes

1 These are illustrated in the FSANZ strategic map on page 11 of the FSANZ Corporate Plan 2015-2019

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http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/publications/Pages/corporateplan/Default.aspx


the framework by which FSANZ can maintain and enhance our science, whilst ensuring we operate within our statutory and corporate mandate.

Aim and scope of the science strategy

The aim of the FSANZ Science Strategy 2015–2019 is to develop and enhance our scientific capabilities, tools and partnerships to meet current and future needs.

The science strategy establishes the framework by which FSANZ can maintain and enhance our science by ensuring that, at all times, sound science underpins our risk management decisions for a safe food supply. It does this by identifying initiatives under three key strategic areas: Scientific capability, Evidence, and Collaboration and, under each of these areas, two strategic aims. These were formulated using the outcomes of a comprehensive evaluation of the FSANZ Science Strategy 2010–20152 and following extensive consultations with FSANZ staff, the FSANZ Board and external stakeholders.

The scope of the science strategy is broad. Its strategic aims cut across all of our food regulatory science activities, and all components of the risk analysis process. It encompasses a range of scientific disciplines including microbiology, toxicology and nutrition. It will enhance our risk assessment work in these areas, together with the inputs of economics, behavioural and consumer science, which also contribute to sound regulatory analysis, thus supporting risk management decisions. Collectively, these disciplines contribute to better risk management and decision-making tools which are science and evidence-based.

This document is not intended to provide extensive details on the many and varied areas of FSANZ’s scientific work. Rather, it focuses on the key areas that we intend to extend and enhance over the life of the strategy. Further details about the many initiatives FSANZ has introduced and maintained to implement previous science strategies are available here.

While this strategy’s main audience is FSANZ staff, the FSANZ Board, and national and international food regulatory agencies; other key stakeholder groups including the food industry, research organisations and the wider community may also find it of interest. An overview of the aim and scope of the science strategy is presented at Figure 2.

2 Consultations included discussions with FSANZ staff, the FSANZ Board and stakeholders on the priority areas on which a new strategy should focus.

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http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/strategy/Pages/default.aspx


Figure 2: Overview of FSANZ Science Strategy 2015–2019.

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Implementation

To implement the science strategy effectively, we have identified a range of activities supporting each strategic aim. These are outlined below. Further details, including timeframes, will be provided in yearly implementation plans. Activities that we undertake in one area to implement the strategy may also directly or indirectly support our efforts in the other two areas.

Performance measures for each strategic aim will be both qualitative and quantitative. They may include a framework for science capabilities, maturity models for data management, and network analysis for FSANZ’s collaboration/partnership activities. Baseline, mid-term and final assessments of performance will be conducted. Figure 3 depicts the approach we will use to monitor progress and measure performance.

Figure 3: Monitoring progress and measuring performance for FSANZ Science Strategy 2015–2019.

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Strategic Area 1: Scientific capability

Strategic Aim 1: Improve scientific capacity and expertise

FSANZ’s corporate strategic intent is to reposition itself in the contemporary food regulatory system as a leader in its areas of expertise, and to build on its core strengths of scientific and technical excellence in food risk analysis. This will ensure that we continue to develop effective food regulatory measures based on sound science.

The current skill set of our scientific staff must continue to develop and expand to keep pace with new food regulatory issues and emerging technologies. The development of collaborative relationships with key agencies, from which we can leverage and outsource work is another important way in which we can meet both our capability and capacity needs and this is discussed further under Strategic Area 3 (Collaboration).

For this science strategy, we have identified a need for increased staff scientific capacity and/or expertise in several key strategic fields: data science; regulatory economics, behavioural and consumer sciences; systematic reviews and meta-analyses; and food contact materials and new technologies.

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Scientific capabilityCapacity, expertise and risk analysis methodologies

We will achieve our strategic aim by:

Recruiting adequate in-house scientific capacity and expertise in key strategic fields (see below).

Supporting appropriate professional development in these key fields to improve technical and non-technical capabilities.

Ensuring internal and external peer review of our scientific outputs, systems and practices.


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Key strategic fields:

Data scienceData science encompasses a range of elements and techniques drawn from many different fields including information technology, statistics and mathematical modelling. Proficiency in these areas, particularly in the use of innovative tools and approaches for data collection, analysis and modelling, will enable us to extract and effectively use knowledge gained from data available to us. This will also support the implementation of our data management strategy, as described under Strategic Area 2 (Evidence).

Regulatory economics, behavioural and consumer sciencesFSANZ’s Corporate Plan notes that increasingly, we are being asked to provide advice based on the behavioural and consumer sciences and regulatory economics. For example, in considering risk management options, the costs, benefits and net effect of the alternative options must be clearly set out, often in the form of a Regulation Impact Statement. We recognise the increasing importance of having adequate number of staff with expertise in this area.

In some situations, successful risk management strategies depend on the behavioural responses of certain groups responding. We recognise the importance of having staff with the requisite knowledge and expertise, to ensure that behavioural issues are adequately considered as part of the analysis of any food-related health risk.

Systematic reviews and meta-analysesIn the area of substantiation of food/health relationships, an increase in agency capability to undertake systematic literature reviews and meta-analyses is important, as the approach we are using is still in its infancy and staff can benefit from further training.

Food contact materials and new technologiesWe also need to continue to improve our knowledge and expertise in new areas of work, such as food contact materials, and new technologies including nanotechnology, new generation GM technologies, and new plant breeding techniques. Migration of chemicals from food contact materials and use of new technologies can potentially lead to new or increased risks in food, by changing the composition of the food or the way it is used.


Strategic Aim 2: Improve risk analysis processes and methodologies

The risk analysis framework that FSANZ uses to support its regulatory decision-making is based on the model used by Codex, incorporating risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. You can read more on our risk analysis web page.

The quality of the risk assessment is critical to the integrity and rigour of the risk management decisions. Therefore, it is essential that FSANZ’s risk analysis process, including its dietary modelling capabilities, continue to reflect international best practice and that staff stay abreast of advances in the area.

In addition to the outputs of the scientific risk assessment, information required to formulate appropriate risk management options can also take the form of food policy guidance, behavioural and consumer science research, economic and regulatory analysis, international regulations. It can also be obtained through targeted and public consultations. FSANZ acknowledges the benefits of risk assessors and risk managers working closely with one another to ensure that, irrespective of the source, the best available evidence is analysed and presented to inform risk management decisions, with effective risk communication vital both internally and externally.

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Developing and implementing a graduated risk analysis approachIt is crucial that resources dedicated to our risk analysis activities are appropriately allocated so that they are proportional to the risks being managed. Therefore, we will develop a graduated risk analysis approach that will ensure an appropriate alignment between the use of FSANZ resources and the mitigation of the food-related health risk, whilst still ensuring high quality science that meets stakeholder expectations and is ‘fit-for-purpose’.

Developing and refining the tools used to undertake risk analysisWe will develop and refine our risk analysis tools, to ensure that our food regulatory measures are supported by ample, high quality evidence. For example, we will make improvements to our in-house modelling system, Harvest, to enable us to better assess dietary exposure to foodborne hazards and report on the composition of the Australian food supply.

We will further develop tools to support regulatory economics such as a cost-of-illness model that will enable FSANZ to efficiently produce estimates of the cost of foodborne disease. This model is being developed by a collaboration of microbiologists and economists and could be extended to other food-related diseases in the future.

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/science/riskanalysis/Pages/default.aspx


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Increase in use of a variety of sources of evidence to help inform risk management decisionsFSANZ aims to increase the use of other domains of evidence related to food beyond those traditionally based in the natural sciences, and refine the way this evidence is incorporated into the analysis of a food-related health, to inform regulatory decision-making. For example, evidence from the behavioural and consumer sciences can help confirm behavioural assumptions and provide an insight into consumers’ perceptions of risk for different food issues, which may give an indication of the likely behavioural responses to a chosen risk management option.


Strategic Area 2: Evidence

Strategic Aim 1: Grow our capacity to generate and/or improve access to data and information

Over the years, FSANZ has collated a wealth of specialised food-related data and information. One of FSANZ’s key strategic intents is to build on this core strength to position itself as the most trusted source of independent information and advice on food composition and food safety in Australia and New Zealand. We will do this by creating an information and referral hub for industry, the scientific community and consumers.

The scientific evidence that FSANZ uses to analyse a food-related health risk may be obtained from a wide variety of sources. In addition, FSANZ generates its own data, through a range of surveillance activities, either alone or in partnership with others.

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EvidenceGeneration, collation, management and accessibility

EvidenceGeneration, collation, management and accessibility


Using external data sources, critiquing, validating and incorporating validated data to the FSANZ evidence baseIn an environment of budget-constraint, there is likely to be less scope for FSANZ to generate its own analytical data through targeted surveys of the food supply, as these require considerable resources. As such, FSANZ’s reliance on external data sources to conduct its food regulatory science is likely to increase. FSANZ will therefore direct greater efforts towards identifying and gaining access to relevant external data sources, including those relevant to developing and refining cost models, to incorporate these data into existing data sets and strengthen the evidence base. This is another area where it is vital for FSANZ to develop productive partnerships with key agencies, to leverage data and information (See also Strategic Area 3 - Collaboration).

Irrespective of the source of data and information, FSANZ must critically assess the evidence to ensure that it is of high quality, credible, robust, current, and relevant to the Australian and New Zealand setting. This is essential, given that the data may be used to establish the level of human health risk and associated risk management measures. FSANZ will continue to develop expertise in the critical appraisal of the evidence, as it relates to food/health relationships. FSANZ’s growing expertise in this area can also be more broadly applied to other areas of FSANZ’s work.


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Prioritising surveillance activities using collaborative partnerships where possibleFSANZ will carefully plan and prioritise our surveillance activities over the medium to longer term, so that the data we generate is relevant, of high quality, and provides the most value to our scientific assessments.

Options for undertaking joint activities with other organisations to address gaps in the existing evidence base will be actively explored, particularly in cases where there is a high level of uncertainty associated with the existing evidence, which is impeding the consideration of appropriate risk management options. FSANZ already has such an arrangement in place with New Zealand MPI and with all the jurisdictions, through a National Coordinated Food Survey Plan under the Implementation Subcommittee for Food Regulation. These examples illustrate how collaborating effectively with our valued partners (Strategic Area 3 - Collaboration) can directly support our efforts in other key strategic areas.

Strengthening a microbiological evidence base for use in microbiological risk assessmentsFSANZ’s microbiological risk assessment capability is becoming increasingly crucial to maintain within the agency given the impact of microbiological hazards on food safety. However, the microbiological evidence base is currently not as well developed as that which currently exists for chemical hazards. Therefore, FSANZ will plan and build a robust and contemporary microbiological evidence base for use in microbiological risk assessments by establishing systems and processes that enable the prospective identification, collation and analysis of evidence for existing and emerging areas of microbiological food safety.


Strategic Aim 2: Improve our data collection, storage, analysis and reporting systems

Scientific data are a core resource for FSANZ. In undertaking risk analysis, FSANZ requires scientific data and other technical information that are relevant, contemporary and of a high quality. It is therefore imperative that the systems we use to collect, collate, store, analyse and report these data are adequate to support our scientific work now and into the future. It is also essential that these systems are compatible with making more of our data and information available to external stakeholders, contributing to the proposed information and referral hub.

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Finalising and implementing a FSANZ Data Management Strategy for a central data repositoryFSANZ will seek to finalise and implement its data management strategy. One of the main objectives of the data management strategy is to produce and deliver a centralised and secure data storage and management system, which meets FSANZ’s current and future needs. As part of this new system, we will enhance our current information technology infrastructure and integrate various platforms such as SharePoint with other proprietary software. This will have many benefits for FSANZ staff in performing our risk analysis functions, in terms of better accessibility, analysis and reporting of data and scientific information that is of a consistently high quality.

Other important objectives of the data management strategy are to develop quality systems and protocols around accepting, validating and storing data; and to facilitate the development and training of FSANZ staff in elements of data science, such as in modelling and statistics (Strategic Area 1 Scientific Capability).

A centralised and secure data repository for the agency may provide the foundation for FSANZ’s information and referral hub. Through this initiative, which will necessarily include work around protocols for sharing and consideration of intellectual property issues, FSANZ will be able to make a greater proportion of our data holdings publicly accessible in formats that meet the specific needs of our various stakeholders.


Strategic Area 3: Collaboration

Strategic Aim 1: Develop productive partnerships with key national and international organisations

A key strategic goal for FSANZ, outlined in the Corporate Plan, is to leverage its work through networks of trusted experts and international counterparts. FSANZ already has strong relationships with the jurisdictions (e.g. through the National Coordinated Food Survey Plan), New Zealand MPI (e.g. through MPI’s Food Safety Operational Research Programme and the joint agency Australia New Zealand Science Forum), and Health Canada (e.g. harmonised assessment process for GM foods).

The development of productive partnerships with key agencies generates many benefits, including harmonised approaches to the analysis of food-related risks, greater capacity to fill information gaps and the prevention of duplication of effort, more efficient use of available resources and, potentially, better, more timely outcomes through working together and/or influencing others to undertake work in priority areas. FSANZ also benefits in that it is able to enhance its profile as a trusted international expert and exert considerable influence on the strategic direction of a range of food regulatory science issues.

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Collaboratio

nPartnering and

linking


Mapping and network analysis FSANZ will build on previous mapping exercises to identify the range of national and international bodies currently involved in food regulatory science, identify any gaps, and focus on those with whom stronger strategic alliances should be developed in the future, for example, to leverage expertise, information and resources on food regulatory issues.

Using the outcomes of the above activity, we will identify key strategic partners and, where appropriate, underpin these partnerships with memoranda of understanding that include action plans to nurture and sustain these partnerships.


Strategic Aim 2: Collaborate effectively with our stakeholders to share knowledge, advice and information

With an increasingly global food supply, and with the continual introduction of new and innovative foods and food processing practices, it is essential that FSANZ continues to collaborate widely with key stakeholder groups. These include jurisdictional regulatory scientists, government agencies, universities and other academic and research institutions, the food industry, and consumers. As a small agency, the optimal depth and/or breadth of scientific expertise in a particular discipline may not always be available in FSANZ at any given time. Our links with these groups help us to share technical and scientific expertise, information and advice, including on emerging food safety issues.

While we recognise that all of our key stakeholder groups make important contributions to our consideration of food regulatory issues, for this science strategy, we have identified two stakeholder groups with whom we seek to strengthen links to improve our understanding of technical issues and enhance our access to scientific expertise in this current environment.

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Building collaborative relationships with key stakeholder groups, as outlined below:

IndustryCollaboration with the food industry is particularly valuable to FSANZ, as industry experts can provide useful data, information and advice. We will build on our collaborative relationships with relevant sectors of the food industry, to improve our understanding of supply chains, industrial processes, manufacturing and food innovation, obtain data on food composition and reformulation, and have timely access to information on new technologies and food products, so as to contribute to our evidence base in this area.

Universities, research agencies and other academic institutionsWe will strengthen our collaborative links with universities, research agencies and other academic institutions, as there are many such organisations, both nationally and internationally, with a high level of expertise and technical knowledge in scientific fields that are relevant to our work. One way in which we can strengthen our links with these organisations is by establishing initiatives such as a FSANZ intern or student program for graduates in key scientific areas. We will also continue to look for opportunities to undertake collaborative research projects, take on teaching opportunities, and invite experts on to our scientific advisory groups.

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