National Food Incident Response Protocol
National Food Incident
Response Protocol
A guide for the coordination of Australian government agencies
responsible for food safety and food issues in the event of a national
food incident
Version: August 2014
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National Food Incident Response Protocol
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................ 3
1.1. Background ............................................................................. 3
1.2. Aim .......................................................................................... 3
1.3. Scope ...................................................................................... 3
1.4. Review and maintenance ........................................................ 4
2.
DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................ 4
3.
ACTIVATION OF THIS PROTOCOL.......................................................... 6
3.1. Activation ................................................................................. 6
3.2. Statutory responsibilities .......................................................... 6
3.3. Confidentiality .......................................................................... 6
3.4. Consultation with industry ........................................................ 6
3.5. Communication activities ......................................................... 7
3.6. Consensus and agreement ...................................................... 7
3.7. Documentation requirements ................................................... 8
4.
RESPONDING TO NATIONAL FOOD INCIDENTS ................................... 8
4.1. Alert phase .............................................................................. 8
4.2. Action phase ............................................................................ 9
4.3. Stand Down phase .................................................................11
5.
APPENDICES ...........................................................................................13
Appendix 1 Responsibilities by function........................................14
Appendix 2 National Food Incident Notification template..............16
Appendix 3 Draft Emergency Risk Profile .....................................17
Appendix 4 National Food Incident Situation Report template......20
Appendix 5 Post Incident Activity log template .............................21
Appendix 6 National Debrief Reporting template ..........................22
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National Food Incident Response Protocol
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1.
Background
Food incidents can result in public health and safety risks among consumers as well
as widespread consumer concern and significant disruption to domestic and
international trade. To minimise their impact, a timely and coordinated response is
required. In October 2003, the then Food Regulation Standing Committee (ISC) now
Implementation Sub Committee for Food Regulation1 (ISFR) recognised that this can
best be achieved through an agreed protocol that formalises the current response
approaches.
1.2.
Aim
The aim of the National Food Incident Response Protocol (NFIRP) is to provide clear
guidance to member agencies of ISFR for responding to a range of national food
incidents in a timely, appropriate, consistent and coordinated manner.
The NFIRP embraces a graduated response to managing national food incidents and
provides for a logical and smooth escalation and de-escalation of activities and
agency involvement as appropriate to the nature and seriousness of the incident.
For example, some national food incidents will require more urgent consideration
than others and require specific response actions at the national level. Other national
food incidents may only require information exchange and communication between
agencies (no action required at the national level).
The NFIRP does not override existing response protocols of individual agencies or
jurisdictions.
1.3.
Scope
The NFIRP provides guidance on the response to national food incidents linked to
microbiological, chemical, radiological, physical or unknown hazards.
In the event of an incident and under the auspice of the NFIRP, the Food
Surveillance Network may facilitate surveillance activities and sharing of relevant
information and data in response to a food incident.
In the case of outbreaks of foodborne illness, health and food regulatory authorities
along with the Australian Health Protection Committee are responsible for managing
the outbreak investigation, while the NFIRP will aid the response of food regulatory
agencies in those incidents in which there has been a potential or confirmed link to
food. The Guidelines for the Epidemiological Investigation of Multi-Jurisdictional
Outbreaks that are Potentially Foodborne describe processes to facilitate finding the
source of outbreaks through epidemiological investigation, and for referring multi1
The Implementation Sub-Committee for Food Regulation (ISFR) was established to develop
guidelines on food regulations and standards implementation and enforcement activities. ISFR
comprises representatives from the Commonwealth, each State and Territory jurisdiction and New
Zealand and includes representation from the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service, Food
Standards Australia New Zealand and a representative of Australian local government. ISFR
members are responsible for food safety and food issues and include the government agencies in
each jurisdiction with statutory responsibility for food safety.
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jurisdictional outbreaks to food regulatory authorities for risk assessment and
management, possibly under the NFIRP.
The NFIRP does not cover controlling animal or human illness and disease
outbreaks. These are covered by other national and Australian Government
arrangements.
1.4.
Review and maintenance
The ISFR Incident Response Working Group is responsible for reporting back to
ISFR on the effectiveness and efficiency of the response to a national food incident
and for recommending any changes to the NFIRP based on agency debriefs.
Significant changes to the NFIRP are referred to the Implementation Sub-committee
for Food Regulation and the Legislative and Governance Forum on Food Regulation.
In the absence of any critical evaluation of the NFIRP after a food incident or the
absence of any food incidents that activate the NFIRP, ISFR should initiate a review
of the NFIRP every three years. Any changes to the NFIRP must be endorsed by
ISFR.
2. DEFINITIONS
For the purposes of the NFIRP, the following definitions apply:
Food incident means any situation within the food supply chain where there is a
risk or potential risk of illness or confirmed illness or injury associated with the
consumption of a food or foods. The foodborne hazard causing such illness or
injury may be microbiological, chemical, radiological, physical or unknown. The
food incident can occur at any stage of the food supply chain, including activities
at the primary production sector that have the potential to, or are perceived to
impact on, the safety of the end food product. The food incident may or may not
have attracted media or political interest.
National food incident means a food incident that could, or is expected to,
impact on multiple government jurisdictions and response action is required at the
national level. An ‘impact’ can include media or political interest in a particular
food incident regardless of whether the jurisdiction is directly affected.
Incident situation report provides information describing the national food
incident and outlines the proposed response strategies and action taken to date.
The incident situation report should be accurate, timely, relevant, concise and
comprehensive. The incident situation report should be reviewed and updated
during the national food incident as appropriate
Incident objective is a goal statement indicating the desired outcome of the
incident and guides the development of the response. All factors affecting the
incident and potential impact these have must be considered when determining
the objectives and they must reflect the policies and needs of the Affected
Agencies.
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National Food Incident Response Protocol
Notifying Agency is the agency that notifies a national food incident to the
Central Notification Point i.e. activates the Protocol. Any food regulatory agency
with legislative responsibility for food safety can notify an incident.
Central Notification Point receives all notifications of national food incident,
disseminates that information to the other jurisdictions and coordinates the initial
communications between jurisdictions. FSANZ is the Central Notification Point.
Food Incident Contact Officer is the first point of contact within each agency for
all national food incidents. These officers are not necessarily those that are
involved in the response process, but are responsible for passing on the initial
communications to the relevant officer(s) within their agency.
Affected Agencies are the Government agencies in those jurisdictions directly
affected by the incident with statutory authority for making decisions or whose
involvement in coordinating activates undertaken by jurisdictions is vital to
achieve a consistent response. Affected agencies are responsible for developing
risk management options for the incident that achieve the incident objective within
each affected jurisdiction.
National Food Incident Coordinator is a senior FSANZ officer responsible for
coordinating the organisation of a national food incident under this Protocol. The
National Food Incident Coordinator is also responsible for determining tasks and
assigning roles and responsibilities.
Agency Food Incident Controller is the officer designated by each agency to
represent that agency or that State or Territory during a specific national food
incident. The person may vary depending on the incident or may change if the
response to the incident escalates or de-escalates. The Agency Food Incident
Controller has the approval to make decisions on behalf of their agency. If the
person cannot make decisions on behalf of their agency, or if there is an agency
change to the decision, the Agency Food Incident Controller must respond with
the agency’s decision (or revised decision) within 2 hours of the Affected
Agencies’ and/or Participating Agencies teleconference and/or meeting.
Participating Agencies include all agencies participating under this Protocol in
the response to the national food incident.
Risk Assessor is responsible for coordinating the evaluation of the risk to public
health and safety. FSANZ is the risk assessor. The risk evaluation process may
involve a team or panel of people or of experts. The risk assessment team should
include the home jurisdiction.
Communications Controller is the agency responsible for coordinating all
communication activities during the response. FSANZ is the Communications
Controller.
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National Food Incident Response Protocol
3. ACTIVATION OF THIS PROTOCOL
3.1.
Activation
Any food regulatory agency with legislative responsibility for food safety can activate
the NFIRP. It is the responsibility of those agencies to notify the Central Notification
Point within FSANZ of a food incident that will, or has the potential to, impact on
multiple jurisdictions.
A national food incident should be notified early in its course, even before the extent
of the problem is really known, so that all jurisdictions are aware of events as they
occur and can be prepared if the problem were to spread, or media interest were to
suddenly peak. In addition, pre-emptive information sharing, coordination and early
action may prevent the incident escalating and help reduce the potential impact.
The responsibilities for functions under the NFIRP are summarised in Appendix 1.
3.2.
Statutory responsibilities
Emergency powers with respect to food are detailed in the jurisdiction’s food
legislation (commonly the Food Act). Other required actions during a national food
incident may be able to be enacted under the relevant health, quarantine, agriculture,
trade practices or environmental legislation. The police have statutory responsibility
for incidents of intentional interference (e.g. tampering, extortion) 2.
3.3.
Confidentiality
Sensitive information may need to be shared between government agencies,
independent experts and, where appropriate, industry during an incident. It is critical
that this information sharing is undertaken on the condition that the information
remains confidential until an official public announcement is made or the Participating
Agencies agree to its release more widely. Confidentiality is particularly important in
incidents of food tampering or extortion.
All documentation regarding a national food incident should have ‘GOVERNMENTIN-CONFIDENCE’ clearly marked, with the exception of those documents agreed as
suitable for wider dissemination by the Participating Agencies.
3.4.
Consultation with industry
Although the decision-making is the responsibility of the Participating Agencies, it is
important that where consultation is required, it occurs with the companies that may
be affected by the national food incident (or, where an incident may have widespread
impacts on the food industry or sectors of industry, with peak bodies as appropriate)
as soon as practicable and throughout the response. This ensures that decisions are
fully informed and that the implementation of decisions or industry initiated actions,
designed to protect consumers, occur as rapidly as possible. It should also be noted
that specific commodity groups and industries have developed their own
2
The police must be contacted in all incidents of suspected or confirmed tampering and extortion.
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emergency/incident situation reports. The NFIRP should link with these plans
wherever appropriate.
Consultation with a specific industry group may occur at a national level or
jurisdictional level depending on the situation and the response to the incident.
However, to achieve maximum efficiency and consistent messages, the
communication process should be centrally coordinated wherever possible.
3.5.
Communication activities
During a national food incident, there is potential for considerable public interest. An
effective communication strategy is therefore essential in each case. In some cases,
communications will be the only action required in response to an incident. The
communication strategy should be included as part of the incident situation report
and it is the responsibility of the Communications Controller to ensure a
communication strategy is developed.
All communication messages or advice to industry or consumers will be developed by
the Communications Controller in consultation with the Government Food
Communicators' Group for consideration and uptake nationally. Coordination of
communications is done centrally to ensure consistency in messages and facilitate
timely and accurate provision of information to the media for dissemination to the
public as required.
Communication and information sharing networks that already exist and could be
used to disseminate information include the Recall Action Officers and the Retail and
Manufacturers Liaison Committee. It is expected that these networks and the
expertise within other groups such as SAFEMEAT, Communicable Diseases
Network Australia, OzFoodNet, Food Surveillance Network, Department of
Agriculture, Department of Fair Trading and Department of Health will be utilised as
necessary.
3.6.
Consensus and agreement
The NFIRP has been developed in a spirit of cooperation with the aim of facilitating a
consistent national response wherever it is considered desirable and appropriate.
However, it must be recognised that because food regulation in Australia is
implemented through State and Territory legislation there may be occasions where a
consistent outcome is not possible or appropriate. This may be due to a variety of
factors including:



legislative differences between State and Territory agencies;
differences in opinion on the level of risk posed; or
differences in opinion on the appropriate response measures in light of the
evidence available at the time.
In the case of disagreement on the response, the very best endeavour should be
made to form a common position by involving the most senior representatives of the
Affected Agencies and Participating Agencies.
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3.7.
Documentation requirements
The National Food Incident Coordinator is responsible for ensuring any
documentation regarding the coordination of the response generated during the
course of the national food incident is retained. The primary document that should be
retained is the incident situation report(s).
4. RESPONDING TO NATIONAL FOOD INCIDENTS
There are three main phases in responding to a national food incident:
1. Alert phase
2. Action phase
3. Stand-down phase
The extent of the response activities required will depend on the nature of the
incident. This may range from no action at the national level (notification is for
information) to some or significant action required.
4.1.
Alert phase
The primary focus during the ‘Alert phase’ is on involving all agencies so that all
jurisdictions are fully informed and aware of the national food incident. It is the
responsibility of jurisdictions to ensure other relevant government agencies within
their state/territory are informed of the incident and, as required, kept up-to-date with
its progress.
It is the responsibility of all food regulatory agencies with legislative responsibility for
food safety to notify the Central Notification Point of a food incident that will, or has
the potential to, impact on multiple jurisdictions. The National Food Incident
Notification template is at Appendix 2. A ‘head’s up’ email will be sent to the
Central Notification Point from the notifying agency to precede triggering of the
Protocol where possible.
Upon notification of the incident, the Central Notification Point will circulate the
notification to the Food Incident Contact Officers. It is important that jurisdictions
ensure their Food Incident Contact Officer is available out of normal business hours,
or ensure that an appropriate alternate officer is designated, as some national food
incidents may occur during these times.
The Food Incident Contact Officer must advise FSANZ within 24 hours of being
notified under the Protocol, who the nominated Agency Food Incident Controller will
be.
A Draft Emergency Risk Profile is prepared by FSANZ in consultation with the
Notifying Agency for consideration at the first teleconference. A core scientific group
(the Risk Assessment Advisory Group) may be convened to provide rapid input and
advice into the process. This document should provide all available risk assessment
and risk management information known at the time including the nature of, and
exposure to, the hazard; potential adverse health effects, and the risk management
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options identified to date. Within this initial scoping the potential for other products
and distribution channels to be affected should be considered. The Draft
Emergency Risk Profile template is at Appendix 3.
4.2.
Action phase
During the Action Phase, FSANZ may convene a teleconference with Participating
Agencies where the risk management decisions that need to be made or
implemented are agreed to. This requires that:








the Affected Agencies are identified.
Participating Agencies provide any updates and confirm Agency Food Incident
Controller.
the Draft Emergency Risk Profile is considered, gaps identified, and the need for
further risk assessment determined.
the incident objective is identified.
risk management options discussed.
actions are assigned to relevant agencies.
the situation report is developed and participating agencies are advised of the
frequency of circulation (the Incident Situation Report template is at Appendix
4).
frequency of subsequent teleconference/ is determined.
Participating Agencies will ensure their Agency Food Incident Controller for the
national food incident has the authority to make decisions on behalf of the agency
and have appropriate knowledge of the skills, expertise and resources available in
their agency to support the response (this can be, but does not have to be, the Food
Incident Contact Officer).
As the incident progresses, an incident summary should be commenced to document
any operational issues and key steps (incident chronology). The need for a summary,
and any subsequent action should be determined periodically by the National Food
Incident Coordinator.
4.2.1.
Incident objective established and roles and responsibilities are
allocated
The outcomes of the Draft Emergency Risk Profile are used to define the incident
objective/s. The incident objective may change during the progress of the incident, as
further information becomes available or the situation changes, and should be clearly
confirmed at each meeting. Where no action is required at a national level, the
incident objective may simply be information sharing.
4.2.2.
Risk Assessment
In many situations, the Draft Emergency Risk Profile, including preliminary risk
assessment advice, may be all that is required to inform response actions. However,
it may be determined that further risk assessment is required to determine the risk to
public health and safety risk.
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National Food Incident Response Protocol
FSANZ is the agency responsible for coordinating risk assessments and will
undertake this role in consultation with the Affected Agencies. Where required, a
Draft Rapid Risk Assessment report should be completed within an agreed
timeframe for circulation to Participating Agencies. The risk assessment process
taken may involve a team or panel of people or experts (including the Risk
Assessment Advisory Group), utilising the resources, skills and expertise available in
each jurisdiction. To enable a robust assessment of the risk to public health and
safety, it is important that all relevant information is made available to the risk
assessors. Depending on the nature and extent of the incident, this may include
information from industry (detailed process flow diagrams, food safety controls),
jurisdictions (trace-back, environmental investigations) and epidemiologists (study
design/methodology, case reports) and include industry familiarisation visits.
Affected Agencies will respond within 24 hours of receipt of the Draft Rapid Risk
Assessment if there is any disagreement on the conclusions. A non-response would
be considered to be agreement with the Draft Rapid Risk Assessment which would
then be a Final Rapid Risk Assessment. Time constraints are necessary as risk
assessment is an important piece of information for Affected Agencies to progress
their risk management approach.
Participating Agencies will be advised if the Draft Emergency Risk Profile is sufficient
to inform response actions (i.e. no further risk assessment is required) to ensure
Affected Agencies respond within 24 hours if there is any disagreement on the
conclusions of the work.
Disagreement by a single or multiple jurisdictions on the conclusions of the risk
assessment can be an issue in reaching nationally consistent actions. The Risk
Assessment Advisory Group will also select expert peer reviewers in situations
where there is disagreement on the risk assessment conclusions. In these cases, the
affected jurisdiction should offer a nominated expert in the relevant field to participate
in this process.
4.2.3.
Risk management
Affected Agencies will convene to consider the available information, including risk
assessment work; identify and evaluate possible response actions; and decide on
the most appropriate response to the food incident. Affected Agencies will report
back to Participating Agencies within 48 hours on the response actions.
In the case of disagreement on the response, the very best endeavour should be
made to form a common position by involving the most senior representatives of the
agencies or groups in disagreement.
Critical pieces of information required by Affected Agencies prior to undertaking
enforcement action are:


Traceback - evidence that the majority of people ill have consumed the same
brand or batch of food, or that traceback of specific foods leads back to a
common source of food or ingredient.
Epidemiological evidence - an epidemiological association between a person
becoming ill after consuming a specific type or brand of food (usually expressed
in terms of the risk relative to that for a person who has not consumed the food).
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National Food Incident Response Protocol

Laboratory analysis - isolation of the organism from the food or food production
and processing environment.
The above factors plus a legislative breach is required for action to be possible.
Information on the above factors should be updated as appropriate, including
identifying gaps in the existing knowledge base which may impact on the appropriate
course of action. Information, data, experiences and management approaches of
international regulatory agencies may also assist in this process.
Affected Agencies should consider taking enforcement action when two of the above
three elements clearly pointed to a source of risk to health and there is noncompliance with legislation. It is acknowledged that acting without information, or
adequate information, on traceback could be problematic as it is necessary to identify
the product that is the source.
The risk assessment work provides an overall level of risk to human health and is
therefore another important part of the evidence base.
Actions that may be considered range from a ‘watching brief’ or a communications
strategy to a mandatory recall of food accompanied by an active food safety
campaign. In many national food incidents, the response actions will be obvious but
this is not always the case. The development of “decision trees” can be helpful in
guiding risk management actions.
Implementation occurs under the relevant state or territory legislation, response plan
or Protocol. As previously stated, it is essential that during the development of the
incident situation report, jurisdictions have ensured they are able to implement any
actions.
4.3.
Stand Down phase
The response will conclude when it has been agreed by the Participating Agencies
that a nationally coordinated response is no longer required and the national food
incident is deemed to be over. It is recommended that participating agencies
undertake a final teleconference to determine whether the incident should enter
Stand Down and agree on post-incident actions.
Even though activities at a national level may no longer be required, jurisdictions may
still be active or still be implementing the agreed response actions. At stand down,
the National Food Incident Coordinator, in consultation with participating agencies,
will coordinate the documentation of any resulting post incident activities in a Post
Incident Activity Log, including agency responsibilities, timeframes for action and
process for reporting. The Post Incident Activity Log template is at Appendix 5.
The Post Incident Activity Log will be circulated to participating agencies as part of
the final situation report that notifies agencies that the incident has been stood down.
All Participating Agencies will undertake a ‘debrief’ or ‘after action review’ as part of
the Stand Down phase to assess the effectiveness of the response and the guidance
provided by the NFIRP.
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Participating Agencies will also review the effectiveness of the response taken in
meeting the required outcome(s) i.e. incident objectives. The National Debrief
Reporting template is at Appendix 6.
The outcomes of these debriefs will be considered by the ISFR Incident Response
Working Group who are responsible for recommending any changes or
enhancements for ISFR consideration.
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5. APPENDICES
Appendix 1:
Appendix 2:
Appendix 3:
Appendix 4:
Appendix 5:
Appendix 6:
Responsibilities by function
National Food Incident Notification template
Draft Emergency Risk Profile template
National Food Incident Situation Report template
Post Incident Activity Log template
National Debrief Reporting template
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Appendix 1
Responsibilities by function
Function
Function description/elements
Responsible parties
Supporting parties
Coordination
Circulate Food Incident Notification to Food
Incident Contact officers
Coordinate response phases and actions under
the NFIRP
FSANZ (Central Notification Point)
Notifying Agency completes Food
Incident Notification.
Affected Agencies
FSANZ (National Food Incident
Coordinator)
Participating Agencies
Convene, and chair, national teleconferences
Ensure incident objective is identified and
reviewed, as required
Ensure situation report/s are developed, updated
and circulated to Participating Agencies
Risk assessment
Prepare Draft Emergency Risk Profile (nature of
the hazard, exposure, adverse health effects)
FSANZ (Risk Assessment
Coordinator)
Notifying Agency
As required, Risk Assessment
Core Scientific Group
Where required, prepare Draft Risk Assessment
FSANZ (Risk Assessment
Coordinator)
Affected Agencies
As required, Risk Assessment
Core Scientific Group
Agreement on risk assessment conclusions
Affected Agencies
FSANZ (Risk Assessment
Coordinator)
Risk management
Prepare Draft Emergency Risk Profile (risk
management options identified at notification )
Notifying Agency
As required, Risk Assessment
Core Scientific Group may select
peer reviewers in situations where
there is disagreement
FSANZ (Central Notification Point)
incorporates information into Draft
Emergency Risk Profile
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Function
Communications
Function description/elements
Responsible parties
Appoint Agency Food Incident Controllers
Participating Agencies
Identify and evaluate potential response actions
Affected Agencies
Implement response actions
Develop communication strategy
Affected Agencies
FSANZ (Communication
Controller)
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Supporting parties
Government Food
Communicators’ Group
Affected Agencies
National Food Incident Response Protocol
GOVERNMENT-IN-CONFIDENCE
Appendix 2
National Food Incident Notification template
FOOD INCIDENT NOTIFICATION
Incident No:
[INSERT NUMBER]
[NAME OF INCIDENT]
Location/Jurisdiction:
Imported food YES (if yes, list country)
Time/Date Incident
Notified:
[INSERT DATE]
Describe the issue:
Relevant Food Standards Code limit (if applicable):
Food(s) affected:
[Provide details on the description and quantity of product, including Brand name, Lot
identification, type and size of package, identification of premises where last packed or
processed. Use-by, ‘packed-on’ or ‘Best before’ date where relevant]
Distribution of the food:
Interstate
NSW
QLD
ACT
Exported
VIC
SA
NT
WA
TAS
New Zealand
Other (list countries)
Other information provided by Notifying Agency/Company:
[Does it have acute/chronic effect?Does it affect sub-populations?Can it be treated?What is
the outcome of the exposure?What is the severity of the outcome, is it reversible?How is the
hazard transmitted to humans?What is the likelihood of exposure?]
[is there a recall in progress? if so what is the recall number? has any action been taken as
yet? what action is proposed (e.g. teleconference etc)? when will the next communications
be?]
Action required on notification:
[State whether the notification is for information only or if jurisdictions are expected to
respond with their opinion or acceptance of proposed teleconference etc]
Contact person(s) for further information:
[Full contact details including name, address, telephone, fax number and email address of
persons or organisations who can supply further information.]
Prepared by:
Cleared by:
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Appendix 3
Draft Emergency Risk Profile3
(Interim and incomplete in nature)
An example of information that may be included in a Draft Emergency Risk Profile.
Incident No:
[Insert Number]
[NAME OF INCIDENT]
Time/Date Meeting:
Version:
Present:
Information and background available:
[Include summary information on the hazard-food combination and background to the
current food incident]
Hazard information
Information on the hazard
Exposure to the hazard
[Microbiological: e.g. general
description and key attributes such as
virulence factors, thermal and
antimicrobial resistance. Outcomes of
exposure, availability and nature of
treatment]
[Chemical: cite reference health
standard if available such as ADIs for
food additives and agricultural/veterinary
chemicals, TDIs for contaminants and
natural toxicants, and ULs for nutrients.
For other chemical classes (e.g.
pharmaceutical drugs) provide
information on doses associated with
human toxicity]
[Microbiological: – Data/information
3
Note: A risk profile comprises a systematic collection of information needed to make a decision regarding future action, and
whether resources should be allocated to a more detailed assessment, and if so the format that assessment should take, i.e.
whether qualitative, semi-quantitative or quantitative. Creation of a risk profile is the responsibility of the risk manager although
aspects of the work may be commissioned out to appropriate parties. The principles of risk profiling have been outlined by
WHO/FAO and Codex in the context of microbiological food incidents. FSANZ considers that risk profiling concepts and
processes can also be applied to food incidents involving chemicals.
This Draft Emergency Risk Profile is based on the best information available at the time and, due to time constraints, may be
incomplete in nature. It should not be regarded as setting a precedent or used as a basis for any other decision making outside
the current incident or for later in the same incident if further information makes previous decisions obsolete or inappropriate.
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Hazard information
from outbreak investigations;
characteristics of implicated foods;
production practices, food use and
handling that influences exposure]
Information on adverse human health
effects
Risk management options
[Chemical: If resources permit, estimate
dietary exposure to the chemical of
concern by combining information on (i)
levels of the chemical in the food(s) of
concern and (ii) consumption levels of
these foods by various population
groups. Alternatively, indicate food
consumption required to reach the
relevant reference health standard.
Consider oral exposure from other
sources (e.g. complementary medicines)]
[e.g. outline the nature and severity of
adverse health effects, subsets of
populations at increased risk (differing
susceptibility, food intake, socioeconomic status, geographical location),
prevalence and incidence data from
public health surveillance, consideration
of dose-response relationship (where
available)]
[Describe the risk management options
that have been identified to date.
Is action required at a national level:
- Was the initial notification for
information only?
- Could this issue be discussed at the
jurisdictional forum?
Is some, or significant action required at
a national level?
Routes of Exposure:
Could there be other ingredients?
Is there the potential for other products to
be affected?
Are there other distribution channels?]
Other information relevant to risk
management decision-making
[e.g. discuss adequacy of the available
data, perceptions of the food safety issue
by interested parties, practical
considerations (economic, technical,
political, legal), possible actions and
expected consequences; approaches
taken by other countries (and proposed
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Hazard information
Risk assessment need, feasibility and
questions
Recommendations
need to confer with international food
safety colleagues)]
[Assessment of need and benefit to be
gained from requesting a risk
assessment. Feasibility that such an
assessment could be accomplished
within the required time frame.
Recommended questions to be posed to
the risk assessor]
[Recommendations for future activities
e.g. immediate risk management action,
a decision to conduct a quantitative risk
assessment, or a programme to gather
more data]
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Appendix 4
National Food Incident Situation Report template
Incident No:
[NAME OF INCIDENT]
Plan current as at:[INSERT TIME] [INSERT DATE] Plan No:
Affected Agencies [INSERT AFFECTED AGENCIES]
[Record the dates of any changes to the Affected Agencies]
Participating Agencies: [Record the dates of any changes to the Participating Agencies]
Overview
[A summary of the situation as it stands when alert phase triggered – ensure that a
summary of activities prior to triggering the NFIRP is included]
Current Situation [updates shown in blue]:
[A statement of the current situation, to be updated as the situation progresses]
Incident Objective: [to be updated as appropriate]
1.
2.
Risk to public health and safety:
[Name of Risk Assessor, outline of risk assessment process, main conclusions, time of
reporting, time of expected updates]
Response:
[Identify the strategies, who is responsible and timeframes]
Action taken to date
Future Action:
Completed?
YES/NO
Communications:
[Including all appropriate contact detail and the message that is to be disseminated]
Issues and comments:
Action required:
Stand-down:
YES/ NO (if yes, list time)
Other plans/protocols activated:
Distributed to:
[In addition to Participating Agencies]
Contact person(s) for further information:
ATTACHMENTS
Cleared by:
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National Food Incident Response Protocol
Appendix 5
Post Incident Activity Log template
Post Incident Activity Log
Stand down date:
Date of Log update:
Agencies engaged in post
incident activities:
☐
☐
☐
☐
NSW
QLD
NT
FSANZ
☐
☐
☐
☐
VIC
☐
SA
☐
ACT
☐
OzFoodNet
WA
TAS
Customs
☐ Dept. Ag
Action
Agency
Responsible
Timeframe
Status / Comments
[insert agreed action]
[insert agency
responsible]
[insert agreed
timeframe]
[insert any additional
comments]
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National Food Incident Response Protocol
Appendix 6
National Debrief Reporting template
Reporting Template
NAME OF INCIDENT
Agency:
Contact:
<insert agency name and jurisdiction>
<insert details of appropriate agency representative/s>
1. Agency role during the incident:
<insert comment on the roles and responsibility of your agency during this
response e.g. were you an “Affected Agency”>
2. Response considerations:
a. What worked well during the response
<insert comment on the aspects of the response that worked well and
could be retained or included for future response/incident management.>
b. What could be improved for future responses
<insert comment on aspects of the response that could be improved.>
(This does not need to be agency specific and may include broader aspects of the
national response).
3. National Food Incident Response Protocol (General Comments):
<insert comment on the National Food Incident Response Protocol (this should be
general in nature as specific items are covered in #4 below). It may be phrased in
terms of what worked well and what could be improved.>
4. National Food Incident Response Protocol (Specific Comments)
<Insert comment on specific aspects of the National Food Incident Response
Protocol.
Please provide comment on4:
 The timeliness of the response
 Effectiveness of communication
 Risk assessment approaches
 Agreed actions
 Clarity of roles and responsibilities
Other aspects that comment is sought on include notification arrangements,
documentation and information management.>
5. Recommendations:
<insert recommendations that you would like considered for future responses
(these recommendations should be consistent with, and supported by, the detail
provided above).>
This information is to enable assessment of ISFR performance indicators 3.2 – Rating of organisational
effectiveness of incidents where the National Food Incident Response Protocol is used.
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