Application for the Reassessment of a Hazardous Substance under ...

Production Food Safety (APFSWG) which coordinates the food safety activitiesof the OIE.International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC). New Zealand is a contractingparty to this treaty which aims to secure action to prevent the spread andintroduction of pests of plants and plant products, and to promote appropriatemeasures for their control. It is governed by the Commission on PhytosanitaryMeasures (CPM) which adopts International Standards for PhytosanitaryMeasures (ISPM).48. NZFSA‘s participation in these organisations focuses on ensuring that their rules arescience and risk-based and reflect New Zealand‘s needs.Bilateral agreements49. Bilateral arrangements are negotiated with importing countries, the aim being toalign standards or have a trading partner accept that New Zealand systems deliverresults that meet their requirements. NZFSA market access experts work to find thebest ways to meet importing requirements that are cost-effective and flexible for ourindustry.50. The Agreement on mutual recognition in relation to conformity assessments betweenthe European Community (EC) and New Zealand (98/509/EC) covers all medicinalproducts which are industrially manufactured in New Zealand and the EC and towhich Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) requirements apply. (Medicinalproducts include all human and veterinary products).NZFSA principles for risk assessment51. Food safety is an accepted consumer requirement but one that courts controversy.The last decade has seen vastly increased knowledge on risks to consumersassociated with biological, chemical and physical hazards in the food chain, alongwith demonstrated success in the application of new regulatory systems and foodsafety programmes. Nevertheless, foodborne illness continue to be a significantproblem in all countries and governments are responding in a number of ways toassure the safety of food provided to domestic consumers and to those in offshoremarkets.52. NZFSA also has a mandate to improve business opportunities wherever practicable.This is driving closer cooperation between NZFSA and industry in identifyingpriority areas for applied research and regulatory change so as to accommodateinnovative and cost-effective technologies. Government promotion of economic,environmental and social sustainability (non-harmonised under international foodtrade agreements) also influences NZFSA domestic regulatory policies.53. NZFSA, in common with a number of other food safety regulators, uses risk analysisto answer a basic set of questions:What can go wrong?How likely is it to go wrong?How serious would it be if it went wrong?What can be done to reduce the likelihood and/or seriousness of it going wrong?54. During risk assessment, scientific judgements often entail a choice among severalreasonable options. Uncertainty is intrinsic to risk analysis and different approachesDichlorvos reassessment – application Page 430 of 436