The purpose of this document is to:
- identify the principles Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) follows when
conducting dietary exposure assessments - provide a broad overview of the process of estimating dietary exposure to food chemicals
- explain how FSANZ uses information, including that submitted in applications, for the
purposes of estimating dietary exposure.
Exposure assessment seeks to provide an estimate of the magnitude, frequency and duration of
exposure to risk factors found in the environment. Dietary exposure assessments draw on food
chemical concentration data and food consumption data from a range of sources, which are
described in this document. Information is provided on the specific practices required for dietary
exposure assessments for different types of food chemicals. In this document 'food chemical' refers
to food additives, contaminants, agricultural and veterinary chemicals, nutrients, novel ingredients,
processing aids, packaging migrants and other food chemicals (e.g. caffeine). This document does
not include information on microbiological exposure assessments.
This document covers how FSANZ conducts dietary exposure assessments for Australia and New
Zealand, as part of a risk assessment for food regulatory and related purposes. There are some
instances where FSANZ will conduct dietary exposure assessments for Australia only, such as for
agricultural and veterinary chemicals, because their use in New Zealand is not covered by the
Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code ('the Code').
This document is a living one, and cannot include all relevant material in a rapidly developing area
of regulatory science. It is anticipated that the document will be updated regularly to incorporate
major changes in principles and practices.
For information about making applications to change the Code, you should refer to the Application
Handbook.
