Purpose

The purpose of this notice is to advise brokers and importers about upcoming changes to the analysis of uncooked slow dry cured ready-to-eat ham. Uncooked slow dry cured ready-to-eat ham includes products such as Parma ham and Serrano ham.

These changes are being made because uncooked slow-dry cured ready-to-eat ham will no longer be classified as a risk food from 4 January 2017. This reclassification is as a result of amendments to the Imported Food Control Order 2001. This reclassification was based on advice from Food Standards Australia New Zealand that this food does not pose a medium or high risk to public health. This risk statement advice is available here.

What has changed?

From 4 January 2017, uncooked slow dry cured ready-to-eat ham will no longer be classified as a risk food. This means that consignments of uncooked slow dry cured ready-to-eat ham will be inspected and analysed as surveillance foods if they are not the subject of a holding order. As a surveillance food uncooked slow dry cured ready-to-eat ham may be released after sampling and need not be held until the results of the analysis are known. In addition, details of the inspection and analysis will move to the Tests applied to surveillance food webpage.

To implement this change an amended lodgement question will also apply from 4 January 2017. The following Community Protection (CP) question (lodgement question) will apply to goods lodged in the ICS:

IFIS: ARE THE GOODS UNCOOKED MEAT PRODUCTS THAT HAVE BEEN FERMENTED, MATURED OR DRIED AND ARE READY FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION? (ANSWER ‘NO’ TO THIS QUESTION IF THE GOODS ARE UNCOOKED SLOW DRY CURED READY-TO-EAT HAM)

Answering ‘No’ to this lodgement question will mean that uncooked slow dry cured ready-to-eat ham will not be referred to the Imported Food Inspection Scheme for inspection and analysis as a risk food. However, any uncooked slow dry cured ready-to-eat ham that is the subject of a holding order will continue to be inspected and analysed as a risk food until the holding order is revoked.

The following requirements will continue to apply to uncooked slow dry cured ready-to-eat ham as a surveillance food:
•The analysis for Listeria monocytogenes will continue to apply at the rate of 5 per cent of consignments.
•The analysis for Salmonella spp. will continue to apply at the rate of 5 per cent of consignments.
•The analysis for Escherichia coli will continue to apply at the rate of 5 per cent of consignments.

The department will continue to apply the standard that allows uncooked slow dry cured ready-to-eat ham to contain up to 100 colony forming units/gram of Listeria monocytogenes.

http://www.agriculture.gov.au/import/goods/food/notices/ifn-22-16