<P> The first law regulating food in Australia was the Victorian Public Food Act of 1854 . It was enacted in response to concerns with adulterated foods and allowed the Board of Health to inspect, seize and destroy unwholesome foods . </P> <P> After federation the states retained control of food safety . These initially covered the manufacture and sale of food . Powers were expanded to include labelling requirements . A lack of uniformity amongst the various state laws hampered interstate trade and led to a series of conferences held between 1910 and 1927 . In 1936, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) was established within the Department of Health to advise on matters of public health, which included food . It wasn't until 1952 that the NHMRC pressed for national uniformity of food and drug regulations . Eventually the Food Standards Committee was created to recommend food standards for states to adopt . The first major issue was chemical additives, followed by microbiological standards . In 1989, the responsibility for food standards was transferred to the Bureau of Consumer Affairs within the Attorney - General's Department . </P> <P> Australia and New Zealand have a joint standards body for food safety: Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ). It is an independent statutory agency established by the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 . FSANZ is part of the Australian Government's Health portfolio . FSANZ develops standards that regulate the use of ingredients, processing aids, colourings, additives, vitamins and minerals . Their standards also includes the composition of some foods, e.g. dairy, meat and beverages as well as standards developed by new technologies such as genetically modified foods . FSANZ is also responsible for some labelling requirements for packaged and unpackaged food, e.g. specific mandatory warnings or advisory labels . FSANZ must ensure that labelling of packaged foods includes: name and description of the product, mandatory warning and advisory statements, ingredient list, date marking, nutrition information panel, percentage labelling, directions for storage and use . Another main role of FSANZ is to manage food recall systems . When a product is declared to have safety issues like harmful bacteria or the presence of allergens the products needs to be removed from retail shelves and people's homes to ensure the health and safety of consumers . </P> <P> Raw milk can be sold in Australia but must be labelled as "not for human consumption". It is often sold as "bath milk" for bathing . Raw milk contains such bacteria as salmonella, E. coli and listeria, which are the cause of many foodborne illnesses . However this product is consumed by people who have a desire to drink raw milk, usually because they perceive it to a more natural less processed food . </P>

Food safety across australia is governed by which legislation