🇦🇺 Foods banned or restricted in Australia but legal in the US

Overview

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) develops and administers the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, a harmonized set of regulations covering both countries operating under a positive-list system: only additives explicitly listed in Schedule 15 to Standard 1.3.1 are permitted. Potassium bromate and azodicarbonamide are not on Schedule 15 and are therefore not permitted as food additives in Australia — closing key gaps that persist in the US. Note: unlike the EU (which bans ractopamine), Australia permits ractopamine in pigs and other livestock at defined maximum residue limits under APVMA authorization.

Key differences vs. the United States

Under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Code, azodicarbonamide is not listed as a permitted food additive in Standard 1.3.1, so it cannot be used as a flour bleaching agent in Australian bread. Brominated vegetable oil (BVO) is not a permitted food additive under Standard 1.3.1. Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST/rBGH) is not registered for use in Australian dairy cattle by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA). Titanium dioxide (E171) remains a permitted food additive in Australia (FSANZ position paper 2022), unlike the EU 2022 ban — but Australia's regulatory rationale still diverges from US practice on the additives above.