Food Safety Information Council Annual report 2025-26

 

Chair’s Report 

This annual report covers the 12 month reporting year from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 and any further significant events leading up to this Annual General Meeting in October 2026.

Australian Food Safety Week continues to be our key annual activity during 2025 and its theme of ‘Food safety mythbusting’ being highly successful with our community service announcements generating over a million dollars’ worth of radio and TV airtime during the Summer campaign.

Our rapid response in getting this successful campaign up and running, plus its low cost, shows our value in reducing the rates of food borne illness in Australia that are now estimated to be $3 billion a year. We are delighted that the campaign is a finalist in the 2026 Gold Standard Awards open to Public Affairs and Communication professionals in the Asia Pacific and Middle East.

We have also been running award winning annual campaigns since 2017 to educate consumers not to pick or eat wild mushrooms because of the risk of deathcap mushroom poisoning and we continue to reinforce the message.

The Council continues to provide expert advice through the Australian Science Media Centre on a range of issues including handwashing, cost of living crisis, lunch boxes in addition to our scheduled media releases throughout the year and National Science Week activities. See more about our campaigns in Objective 2.

There remains sufficient equity (see objective 3) for the Council to continue operations, while efforts have continued throughout the year to secure ongoing and long-term funding. Without this, we are heavily reliant on our volunteers.

I would like to thank the Board, our various Committee members, and all our members for the time and commitment they give to our organisation in helping Australians keep food safe. Also, special thanks to our Gold Sponsor Neogen and our other member sponsors: Accord, SA Health, NT Health and the Australian Chicken Meat Federation for funding our consumer research and campaigns.

Dr Scott Crerar
Chair
Food Safety Information Council Ltd

October 2026

Objective 1 Conduct a successful Australian Food Safety Week and Summer campaign as well other relevant campaigns throughout the year 

While all Board members contribute to this objective, the Communication Committee provides strategic and day to day expertise.

The Committee Chair is Lydia Buchtmann FCPRA and members during the year were:

• Jason Van Ballegooyen – Section Manager, Communication and Stakeholder Engagement, Food Standards Australia New Zealand
• Narelle Bickford – Chef and nutritionist
• Samantha Dickinson – National Communications Officer, Environmental Health Australia

Australian Food Safety Week 2025 was held from 8 to 15 November 2025. The theme was ‘Don’t swallow the myth –  Food safety myth busting’.

Coverage of our radio and TV community service announcements

• 94 radio stations reached via the Radio CSAs
• 22,327 Radio CSAs broadcast nationally
• $368,654 estimated minimum airtime value of the Radio CSAs 20,305 national broadcasts of the Television CSAs
• TV CSA broadcast nationally on metro and rural / regional networks
• $1,155,688 – estimated minimum media value of the TV CSA
• $13,475 (incl. GST) invested by Food Safety Information Council
• $1,524,342 worth of radio and TV airtime generated by Media Heads
• 113:1 return on investment (up from 97:1 in 2024)

 

Our TV CSA  was also played 374,627 times in 1513 GP Clinics and 390 pharmacies and 244 Aboriginal Medical Centres by our sponsor Tonic Health Media between December 2025 and January 2026 reaching a captive and attentive audience of 2,112,288. This was a value of $50,056 if purchased.

According to media monitoring organisation Isentia our media releases reached an audience of:

• Broadcast/TV 2,050,123
• Unique daily visitors on news websites 5,228,123
• Newspaper readership 3,586,422

AI, Website and social media

The Communication Team have attended a number of professional development opportunities on Artificial Intelligence and how it can assist us as a charity including a specifically designed AI program to establish guard rails and a six month implementation of AI.

Our website www.foodsafety.asn.au is a key tool for our work and receives close to 1,000 visits a day. This year we have continued to review and improve its security and made its design more consumer friendly. In addition to the free Google ads we receive as a charity we have improved our organic search engine capacity to make it easier for Australians to find out information.

Objective 2: Ensure our work is based on scientific evidence, including identifying and dealing with emerging risks

While all of the Board members typically contribute to this Objective, the Scientific Committee (SC) is primarily responsible for meeting it. The SC now typically meets outside of Board meetings to draft, refine and discuss the scientific merit and veracity of press releases and other information for public consumption. The Committee deliberations are shared with the Chair of the Communications Committee, and releases usually finalised at that point, though the Board, or selected executive members may be consulted. The SC brings a diversity of expertise and experience to bear on this Objective:

• Dr Julian Cox, Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney (Chair/Scientific Director)
• Dr Ian Delaire Director Expotox and fellow of the Australasian College of Toxicology and Risdk Assessment
• Karen Ferres, Manager, Food Safety and Audit, SA Health
• Tom Ross Adjunct Professor of Microbiology University of Tasmania
• Professor Shokoofeh Shamsi, Animal and Veterinary Biosciences Charles Sturt University
• Dr Helen Withers Senior Microbiologist Food Standards Australia New Zealand

Alongside merit and veracity of releases, the committee makes ongoing effort to ensure currency, updating material on existing topics while seeking to expand coverage of food safety issues, including emerging risks. Examples include risk associated with backyard eggs, greater awareness around parasites, especially associated with seafood, the growing tension between maintenance of food safety and reduction in food waste, and the impact of climate change. Through communication among SC members, with the Board, and with the professional networks of members, as well as digital horizon scanning, FSIC keeps abreast of current food safety issues, and looks to creation of new consumer-facing information, for the FSIC web site and for new media releases.

The Committee is also looking to review and revise all of the Council’s published material, including the web site, especially those sections that have featured less frequently in recent media releases and fact sheets.

Finally, the Committee is exploring the development of local recipes that integrate food safety messaging, aligned with an initiative from a similar US-based organisation. More broadly, the Committee and Council is looking to leverage scientific and technical content from related organisations globally, to bring a greater range of resources to the public.

Objective 3: Secure sufficient funding for operational and educational activities and comply with our reporting and tax requirements 

Doug Lau CA, our Finance and Risk Director, plus the rest of the Food Safety Information Council Board, are responsible for managing this objective.

The Board met 7 times during 2025/26 and consists of:

• Dr Scott Crerar, Chair (6/7 meetings)
• Assoc Professor Julian Cox, Vice Chair and Chair of the Scientific Committee (4/7 meetings)
• Fiona Fleming Director (7/7 meetings)
• Dean McCullum Director (6/7 meetings)
• Dr Andrew Mathieson, Director (7/7 meetings)
• Professor Shokoofeh Shamsi Director (6/7 meetings)
• Doug Lau Director Risk and Finance Committee (6/7 meetings)

Chief Executive Officer Lydia Buchtmann attended 7/7 meetings as a non-voting member.

Our Annual General Meeting was held in October 2026 and our Annual Planning Day, to plan for the year ahead and to choose the theme for Australian Food Safety Week 2026, was held on 13 July 2026. Both were by video conference.

The Finance and Risk Director reports that total equity as at 30 June 2026 was $79,476.62, representing a decrease of $3,579.55 compared with the prior year. Despite the reduction in equity, FSIC’s operating result improved during FY26, with the net deficit reducing from $4,572.68 in FY25 to $2,959.01 in FY26. This improvement was primarily driven by increased sponsorship revenue, which rose by $3,200 compared with the previous year. Total trading income increased to $25,456.43, reflecting growth in sponsorship and interest income. Operating expenses totalled $28,415.44 for the year. Technology-related expenditure, including ongoing website optimisation and digital platform improvements, continued to be a key area of investment. While these costs contributed to the annual deficit, they remain necessary to support FSIC’s operations and stakeholder engagement objectives. As previously advised in FY25, the Council’s run-off insurance provision was not recalculated during FY26. The seven-year run-off insurance policy remains priced at $8,700, and existing funds continue to be sufficient to meet this obligation. FSIC will lodge its FY26 Annual GST Activity Statement in December with the ATO and will pay a total of $201 ($201.07 ex. rounding). In addition, the FY25 Annual Information Statement was successfully lodged with the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission (ACNC). FSIC remains in a sound financial position, holding total cash and term deposit balances of $79,677.69 at 30 June 2026 and maintaining sufficient reserves to meet its ongoing obligations and strategic priorities.

Objective 4 Increase the number of and engage with our membership.

Membership is the responsibility of all Board members and the CEO.

We currently have 44 members (down from 45 the previous year having updated our current members’ list). Members continue to be highly engaged in our work either contributing time or sponsoring our campaigns.

Members as at 1 July 2026 are:

Professional organisations: Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology, Dietitians Association of Australia, Environmental Health Australia

Consumer organisations: Choice

Companies: First for Training, Gourmet Guardian, Merieux Nutrisciences, Neogen and On Solution.

Individuals:  Narelle Bickford, Julian Cox, Scott Crerar, Maria Deckys, Doug Lau, Roy Palmer, Shokoofeh Shamsi

Industry organisations: Accord Australasia, Australian Eggs, Australian Chicken Meat Federation Incorporated, Fresh Produce Safety Centre

Government: ACT Department of Health & Community Care, Department of Health Western Australia, Department of Health Tasmania, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, New South Wales Food Authority, Northern Territory Department of Health & Community Services, Queensland Health, Safe Food Queensland, South Australia Department of Health

Life members (for long term contribution): Lydia Buchtmann (former Communications Director), Brigitte Cox, Patricia Desmarchelier (former Technical Committee Chair), Michael Eyles (former Chair), Cathy Moir (Chair), Barbara Munce (former Public Officer), Rachelle Williams AnYi (former Chair)

Local Government: Goyder Council, Surf Coast Shire Council and City of Wodonga Council.

Research organisations: CSIRO, Australian Food Safety Centre of Excellence

It is of concern that our membership contributions have reduced over the last 3 financial years. This funding is essential to cover our essential administrative costs such as phones, insurance, administration and website. We do recognise however that many members contribute time to our cause which is far above the value of their annual membership and that members continue to be the greatest source of our sponsorship.

LINKS TO BALANCE SHEET AND PROFIT AND LOSS