Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical Industry Reference Committee

The Australian Industry and Skills Committee (AISC) called for nominations from suitably qualified and experienced individuals for the vacant organisational and individual industry expert positions on the Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical Industry Reference Committee (IRC) as listed in the table below. Nominations closed COB Friday 14 October 2016.

The Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical IRC will have responsibility for supporting high quality training product development for the Food Processing Training Package that relates to various sectors listed below. The IRC would comprise of representatives with relevant expertise across the industry and sectors.

IRC Structure

The draft structure for the Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical IRC was published on this website on 1 August 2016, providing an opportunity for industry to comment on whether the structure would adequately represent the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industry. The AISC welcomed the comments received from a range of stakeholders and there was general agreement that the structures were fit for purpose and should proceed to a call for nominations, with the proposed addition of:

  • An organisational position for the beverage manufacturing sector to reflect the importance of this sector, for both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, relative to the food manufacturing positions. This increases the total number of places as 3 organisational and 1 expert position for beverage manufacturing.

Feedback was also received about the roles of regulators in the food and pharmaceutical manufacturing sectors (i.e. Food Standards Australia New Zealand and the Therapeutic Goods Administration) being very different. Feedback suggested that it would be better to have these key regulatory bodies included on relevant Technical Advisory Groups rather than the IRC itself, in particular to ensure that their advice about new product manufacturing standards, national coordination of state arms and linkages to export / international standard bodies for their sectors is built into training products going forward.

The structures are listed below:

  • 1 position is allocated to a representative from the Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Ltd
  • 8 positions would be open to nominations from the following types of organisations:
    • 4 positions from organisations in the food processing and manufacturing sector
    • 3 positions from organisations in the beverage manufacturing sector
    • 1 position from organisations in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical product manufacturing sector
  • 5 positions would be open to nominations from individual industry experts in the following sectors:
    • 2 positions from the food processing and manufacturing sector
    • 1 position from the beverage manufacturing sector
    • 1 position from the livestock and pet feed manufacturing sector
    • 1 position from the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical product manufacturing sector

Note that Technical Advisory Groups will support the IRC on an as-needs basis. It is also proposed that relevant Industry Growth Centres and State Industry Training Authorities are able to participate as guests, and Registered Training Organisation expertise would be sought during training package development work as required.

For more information about the review process please see the IRC review page.

Proposed Food, Beverage and Pharmaceutical Industry Reference Committee Structure

Sector Number of Members Expert / Organisation Comments / Rationale
Food processing and manufacturing 2 - Expert Vacant – nominations closed Two positions are open to INDIVIDUALS with particular expertise in one or more of the following sub-sectors of food processing and manufacturing:
  • Dairy product manufacturing
  • Bread, pastries and cakes
  • Grain processing, cereal and pasta manufacturing
  • Fruit and vegetable process
  • Sugar manufacturing
  • Confectionery manufacturing
  • Snack food manufacturing
  • Functional food and beverage manufacturing
Vacant – nominations closed
4 - Organisation Vacant – nominations closed Four positions are open to ORGANISATIONS operating in one or more of the following sub-sectors of food processing and manufacturing. Dairy product manufacturing:
  • Bread, pastries and cakes
  • Grain processing, cereal and pasta manufacturing
  • Fruit and vegetable process
  • Sugar manufacturing
  • Confectionery manufacturing
  • Snack food manufacturing
  • Functional food and beverage manufacturing
Vacant – nominations closed
Vacant – nominations closed
Vacant – nominations closed
Beverage manufacturing 1 - Expert Vacant – nominations closed One position is open to INDIVIDUALS with particular expertise in one or more of the following sub-sectors of beverage manufacturing:
  • Wine and spirit manufacturing
  • Beer manufacturing
  • Soft drinks manufacturing
2 – Organisation Vacant – nominations closed Two positions are open to ORGANISATIONS operating in one or more of the following sub-sectors of alcoholic beverage manufacturing:
  • Wine and spirit manufacturing
  • Beer manufacturing
  • Cider manufacturing
1 – Organisation Vacant – nominations closed One position is open to ORGANISATIONS operating in one or more of the following sub-sectors of non-alcoholic beverage manufacturing:
  • Bottled water manufacturing
  • Juice manufacturing
  • Soft drinks manufacturing
Livestock and pet feed manufacturing 1 - Expert Vacant – nominations closed One position is open to INDIVIDUALS with particular expertise in the livestock and pet feed manufacturing sector
Pharmaceutical and nutraceutical product manufacturing 1 - Expert Vacant – nominations closed One position is open to INDIVIDUALS with particular expertise in one or more of the following sub-sectors of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical product manufacturing:
  • Human pharmaceuticals and medicinal product manufacturing
  • Complementary medicine manufacturing
  • Veterinary pharmaceuticals and medicinal product manufacturing
1 - Organisation Vacant – nominations closed One position is open to ORGANISATIONS operating in one or more of the following sub-sectors of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical product manufacturing:
  • Human pharmaceuticals and medicinal product manufacturing
  • Complementary medicine manufacturing
  • Veterinary pharmaceuticals and medicinal product manufacturing
Food Science and Technology 1 - Organisation Australian Institute of Food Science and Technology Ltd Formed in 1967, AIFST strives to advance Australia’s food industry as a sustainable, world-leading industry. Representing thousands of food industry professionals working in all facets of the industry, it is the only national voice and network of its kind.
Total Members 14