On 25 July 2014, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) made a variation to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code relating to a Primary Production and Processing Standard for Meat and Meat Products. Meat producers are currently not directly regulated for traceability, input and waste management under the food regulatory system. Rather, they are indirectly regulated via requirements on meat processors to source products from producers who meet such requirements. This means that State and Territory food regulators are unable to investigate on-farm food safety issues without activating emergency powers under their respective Food Acts; in the event of a food safety incident, the additional time that this takes can allow an incident to worsen. When the changes to the Code come into effect in 2015, the requirements relating to traceability, input and waste management for meat primary producers will be directly established under the food regulatory system, thereby allowing regulators to investigate on-farm food safety issues without the need to activate their emergency powers. This could contribute to a more timely response in the event of a food safety incident. The changes will not alter the regulatory costs for the vast majority of farmers as they already largely meet the requirements. However, the adjustment to the regulatory arrangements improve the capacity of food safety regulators to regulate proactively across the entire meat supply chain, and increase their ability to avert and limit the potential economic consequences of food safety incidents associated with meat should they occur. A Council of Australian Governments Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) for decision was prepared by the FSANZ and has been approved by the Office of Best Practice Regulation. The RIS can be downloaded from the FSANZ website via Food Standards Australia New Zealand website.