The Framework for Responsible Research With Australian Native Plant Foods: A Food Chemist's Perspective.

Selina Fyfe,Yasmina Sultanbawa,Michael Rychlik,Heather E Smyth,Horst Joachim Schirra

doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.738627

Abstract

Australia is a rich source of biodiverse native plants that are mostly unstudied by western food science despite many of them being ethnofoods of Australian Indigenous people. Finding and understanding the relevant policy and legal requirements to scientifically assess these plants in a responsible way is a major challenge for food scientists. This work aims to give an overview of what the legal and policy framework is in relation to food chemistry on Australian native plant foods, to clarify the relationships between the guidelines, laws, policies and ethics and to discuss some of the challenges they present in food chemistry. This work provides the framework of Indigenous rights, international treaties, federal and state laws and ethical guidelines including key legislation and guidelines. It discusses the specific areas that are applicable to food chemistry: the collection of plant foods, the analysis of the samples and working with Indigenous communities. This brief perspective presents a framework that can be utilized by food chemists when developing responsible research involving plant foods native to northern Australia and can help them understand some of the complexity of working in this research area.

Highlights

Australia is a rich source of biodiverse native plants that are mostly unstudied scientifically despite many of them being ethnofoods eaten by Australia’s Indigenous people
Over the past 10 years native Australian plant foods have become more desired and accepted in mainstream Australian culture and the past five years has seen many becoming common as valued ingredients in food products on supermarket shelves, in gourmet foods and on restaurant menus where they are usually an ingredient featured in the name and marketing of the product
The framework above shows the complexity involved in scientifically studying Australian native plant foods

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Australia is a rich source of biodiverse native plants that are mostly unstudied scientifically despite many of them being ethnofoods eaten by Australia’s Indigenous people. It is from this part of the CBD that the federal, state and territory laws for permits and benefit-sharing agreements for collection and study of native plants has been derived. There are general guidelines for ethical and responsible conduct of research which must be complied with when conducting native plant food research including the Australian Code for the Responsible Conduct of Research [28], the Statement on Consumer and Community Involvement in Health and Medical Research [75] and, in Queensland, the Queensland Biotechnology Code of Ethics [76]

DISCUSSION

Findings

DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT