The Australian Government has released its response to the food labelling review carried out by a panel led by Dr Neal Blewett AC. The Government has agreed to a number of recommendations, including development of a single approach to front of pack labelling and mandatory warnings regarding the risks of drinking alcohol while pregnant. However, the Government has rejected many others, including the proposed traffic light labelling systems, mandatory new technology labelling and additional country of origin information.
The Blewett report, entitled “Labelling Logic” was released on 28 January 2011 and contained 61 recommendations in relation to food labelling. The Blewett report and the Government’s response can be accessed here and here.
The Government has demonstrated its support for continued self regulation of the food industry, noting many times that while the Government agreed with the particular recommendation, these are matters for industry to progress. On several occasions the Government agreed to a recommendation but declined to take further action, noting that sufficient industry mechanisms were already in place to deal with that issue. The Government declined to legislate any changes, though it did agree to policy reform and review, and did not agree to establish a new government body to oversee food labelling.
The main issues arising out of the response are:
Traffic light labelling: The Government has rejected the proposed “traffic light” system for front of pack labelling (where red, amber or green would indicate the health rating of a product), stating that there is not enough evidence at this stage that such a system would be effective.
Single approach to front of pack labelling: The Government has agreed, however, to establish a collaborative process with industry and key stakeholders to develop a single approach to front of pack labelling and a simple guidance system which promotes healthy eating choices. Any such approach will not be mandatory, with the Government indicating its support for the voluntary implementation by industry. The Government appears to have sent mixed signals about industry’s Daily Intake Guide (“DIG”) approach. The press release suggests that the DIG was not supported by evidence but the detailed response to the recommendations says that the DIG will be considered.
Improvement to back of pack labelling: The Blewett report recommended that where sugars, fats or vegetable oils are added as a separate ingredient to food, that the generic term “added fats/sugars/vegetable oils” be followed be a bracketed list explaining what those added items are (eg “added fats (palm oil, milk fat)”). The Government agreed with this recommendation in principle, but referred it to FSANZ to undertake a technical review and provide advice before a final decision is made.
Standards for health and nutrition claims: The Blewett report recommended that the draft Standard for nutrition, health and related claims on food labels be finalised. The Government agreed, but noted that FSANZ is currently undertaking this process. The Government noted that nutrient profiling, as recommended by the Blewett report, should be used in some cases but not others, and did not agree to the recommendation that the presence of general or high level health claims should trigger the display of standardised front of pack label information.
Country of origin labelling: The Blewett report recommended that Australia’s existing mandatory country of origin labelling requirements be extended to cover all primary food products for retail sale, and that these requirements be included in an information standard under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (“CCA”) rather than the Food Standards Code. The Government noted that FSANZ is currently extending country of origin labelling to beef, lamb and chicken (but not dairy products), and said that it would give further internal consideration to the issue before agreeing to amend the CCA. The Government did not agree to the development of a country of origin labelling framework based on the ingoing weight of ingredients for foods bearing some form of Australian claim, stating that there are practical difficulties with adopting such a framework.
Alcohol labelling: The current voluntary industry approach to labelling for pregnancy and alcohol risks will be mandatory within 2 years but recommendations for generic warnings and mandatory energy content information on alcohol labels were not accepted.
Technology: The Government rejected the proposal that all foods or ingredients that have been processed by new technologies be required to be labelled for 30 years after introduction in to the human food chain, stating that there are already processes in place to ensure that new technologies are safe and that each new technology should be considered on a case by case basis.
Enforcement: In response to several recommendations to improve the current laws, the Government noted that issues relating to better monitoring and enforcement were a matter for the States and Territories to manage.
Food regulation is largely governed by State and Territory law and the Government’s position is still subject to negotiation. It is not yet clear what position the States and Territories will take. The Government will now take its position to a meeting with State and Territory health and food ministers on 9 December 2011 for further discussion. If agreement is reached, the ministers will then decide on what measures to recommend to the Council of Australian Governments.