Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is preparing to put nutrition and alcohol labelling reformation plans into action, as Australian and New Zealand food ministers recently agreed to scoping work by the organisation.
During FSANZ’s first Consumer Insights Tracker (CIT), a survey of 2000 Australian consumers on food system understanding and opinions, the organisation found that 30 per cent of respondents didn’t trust back-of-pack labelling information, and 60 per cent didn’t trust front-of-pack health claims, with 45 per cent distrusting the Health Star Rating (HSR).
In light of these findings, FSANZ is aiming to accelerate labelling reformation to better support consumers to make informed and healthy dietary choices.
FSANZ will begin preparatory work to support mandating the front-of-pack HSR system, should industry not meet voluntary uptake targets. The work will inform future decisions by food ministers on the HSR and support efficient implementation if the system is mandated.
This work will be undertaken in parallel with scoping of a holistic review of the nutrition information panel (NIP) found on the back of packaged foods. Any review would be the first for the NIP in over 20 years, supporting optimised nutrition information labelling for consumers.
FSANZ will also advance work on two alcohol labelling proposals while undertaking HSR and NIP review scoping activities.
- Proposal P1059 – Energy labelling on alcoholic beverages is examining options for the declaration of energy content information in a prescribed format on the label of packaged alcoholic beverages. If approved, the labelling will allow consumers to compare the kilojoule content of alcoholic beverages, just like they can for food products.
- Proposal P1049 – Carbohydrate and sugar claims on alcoholic beverages seeks to clarify existing Food Standards Code permissions for nutrition content claims about carbohydrate and sugar on alcohol.
FSANZ CEO, Dr Sandra Cuthbert, welcomed food ministers agreeing to the labelling work package.
“FSANZ’s Consumer Insights Tracker identified Australian and New Zealand consumers are looking to make healthy food choices, and they rely on food labels to help them do that,” said Cuthbert.
“The work on HSR and the NIP provides a unique opportunity to consider how nutrition labelling on the front and back of packaged food can be enhanced to better provide consumers with the information they need to make healthy choices.
“We look forward to working closely with food regulation system stakeholders as we progress work on HSR and the NIP.”
Public consultation on both alcohol labelling proposals has been completed, with the FSANZ Board expected to consider the proposals in late 2024 or early 2025.
