Upcoming database collects nutrition info on branded foods

GS1 Australia, in collaboration with Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ), is developing the Branded Food Database, which will serve as a central source of nutritional information for brand-specific foods and beverages sold in Australia.

Consumers will be able to access the database in order to gain a better understanding about their foods’ nutritional content. It will also stand as a useful resource for public health initiatives that seek to monitor food nutrition, such as the Health Star Rating system and the Healthy Food Partnership.

The information in the database will be provided by the brand owners and the goal of the initiative is to have 85% of all packaged foods and beverages included in the database by 2023. It builds on projects previously performed by GS1 Australia such as the National Product Catalogue and the Global Data Synchronisation Network.

GS1 Australia will be responsible for hosting and obtaining the data and making sure that they are accurate and useful for consumers through the use of audits and other data quality measures.

“Once we have this valuable tool built and populated with the majority of items consumers can buy, we believe there will be many other tools such as nutrition apps that can bring this data directly to consumers and that’s where the value is really delivered,” said Maria Palazzolo, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of GS1 Australia.

More information about the project can be accessed by clicking here.

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