Industry to work with government on nutrition claims labelling system

A new regulatory system about nutrition health and related claims on food labels is being developed by the food industry, the government and other stakeholders.

According to Dr Geoffrey Annison, the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) Acting Chief Executive, food companies, like regulators and health professionals, want to help consumers select healthy diets according to their own individual nutrition and health needs.

“Food companies do this by communicating the health benefits of their products through claims on food labels,” Annison said.

“As we go through the consultation process on the new labelling regulations, we want to ensure that the many claims on food packages currently in the market which are factual and scientifically based and are trusted by consumers are allowed under the future labelling regime.

“Industry looks forward to working with government, the public health sector and consumer representatives to develop a regulatory framework which allows industry to continue to differentiate products based on well-established nutritional science while at the same time encouraging innovation in food and nutrition to bring new products to market to help our industries remain competitive, and to assist healthy consumer lifestyles,” Annison said.

However, industry recognises it’s important for consumers to be able to trust label statements, Annison said, which can be achieved by ensuring label claims are factual, with high degrees of accountability and transparency.

“We think consumers are entitled to know the substantiated positive health aspects of the food they eat, just as they are informed about potentially harmful ingredients such as allergens,” Annison said.

“Any standard that is adopted should be for the consumers’ benefit.”