New food label requirements unveiled today will save lives

Proposed new food label requirements, released today, aim to reduce diet related disease, assist allergy sufferers and inform consumers in Australia and New Zealand about exactly what is in their food.

The proposed Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code was released today by the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) following a public consultation period. This final version will be considered in November 2000 by the Health Ministers of Australia and New Zealand and, if agreed, will replace existing food standards.

Managing Director of ANZFA, Ian Lindenmayer, said the proposed new food regulations for Australia and New Zealand will enable consumers, for the first time, to tell how much meat is in their meat pie and provide allergy sufferers with warning information on foods known to contain common allergens like peanuts.

‘The proposed Code introduces a number of changes to food labels including the requirement to identify all food containing those ingredients which cause most allergic reactions. Almost all manufactured foods will also carry a nutrition information panel to provide consumers with information on the level of fats, protein, energy (kilojoules), carbohydrates and sodium. This will help consumers to make healthier food choices,’ Mr Lindenmayer said.

‘The new labels will also help consumers to make informed choices about the key ingredients in their food, as it will be compulsory to show the percentage of the defining or characterising ingredients in food, such as the apple in apple pie or the cocoa in chocolate.

‘For the consumer, the standards in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code will protect the safety of the food supply at a time when people’s eating habits are changing and diets are becoming more varied.

‘In drafting the new Code, our emphasis has been at all times to make decisions based on sound science and the most up-to-date evidence available to achieve our primary objective — to protect public health and safety. We have also recognised that the standards must be practical and not impose unnecessary costs on food manufacturers with the inevitable flow-on to consumer prices.

‘The review of food standards was a huge task. I am not aware of any national food regulatory agency that has ever attempted such a fundamental review of its food standards, and there are certainly none that have done this for two countries.

‘I am delighted with the outcome. We now have modern food standards which retain all the safety provisions of the old regulations, while giving the consumer greater information on food labels and removing the “recipe” nature of the regulations which have hamstrung industry for so long.

‘It is important that the Joint Code is viewed in its entirety. There are, and always will be, elements of the Code that don’t appeal to some individuals or groups, as is inevitable when such diverse interests are involved. The proposed joint Code is intended to serve the interests of the whole communities of Australia and New Zealand — not just particular industry or community groups. It is intended to meet the overall, collective best interests of all without doing so to the detriment of any one,’ Mr Lindenmayer concluded.

An example of the new labels and the proposed Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code can be viewed on ANZFA’s website www.foodstandards.gov.au or www.foodstandards.govt.nz .

Note:

The Joint Code will operate in parallel to the existing food standard law in both Australia and New Zealand for two years, following its introduction. This will allow industry to successfully change over to the new standards and it will also allow time to finalise work on a number of issues, on which further work is required to be completed, before the Joint Code becomes the sole source of food standards in Australia and New Zealand.

Backgrounders available on the ANZFA website:

Attention TV news editors:

File footage of ANZFA, including an example of the labels, was distributed to TV stations in Australia and New Zealand as background information at the time of the Ministerial decision on the labelling of genetically modified foods on 28 July 2000.

Former Federal health minister and current Board Chairman of the Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA), Michael MacKellar, today released safety assessment reports on five GM foods for public comment.

The foods - involving genetically modified corn, cotton, canola and soybean - appear in thousands of processed foods in many countries, ranging from ice cream to sausage skins, from margarine to mayonnaise.

Mr MacKellar said seventeen safety assessment reports on GM foods will be released over the next three months, with ten weeks being provided on each one for interested parties to supply ANZFA with comment supported by evidence.

Reports on Bt cotton and Roundup Ready soy have already been released.

“All the scientific data presently before ANZFA indicates that the GM foods under assessment have all the benefits of the corresponding conventional foods and no additional risks,” Mr MacKellar said.

“For each GM food, the applicant companies are required to provide a very comprehensive range of independently verified information for a full safety assessment – it’s not a simple process.”

Mr MacKellar said that ANZFA does not rely solely on the information provided by companies for its safety assessment.

Company data is supplemented by reference to the world’s scientific literature and by consultations with other independent scientists and regulatory agencies, international bodies and the general community.

“No food in the history of food regulation has been subjected to such searching scientific scrutiny,” Mr MacKellar said.

“My colleagues on the ANZFA Board and I are satisfied that ANZFA has developed a safety assessment process for GM foods equal to the best in the world.

“I have confidence in this process - and so should consumers in Australia and New Zealand.”

Copies of the five safety assessment reports are available on the ANZFA website at www.foodstandards.gov.au .