AMA urges governments to adopt food labelling recommendations

The Labelling Logic report was prepared by the Independent Review of Food Labelling Law and Policy, which was chaired by Dr Neal Blewett.

AMA President, Dr Andrew Pesce, said that Australia is facing a growing epidemic of chronic disease and obesity.

“It is important that food products are all appropriately labelled so that Australian families have all the relevant information they need to make healthy choices about what they eat,” Dr Pesce said.

“The Labelling Logic report has set out practical achievable goals to help Australians become more knowledgeable about their food and to make better choices.

“Many of the Review’s recommendations reflect positions that the AMA put forward in its submission to the Review, and which we have consistently promoted to governments and the public for many years.”

These recommendations include:

• the Food Standards Australia and New Zealand Act be amended to include a definition of public health that focuses on the importance of the promotion of health and prevention of illness, as well as protecting health;
• mandatory declaration of all trans fatty acids above an agreed threshold be introduced in the nutrition information panel (NIP) if manufactured trans fatty acids have not been phased out of the food supply by January 2013;
• improvements be made to labelling in relation to the presence of potential allergens in foods;
• warnings be placed on alcohol products concerning the harms of alcohol consumption to pregnant women;
• the energy content (eg. calories/kilojoules) of alcohol products be included in labelling;
• the Perceptible Information Principle be used as a guide for labelling presentation to maximise label comprehension among a wide range of consumers; and that
• a front-of-pack labelling system be developed, including a traffic-light labelling system, which should be mandatory for products making health claims.

These and other Labelling Logic report recommendations will now be considered by the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council.

“The AMA welcomes the report and we will be encouraging all governments to bring in new labelling laws,” Dr Pesce said.

“We will also support Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, in encouraging all States and Territories to adopt and act on the Review's recommendations.”

28 January 2011

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