Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has issued a strong reminder to all food businesses and retailers that they must be compliant with the new Nutrition and Health Claims Standard. The transition period for non-compliance runs out on 18 January 2016.
The three year transitional period had previously permitted products to carry health claims that were acceptable under the old transitional Health Claims Standard 1.1A.2. By contrast, the new Nutrition and Health Claims Standard 1.2.7 requires compliance with a very different set of rules as well as special nutrition profile scoring criteria, in order to be eligible to make a health claim for a food product in Australia.
FSANZ has warned all food businesses that they must be familiar with the requirements of Standard 1.2.7, and refers businesses to their nutrition and health claims guidance document published in December 2014, “Getting Your Claims Right – A guide to complying with the Nutrition, Health and Related Claims Standard of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code” or to seek legal compliance advice.
FSANZ Acting Chief Executive Officer Peter May says that “Food businesses making nutrition or health claims should familiarise themselves with the requirements in the standard.”
“A guidance document, which has been prepared by food regulators and is on the FSANZ website, will help businesses decide whether they can make nutrition or health claims,” May said.
“If businesses require more information they should seek legal advice or contact their local food enforcement agency,” he added.
FoodLegal health claims workshop
Food law experts and consultants FoodLegal have offered Australian Food News readers an invitation to register interest in attending a session of the popular FoodLegal workshop “Harnessing the new Health Claims Standard: Opportunities in marketing the healthy angle of foods”, in Melbourne or Sydney.
The session dates are soon to be finalised but intending participants should in the meantime register an expression of interest for Melbourne or Sydney at this link http://foodlegal.com.au/contact-us.html
The FoodLegal workshop is presented by FoodLegal’s Charles Fisher and it is an intensive workshop that addresses the Health Claims Standard and its effects in relation to marketing claims. The workshop includes such issues as nutrient profiling criteria, substantiation of general level health claims, limitations on nutrition claims, and conveying the health message in numerous alternative compliant ways.
Numerous sessions of this workshop have been successfully run over the past few months around Australia. More than 250 food marketing and technical professionals and product developers from around Australia and internationally have previously attended this workshop.
Testimonials from participants from earlier sessions have acclaimed it with statement such as:
“Very informative course. Every person involved in the food industry should attend”
“Great course, very clear, excellent explanation of a complex issue”
“Excellent user-friendly guide to help navigate the new health claims standard and future opportunities to explore for all food manufacturers”
“FoodLegal course well-designed & presenters excellent knowledge of course content”
“Thank you for a very informative and engaging session, I feel more confident with 1.2.7”
“FoodLegal has brought my knowledge regarding Food Standards up to date”
