FoodLegal Bulletin, April, 2007

Advertising bans and obesity FREE Show More Info
FREE ARTICLE
Recent publicity has surrounded calls by university academics and others supporting a ban on the advertising of some foods being pitched to children. Furthermore, a recent inquiry by a South Australian parliamentary committee on fast food and obesity made numerous recommendations on how the government should tackle the ‘obesity epidemic’. While recognising that an advertising ban should not by itself solve the obesity problem, the committee stated that such advertising bans should be considered as one “important component” of any strategy. In this article we provide an analysis of the contentious legal issues surrounding any proposal to restrict or ban advertising of so-called “junk foods” or “fast foods”.

Bill introduced to amend the Food Standards Applications and Proposals Process Show More Info
A Bill has been introduced into Federal parliament to amend the process by which changes to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code can be made by an application initiated by any applicant apart from a proposal initialised by FSANZ itself. This 3,250 word article provides our critical review and commentary on the likely impact of the amendments.

FSANZ releases Preliminary Final Assessment Report for Nutrition, Health and Related Claims Proposal Show More Info
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has released the long-awaited Preliminary Final Assessment Report in relation to Proposal P293 Nutrition, Health and Related Claims including a fresh new draft of Standard 1.2.7. This article provides our critical review of the changes proposed by in the new report compared to those set out in the Draft Assessment Report published in December 2005.

Potential for Clash Between FSANZ and ACCC on The 'No Added Sugar' Claims Show More Info
On 4 April 2007, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (‘FSANZ’) released its Preliminary Final Assessment report on Proposal P293 dealing with proposed new standards to regulate nutrition claims and health claims for food. One nutrition claim considered has been the ‘no added sugar’ claim. This article outlines the current conditions attached to making this claim and the options considered and recommended by FSANZ in its latest report.

Preservatives in Beverages Show More Info
With one of Australia’s largest fruit and vegetable companies recently releasing a new range of “preservative free” juices, this article of 1500 words looks in more detail at what preservatives are used in juices and other beverages.

Ribena, Nutrition Labelling and the Trade Practice Act Show More Info
On 23 March 2006, GlaxoSmithKline Australia contacted the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (‘ACCC’) to inform the ACCC of concerns over some of their own Ribena branded products. These concerns related to Vitamin C content claims and references to Vitamin C levels in blackcurrants compared to oranges. Consequently, GlaxoSmithKline provided the ACCC with undertakings intended to address these concerns. In this article we examine what occurred, the undertakings given and what food and beverage manufacturers can learn from GlaxoSmithKline’s experience.

Food Law Updates Show More Info
The latest updates in food law including the Horticulture Code, the definition of “liqueur”, updates to the legal position of processing aids and new developments in the regulation of trans fat.