FoodLegal Bulletin, October 2009

FREE ARTICLE!

On 23 September 2009, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) released a Consultation Paper in relation to a review being conducted into its Cost Recovery Arrangements. This review is considering the hourly rate charged by FSANZ, the time in which FSANZ assesses applications, new administrative costs and its refund policy, among other issues. FSANZ is calling for submissions in relation to this Consultation Paper.

In this article, FoodLegal examines the effects of FSANZ’s cost recovery arrangements on Australia’s food industry and makes a number of suggestions for improving our food standards system.

FREE ARTICLE!

On 6 October 2009, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA - the government agency responsible for monitoring and law enforcement over all "therapeutic goods" in Australia) released a Consultation Paper proposing to declare all goods in capsule, tablet or pill form as "therapeutic goods". Given the strict (and expensive) auditing and pre-approval process that "therapeutic goods" are subject to, many companies prefer to market nutritionally functional products as "food". This proposal by the TGA may threaten the existence of many food companies. FoodLegal urges all interested parties to make submissions on this issue.

Food labelling must accurately represent the product's composition and claims. Food and beverage suppliers must also ensure that the presentation of product information is easy for the consumer to read. This article of approximately 1270 words corrects some common misunderstandings in relation to legibility (such as minimum font sizes) and looks at what makes a food label sufficiently legible.

This article is an edited version of a Speech delivered by FoodLegal’s Managing Principal Joe Lederman on 15 September 2009 to the Dairy Directions Conference organised by Dairy Australia and Dairy Innovations.  The article highlights numerous regulatory issues and trends internationally and in Australia pertaining to fats and lipids, and the potential consequences and impacts on the dairy industry and other food industries.  

Despite the name, a Novel Food need not mean the food is new and not all innovative foods are Novel Foods. This article examines Food Standard 1.5.1 and discusses what a Novel Food is, and the process by which Novel Foods are approved.

Read further for additional food law developments, including:

• NSW Food Authority removes some Energy Drinks from shelves
• Apple Computers takes on Woolworths in trademark application
• ACCC strikes deal with supermarkets in relation to anti-competitive leases
• FSANZ rejects ‘Vegetarian’ labelling
• New survey launched in NZ to look at antibiotic resistant bacteria in the food chain
• Call for submissions on Plant Stanols Application
• Several new Applications for amending the Food Standards Code

Almost a year ago, FoodLegal Bulletin published an article questioning the dubious qualities of some olive oils being sold in Australia. The ACCC has since investigated and extracted undertakings from three Australian vendors of products described as ‘extra virgin olive oil’. This article tells the story about the enforcement of laws against misleading conduct by olive oil vendors and the impact of action taken by Australia’s fair trading and consumer protection enforcement agency against olive oil misrepresentations.