Foodlegal Bulletin, February 2010

FREE ARTICLE

Many farmers and other food suppliers regularly express concerns about their vulnerability to being squeezed between added cost pressures particularly from governments and the pressures exerted by supermarket buyers demanding that suppliers meet commercially-unrealistic expectations of sustainability.  In this interview given by FoodLegal Managing Principal, Joe Lederman, to the Farm Policy Journal published by the Australian Farm Institute, Joe responds to issues about eco-labelling and the potential that food suppliers or farmers have to develop strong brands of their own with quality certification systems.

FREE ARTICLE

On 23 October 2009 it was announced that the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council (the Ministerial Council) had established the committee to undertake a national review of Food Labelling Law and Policy. The committee is headed by Dr Neal Blewett AC, a former Australian Minister for Health as chairperson, and the other members of the Review Committee will be Dr Chris Reynolds, Dr Simone Pettigrew, Associate Professor Heather Yeatman and Mr Nick Goddard.

In late 2009, numerous politicians in the Federal Senate and the New South Wales Parliament were making newsworthy statements or passing new laws to ensure that there would be greater “truth” in food labelling. This article examines some of the key issues, and considers who has been advocating the particular changes and where all this sits in the context of the proposed review of food labelling currently being undertaken under Policy Statement Guidelines issued by the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council.

A Federal Court decision handed down in January 2010 provides an analysis of the legal line between “being influenced” by someone else’s food product getup as against committing the tort of passing off. The case involved two well-known beverage brands. There are possibly wider implications of the case in the context of the supermarket private label push involving similar getup to the "look" of their competitors.

As has been reported in recent issues of FoodLegal Bulletin, Australian food law enforcement authorities and overseas food law regulators are clamping down on illegal use of caffeine in food. Given that Australia’s regulation of the addition of caffeine to food is very strict, many domestically-produced and imported products are being subjected to increased scrutiny with potentially harsh consequences, both legally and commercially.

The separate regulation of liquor and food is a common legal feature in all Australian States and Territories. However, this separate regulation can cause food vendors, food suppliers and food manufacturers legal complications with potentially severe repercussions. This article illustrates how liquor regulation can sometimes adversely impact on the sale of conventional food products.

Further additional food law developments, including:

• Application to use Cannabis in food
• Western Australia Lifts Moratorium on Genetically-Modified (GM) Canola
• Goods and Services Tax (GST) on a food gets tested in Australian Federal Court case
• Food recall prompts new questions on food law enforcement