FoodLegal Bulletin, August 2011

Welcome to the August 2011 issue of FoodLegal Bulletin

• FSANZ considering Country of Labelling requirements for unpackaged meat
• Australian Commonwealth Senate accepting submissions on supermarket dairy pricing inquiry
• Consumer and industry groups call for Supermarket Ombudsman
• The ACCC obtains undertakings from Aldi and Spring Gully Foods in relation to honey misrepresentations of origin
• Palm Oil Labelling legislation considered by the Federal House of Representatives
• GS1 Australia and AFGC launch Recallnet to assist with product recalls
• Private members’ Bill proposes farm gate price transparency in Australian supermarket prices

On 6 June 2011, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) released its “Code Interpretation Service – Cost Recovery Consultation Paper”, to explain FSANZ’s new Code Interpretation Service. This follows an earlier policy direction from the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council for FSANZ to provide an interpretation service. This article explores the workings and unresolved issues about this Code Interpretation Service.

Dietary Fibre is still a contentious issue when it comes to definitions and analytical methods. This article considers the regulatory approval here in Australia and elsewhere as well as developments in reaching the current position.

This article examines some of the legal issues involved in the sale of parallel imported food or beverage products sourced from outside Australia, also known as “grey stock”, and the potential food safety and traceability risks and other legal concerns these products appear to pose.  

This article deals with some of the key differences in extra food safety enforcement systems that are employed by the different States and Territories across Australia, aside from prosecutions. (This article is about the Food Act regimes rather than specific industry-based food safety regimes such as for the dairy or meat industries).