FoodLegal

A summary of regulatory developments in food law for February 2021

The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code does not make any reference to the Poisons Standard. Nevertheless, it is often useful to consider the Poisons Standard in developing or updating the formulation for a new or existing product. This article explains how the Poisons Standard interacts with Australian food laws and what it means if a substance is listed in the Poisons Standard, and highlights some important case studies where a failure to consider the Poisons Standard could result in a product formulation that does not meet regulatory requirements.

Australia’s current liquor laws seek to minimise the risk of harm from alcohol abuse. However, the regulation of liquor varies across each State and Territory and it is not always clear what is, what is not, and what ought not to be regulated as “liquor”. This lack of clarity raises the question – are Australia’s liquor laws still fit for purpose, particularly in light of increases in online sales and recent research into reducing excessive alcohol consumption and its related harms?

Prior to the introduction of modern technology such as refrigeration, consumers and food producers relied on traditional measures to keep food fresh and wholesome such as salt, sugar and nitrates. However, there has recently been a trend to replace or remove these natural preservatives from product formulations. This article discusses the potential conflict between replacement of salt, sugar and nitrates/nitrites for nutritional purposes and the risk of making the food more vulnerable to spoilage and growth of pathogens. In addition, this article explores how the replacement of traditional preservatives can impact the “naturalness” of a food product. From a legal perspective, this can have a significant bearing in assessing compliance of a food with its marketing claim to the effect that the food is more "natural".