Foreword (April 2019)

Foreword

By Joe Lederman (FoodLegal Co-Principal) and John Thisgaard (FoodLegal Senior Associate)

Welcome to the April 2019 edition of FoodLegal Bulletin!

In this April 2019 edition of FoodLegal Bulletin

Our FREE article “Current developments in food law and policy in Australia and elsewhere” provides this month’s update on many new regulatory developments for food producers and suppliers, beginning with Australia, but also internationally.

In our second FREE article “Strawberry Tampering Report: Is this the end of a horticulture food safety standard?”, FoodLegal Principal Joe Lederman explores the government report issued in the wake of the 2018 strawberry tampering incident and questions the progress being made in improving Australia’s food incident response protocols.

FoodLegal Scientist Rozita Vaskoska and FoodLegal Principal Joe Lederman’s joint article “Should the law make faster food safety testing technologies for listeria mandatory?” examines the current usage by government regulators of slow safety testing methodologies in detecting and tracing listeria monocytogenes. This article explores better available testing technologies to speed up the detection of unsafe food that is causing mortalities and serious illnesses.

Our article “Tips for food start-ups Part 2: What can go in my product?” is the second in a series of articles addressing common issues that impact food start-ups in bringing new products to market. This article considers the key compositional requirements and food formulation considerations that apply to businesses for their new product developments.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is developing new policies to ensure the integrity of premium claims in Australia’s agriculture sector. Our article “ACCC reviewing premium claims for food and produce” addresses the regulation of premium products in Australia and discusses the proposals being considered by the ACCC.

Does a “Vegan” claim guarantee the absence of any animal products that could be present through cross-contact? Our article “Does a Vegan claim mean the absence of all animal allergens in the product?” considers the extent of the legal risk of a vegan claim for a product that might be exposed to cross-contamination.

We hope you enjoy this April 2019 edition of FoodLegal Bulletin!

Joe Lederman and John Thisgaard

Editors

FoodLegal Bulletin


This is general information rather than legal advice and is current as of 2 Apr 2019. We therefore recommend you seek legal advice for your particular circumstances if you want to rely on advice or information to be a basis for any commercial decision-making by you or your business.