Foreword (June-July 2019)

Foreword

By Joe Lederman (FoodLegal Chairperson) and John Thisgaard (FoodLegal Bulletin Co-Editor)

Welcome to the June-July 2019 bumper edition of FoodLegal Bulletin!

There are still tickets left to our “Marketing Children’s Food Products” workshop to be held in Melbourne on 27 June 2019. Click here to register.

In this June-July 2019 bumper edition of FoodLegal Bulletin

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

2.    Our article “Do all cross-contact allergens have to be listed in the ingredients list?” looks at recent guidance to the food industry on the issue of allergens in food that are only present as a result of cross-contact during manufacture. We explore the additional obligations that this guidance might place on manufacturers of processed foods.

3.    Thinking of tapping into export markets overseas? Our article “Exporting food from Australia: The 5 key questions” explores some of the major issues to consider when exporting food products from Australia, and assesses the ongoing reform of Australia’s export regulatory framework.

4.    When will a claim about a “hero” ingredient incur additional regulatory obligations? Our article “What is the difference between a nutrition content claim and an ingredient claim?” delves into the regulatory parameters surrounding marketing claims that emphasise specific ingredients.

5.    FSANZ is conducting a review into Australia’s food safety laws. Our article “FSANZ’s upcoming review of Chapters 3 & 4 of the Food Standards Code: Food safety processes in Australia’s regulatory system” outlines the scope of this review and provides commentary on the major changes proposed by FSANZ.

6.    Our article “The fine line between puffery and misleading claims” discusses two recent decision by the Ad Standards Community Panel and draws lessons for food businesses in assessing at what point a marketing claim could potentially attract the attention of a regulator.

7.    Loyalty programs are a popular way of rewarding customers for repeat business, and by necessity involve the transfer of personal data. Our article “Privacy considerations for loyalty programs” addresses some of the major regulatory requirements surrounding the collection of data by loyalty programs that should be considered by companies looking to implement a loyalty scheme.

8.    Our article “ACCC decision indicates fine line between brand maintenance and price fixing” examines the consumer protection laws governing the implementation of pricing strategies and asks whether food companies should have more say in the prices set by retailers.

We hope you enjoy this June-July 2019 bumper 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 19 Jun 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.