15 Jul Submissions Called For Sugar Labelling

The Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation is investigating labelling approaches for providing information on sugars to consumers.

Statement of the problem

Dietary Guidelines in relation to sugars in Australia and New Zealand recommend:

Australian Dietary Guidelines- Guideline 3: Limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added sugars and alcohol

New Zealand Eating and Activity Guidelines- Eating Statement 2: Choose and/or prepare foods and drinks: with unsaturated fats, that are low in salt, with little or no added sugar, and that are mostly ‘whole’ and less processed.

However, information about added sugars on food labels in Australia and New Zealand is currently limited. The Forum has agreed to the following statement of the problem in relation to sugar labelling in Australia and New Zealand.

Information about sugar provided on food labels in Australia and New Zealand does not provide adequate contextual information to enable consumers to make informed choices in support of dietary guidelines.

The Food Regulation Standing Committee is inviting submissions on the labelling of sugars on packaged foods and drinks.

The consultation paper is on the website here.

Submissions close on 19 September 2018.