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FSANZ WebinarFood Labelling

1. Food labels – what do they mean?2. How FSANZ develops food labelling standards3. How do consumers use food labels?

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1. Food labels – what do they mean?

Lydia BuchtmannCommunication Manager

Food Standards Australia New Zealand

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Consumer information on food labels

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• Only required if shelf life less than 2 years• Best before date – still safe to eat after this date but may

have lost quality and some nutrition• Use by – cannot be legally sold nor should be consumed

after this date• Bread can have a ‘baked on’ or ‘baked for’ date

Date marking

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• Listed in descending order by ingoing weight, so the greatest amount is first

• Look to see if fat, sugar or salt (sodium) near the beginning of this list

• Water is also listed but allowance is made for processing eg evaporation or if lower than 5%

• Compound ingredients don’t need to be listed separately if less than 5% eg tomato sauce on a frozen pizza

Ingredients list

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• The label must show the key or ‘characterising’ingredient

• Some products like white bread or cheese have no characterising ingredient

• Sometimes it is a component of the food eg cocoa in chocolate

Percentage labelling

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• For this yoghurt it is the fruit which must be listed separately (because of the pictures of fruit): banana (8%), strawberry(8%), grape (4%), peach (2%) and pineapple (2%)

Percentage labelling (continued)

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• Fair trading and food laws require labels to be truthful

• For example jam with a picture of strawberries on the label must contain strawberries

Labels must tell the truth

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• Labelling requirements in the Food Standards Code must be legible, prominent, distinct from the background and in English

• Warning statements must be at least 3 mm high (except small packages)

Legibility requirements

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• Specific storage conditions must be on the label so the product will keep until its best before or use by date, e.g. ‘keep refrigerated at or below 4°C’

• Also follow any cooking instruction the manufacturer has put on the label

Directions for cooking and storage

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• Food additives play an important role e.g. preservatives, sweeteners

• Can only be used if approved by FSANZ • Must be listed in ingredients list by name or number

(unless in a composite food that is less than 5%)

• Full list on FSANZ website http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodmatters/foodadditives.cfm

Food additives

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• Major allergens that can cause severe anaphylactic shock must be listed however small the amount

• These are: peanuts, tree nuts (e.g. almonds, cashews, walnuts), shellfish, finfish, milk, eggs, sesame and soybeans

• See Anaphylaxis Australia website www.allergyfacts.org.au or Allergy New Zealand www.allergy.org.nz

• Also listed are gluten for celiac disease and sulphites (if more than 10mg/kg) as sulphites can trigger asthma attacks in some asthmatics

Food allergens

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• GM food and irradiated food and food ingredients must go through a safety assessment by FSANZ before being sold

• GM food must be labelled if there is altered DNA or protein in the final product (or if it has altered characteristics)

• Irradiated food and food ingredients must also be labelled

GM food and irradiated foods

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• In Australia, packaged (and some unpackaged food) must state the country where it was made or produced

• ‘Product of [Country]’, Made in [Country] or Made in [Country] from local and imported ingredients

• Does not apply in New Zealand

Country of Origin labelling

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• Labels must show the name and address of the manufacturer or importer

• Also the lot identification (or date coding)• This assists in the rare occasion when there is

a food recall

Food recall information

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• Much of the information on food labels is not regulated in the Food Standards Code eg organic, kosher, halal, vegetarian labelling of foods

• For full explanations of symbols commonly used on food labels (eg glycemic index) see Nutrition Australia’s website www.nutritionaustralia.org under food facts

• Also for information on the food industry’s percentage daily intake labelling scheme see http://www.afgc.org.au/index.cfm?id=436

Other information on food labels

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Title of PresentationReading labels for healthier eating

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• Eat a wide range of healthy foods• Eat foods low in saturated and trans fats• Eat only a moderate amount of sugar• Chose food low in salt (sodium)• Drink plenty of water and be physically active

• See the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating www.health.gov.au or the New Zealand Ministry of Health Food and Nutrition Guidelineswww.healthed.govt.nz

Healthier eating advice

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• List the energy (kilojoules), protein, total fat, saturated fat, total carbohydrate, sugars and sodium (salt)

• Listed by serve - determined by manufacturer• Listed by 100 g so you can compare products

Nutrition Information Panel

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• The amount of kilojoules you need depends on your age, gender and the amount of exercise you do

• An average adult needs 8700 kilojoules a day• Don’t just look at the fat/sugar content, check the

kilojoules as well

Energy/kilojoules

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• We need one 75-100 g serve (3/4 cup) of protein a day • Most Australian and New Zealanders eat enough protein• Protein is found in meat, eggs, fish, dried peas, beans,

lentils and nuts• Vegetarians need ¾ cup each a day of beans, legumes and

cereals

Protein

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• The fat in food is usually a combination of fats with one type more predominant

• Total fats listed include trans fatty acids, monounsaturated fats, polyunsaturated fats and saturated fats

• Saturated fats must also be listed separately• Trans fatty acids must be listed if there is a claim such as

low cholesterol or polyunsaturated • Cholesterol free does not mean a food has no fat• Reduce your overall fats and limit saturated fats and

trans fatty acids

Fats

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• Carbohydrates include starches, fibre and sugar and are in bread, cereals, pasta, vegetables and fruit

• Adults should eat 25-30 g fibre a day (eat more fruit, vegetables and wholegrains)

Carbohydrates and fibre

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• Sugars are carbohydrates• They are listed separately on the NIP• Note that ‘no added sugar’ claims may be on foods that

include natural sugars so check the NIP for total sugars• Check the ingredient list for other names for sugar eg

dextrose, fructose, honey, lactose, malt, maltose, maple syrup, molasses and sucrose

Sugars

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• Salt is sodium chloride and it is sodium that affects health• We consume 75% of our salt from commercial foods,

15% from table salt or home cooking and 10% naturally occurring

• We should consume no more than 2300 mg a day (1 teaspoon)

Sodium/salt

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• Nutrition claims on labels like ‘low fat’ or ‘reduced salt’ are currently part of a voluntary code

• FSANZ is reviewing this as well as looking at permitting some health claims that link a food with the reduction of a disease

• Check the FSANZ website for progress with these 2 issues• Proposal P293

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/standardsdevelopment/proposals/proposalp293nutritionhealthandrelatedclaims/index.cfm

Nutrition and health claims

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• Nutrition Australia www.nutritionaustralia.org• Dietitians Association of Australia

www.daa.asn.au• New Zealand Nutrition Foundation

www.foodworks.co.nz/nutritionfoundation• New Zealand Dietetic Association• www.dietitians.org.nz

More information on healthier eating

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• Food labels quick link on www.foodstandards.gov.au or www.foodstandards.govt.nz

• ‘Choosing the Right Stuff- the official shoppers’ guide to food additives and labels, kilojoules and fat content’Murdoch Books ISBN 1921208406 $14.95 at all good bookshops or online through www.abbeys.com.au

For more information on labels

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Questions

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Rainer ReussLabelling and Information Standards

Food Standards Australia New Zealand

2. How FSANZ develops food labelling standards

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Why label food?Why label food?Protect public health and safety

Provide adequate information for informed choice

Prevent misleading or deceptive conduct

e.g. allergen labelling

e.g. description of the product

e.g. country of origin

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FSANZ develops and reviews food standards for Australia and New Zealand

Food Regulation Ministerial Councilprovides broad policy on food issues and reviews food standards approved by FSANZ

A variety of other state and commonwealth agencies are involved in policy and regulation

Who makes the rules?Who makes the rules?

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Australian Quarantine and Inspection Servicemonitor and enforce imported foods

Authorities in Australian States and Territories enforce the Code

New Zealand Food Safety Authority enforces the Code in NZ

NOT FSANZ!

WhoWho enforcesenforces thethe rules?rules?

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Food Standards Code

Food/Health LawsStates/Territories

New Zealand

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How do labels work?How do labels work?• Mandatory statements

• Voluntary statements - Claims

• Triggers: providing information where its needed

• Criteria: allowing information where appropriate

• Specificity: group specific, commodity specific

• Exemptions: practicalities, cost

• Type size, legibility, front-of-pack

• On the label, in association, on demand

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• Before 2002, NIP was only required on food making a nutrition claim

• Now mandatory on most packaged foods• Must shown energy protein, fat, sat fat,

carbohydrate, sugars and sodium• Quantity per serving column for information on

the nutrient content of the portion, per 100 g to compare products

Development of standards Development of standards

Introduction of mandatory nutrition Introduction of mandatory nutrition labellinglabelling

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• Country of origin has always had to be stated on packaged food, but sometimes this was only listed in the address of the manufacturer

• Alternatively, the label could state that the product was packaged in a particular country from local and imported products

• Some unpackaged food had to be labelled as ‘Imported’ but there was no requirement to state the actual country or to labelunpackaged local food as Australian

Development of standardsDevelopment of standardsCountry of Origin labels in AustraliaCountry of Origin labels in Australia

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• Standard applies only in Australia

• Fresh or processed fruit, vegetable, nuts and seafood that are unpackaged will have to state the country of origin of the food,whether it is from Australia or another country

• Unpackaged fresh pork and unpackaged preserved pork products, such as ham and bacon, also have to have country of origin labelling

• Almost all packaged foods must make a clear country of origin statement, the address is no longer enough (from December 2007)

Country of Origin Labelling Country of Origin Labelling -- now:now:

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Questions we ask when reviewing labellingQuestions we ask when reviewing labellingIs there a substantial health/safety issue, who is at risk?

What are the dietary intakes of nutrient or food chemical of interest, what would happen if the intakes changed, what food categories are important?

Are consumers interested, do they understand the information, will they change their behaviour, are there differences between sub-groups, will it affect consumer confidence?

What is the situation in the marketplace, what products are effected, sales figures, trends, developments, practical restraints, are there non-regulatory measures in place?

What are the benefits, what are the costs, is there evidence of market failure, does it effect competitiveness?

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More questionsMore questionsIs there existing national and international regulation, is existing regulation adequate, promoting consistency, are there legal restraints, what is best practice?

Is it enforceable, who enforces, how do we know it is working?

Are there potential barriers to trade?

Is there any policy guidance?

What do stakeholders think? What do YOU think?

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LABELLINGLABELLINGWho is affected?Who is affected?

Consumers: different groups may be affected differently, choices, costs, consumer interests, autonomy, confidence, behaviour

Industry: costs and benefits, marketing, relabelling, reformulation, innovation, trade, training, monitoring

Jurisdictions: enforcing the Code, training, application, costs and resources

Regulators: education, review, monitoring, consumer confidence, flow-on effects

Health Professionals: education, recommendations, practicalities

Non-government organisations: costs, practicalities, education

Government organisations: policy, education, review, regulatory impact, consumer and industry interests

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LABELLING LABELLING –– the acid testthe acid test• There is a clear direct or indirect benefit

• Consumers are not mislead

• Labelling is an effective tool to address the issue

• There are no other measures that already address the issue

• Benefits outweigh the costs

• There is evidence to support the requirements

• The measure matches the risk

• The measure is practical and enforceable

• Consistent with FSANZ objectives

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Labelling StandardsLabelling Standards1.2.1 - Application of labelling (currently under review)1.2.2 - Food identification1.2.3 - Mandatory warning and advisory statements1.2.4 - Labelling of ingredients1.2.5 - Date marking1.2.6 - Directions for use and storage1.2.7 1.2.7 -- Health, nutrition and related claims (current proposal)Health, nutrition and related claims (current proposal)1.2.8 - Nutrition information 1.2.9 - Legibility requirements (review planned)1.2.10 - Characterising ingredients1.2.11 - Country of origin

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QuestionsQuestions

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3. How do consumers use food labels?

Social & consumer research in food standardsJanis Baines

Food composition, Evaluation and Modelling SectionFood Standards Australia New Zealand

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FSANZ’s Responsibilities• FSANZ is required to set food standards for New

Zealand and Australia that:- protect the public health and safety of food consumers;- ensure consumers are informed about the food theybuy; and

- prevent deceptive and misleading conduct.

• Our food measures should also:- support an innovative food industry; and- ensure consistency with international obligations.

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RISK MANAGEMENT

(Policy)

RISK ASSESSMENT

(Science)

Consumer and social sciences

RISK COMMUNICATIONLegal

Regulatorypartners

Stakeholders

Ministerial guidelines

Cost benefit

Dietary modelling

Chemistry

Microbiology

Toxicology

Nutrition

FOOD STANDARD

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Why a focus on behaviour?

• Changes in food supply– Fortified, functional and novel foods– New technologies & production systems

• Changes in society and consumers– How food is prepared & consumed– Diverse socio-demographic groups & health concerns– Attitudes, values, perceptions of risks & trust

• Divergent views and disputes– Understanding consumer response– Behaviour can’t be assumed

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Consumer motivations & behaviours

• Why do consumers …….?

• What motivates consumers to choose particular foods?

• What & how do consumers use information in making purchase decisions?

• How do consumers respond to safe food handling practices?

• What influences consumers’ responses to new food technologies and functional foods?

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How do we find out what consumers think?

• One on one interviews, focus groups, observational studies (qualitative research: gives us a range of consumer attitudes and behaviours)

and/or• Telephone, postal, on-line or face to face

surveys with set questions (quantitative research: tells us what proportion of the population thinks or behaves in a certain way)

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Consumer research on label use

• 2001 Qualitative research on food label use• 2003 Quantitative survey on use of label

information

• Improved information for consumerson how to use food labels

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Consumer research - food label information

The research aimed to provide baseline data on:

what consumers look for in the labels of packaged food; whether consumers are familiar with the various major label elements;whether and how consumers use label information, and their reasons;concerns about the clarity and trustworthiness of label elements;whether changes to labelling in 2002 changed consumers’purchasing decisions, and if so in relation to which element in particular;whether consumers are able to interpret labels correctly;which label elements consumers find difficult to interpret.

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Prompts

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Awarenessof food label elements

• Q4b. These pictures show 16 different types of information found on labels. Which of these do you recognise?

65%7%

70%10%

62%14%

80%17%

93%25%

86%40%

89%49%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Ingredients

NIP

Date Mark

Country of Origin

Percentage (%) label

Nutrient Claim

Preparation / storage instr

Unprompted awareness Prompted awareness (recognised)

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Consumer response

‘top of mind’ response (unprompted)• Most commonly used information was the

ingredients list, followed by NIP and date marking information

Prompted response• Also looked for country of origin labelling,

nutrient claims, preparation and storage instructions

• Full details of survey results on interactive site:http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_srcfiles/ACF3F98.ppt

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Interpretation of NIPs

Fruit yoghurt

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Hard to choose

13%

Don't know5%

Both the same8%

Product A39%Product B

(correct)35%

NIP Interpretation – snack foods

Q10a. Which of these foods do you think would be a wiser choice for a healthy diet?

Product B is a wiser choice, as it is significantly lower in sugar.As many respondents answered correctly as incorrectly.

Product B is correct

BASE: All respondents n=1940

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NIP Interpretation - crackers

Q11b. Which column of information did you mostly use to make your decision?

Per serving : 55%Per 100g : 31%Both : 13%

The per 100g column should have been used as serve sizes differ between product A and B.

Only one third of respondents used the per 100g column in their decision making. Of those, three quarters made the correct product selection. This equates to one fifth (22%) of those asked this question.

BASE: n=983 (excludes ‘don’t know’ at Q11a)Product A is correct

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Use of nutrition information panels (NIPs)

• Use of ‘per serve’ column appears to be either intuitive or habitual preference – 100g column is not being used for product comparison

• Fat dominates all thinking – even when two products differ markedly in a nutrient other than fat, a significant proportion of people appear to be led by a ‘fat is bad above all else’ theorye.g. many consumers selected for a healthy choice from 2 similar products the one that was only marginally lower in fat (by 0.1 g), rather than the one substantially lower in sodium

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Use of nutrition information panels (NIPs)

• Consumers do not appear to have a sense of the relative balance of nutrients that should guide their selection of foods for a healthy choice – tendency to rely on one priority nutrient

• When not required to compare across nutrients, consumers are able to interpret NIPs for single products, or single nutrients

• Consumers learn fast – practice makes perfect!

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Consumer researchon label use

• 2004 Qualitative research on understanding of labelling on infant foods

Revised wording requirements in food standard for infant foods

• 2004 Quantitative research on how consumers use allergen information on food labels

Input to industry guidelines on food preparation and labelling of allergens,

FSANZ allergen labelling review for 2007/08

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Allergen labelling survey

Some of the recommendations from consumers:• show the origin of particular ingredients eg

emulsifiers, vegetable oil• use uniform wording in plain English for allergens

eg always use egg instead of ovalbumin; milk instead of casein

• improve formatting e.g. print allergen in bold, allergen information in the same location on each label

• use more accurate statements to indicate the level of risk of a product containing an allergen when it is not an ingredient e.g. ‘made on same equipment as’ rather than ‘may contain’

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Consumer research on nutrition and health claims

• 2003 Qualitative research on nutrient content, labelling of food type dietary supplements

• 2005 Qualitative and quantitative research on use and understanding of nutrition and health claims

• 2006/07 Understanding of specific label information (eg % RDI, % DI, ‘no added sugar’ claims)

• 2007 Behavioural research on use of nutrient content claims (not yet completed)

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Current research

• Does the presence of a nutrient content claim influence the intent to purchase a food or how consumer’s evaluate its nutritional value?

• In store interception survey (180 interviews in 3 cities)

• Quantitative survey 3D food package prompts4 different claims on 2 types products(1100 consumers in Australia & NZ)

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Access to FSANZ consumer labelling research reports

All published reports available at:http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/pu

blications/evaluationreportseries/index.cfm

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Copyright

© Food standards Australia New Zealand 2007

This work is copyright. You may download, display, print and reproduce this material in unaltered for only (retaining this notice) for your personal, non commercial use or use within your organisation. Apart from any other use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. Requests for further

authorisation should be directed to info@foodstandards.gov.au

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Questions

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Evaluation