6 January, 2020
The Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Forum has recommended that added sugar content be disclosed on labels.
What you need to know
- The Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Forum has recommended that Food Standards Australia and New Zealand review nutrition labelling requirements for sugar.
- It is recommended that food labels clearly disclose how much sugar in a food product is added as opposed to being naturally occurring.
- This is the result of a comparative review of international approaches to sugar labelling and is in line with the WHO recommendations that consumers limit their intake of foods containing added sugars
Sugar labelling in Australia
Food labelling requirements in Australia are determined by Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ). When it comes to sugar, current labelling laws set by FSANZ do not require food manufacturers to differentiate on food labels between sugar content that is naturally occurring and sugar which is added to a product. Total sugars disclosed on a label can incorporate an unspecified quantity of each type of sugar.
In August 2019, Australian and New Zealand Food Regulation Forum (Forum) recommended that FSANZ review sugar labelling requirements on the basis that the object of food labelling is to help consumers make informed choices and to protect consumers' health and safety. In line with the World Health Organisation recommendations, dietary guidelines in Australia and New Zealand recommend that consumers limit their intake of foods containing added sugars.
The Forum has recommended that added sugar content be disclosed on labels after review of the Joint Food Regulation Standing Committee policy paper: Labelling of sugars on packaged foods and drinks (Policy Paper).
Overseas approaches
The Policy Paper considered approaches overseas to food labelling requirements for sugar. In the US, there is a legal requirement for added sugar to be displayed on nutritional labels. In Canada, sugar ingredients need to be grouped together in the ingredients list on a food label and in Chile, food labels need to carry warning labels if the food exceeds specific limits for sugar, sodium, saturated fat and calories.
The Policy Paper states that the food industry in Australia and New Zealand generally does not support the proposed change of statement of ingredients on food labels to clearly identify added sugars, nor the proposal to provide advisory labels for foods high in added sugars. The food industry is concerned about the costs associated with the proposed changes, including the increased costs of redesigning labels, quantifying sugar content, updating record keeping systems and obtaining information and ingredients from suppliers. Submissions from the food industry also expressed concern as to the lack of evidence to justify the proposed amendments to labelling laws.
The recommended approach
Based on the Policy Paper, the Forum has requested that FSANZ review nutrition labelling for added sugars, recommending that the best option is to quantify added sugars in the nutritional label. The Forum also recommended that consideration be given to using a pictorial approach to sugar labelling for sugary beverages and sugar-sweetened beverages.
The Forum agreed that any label changes that may result should be accompanied by education to support consumers to understand sugar labelling to make informed healthy choices.
No proposals to change sugar labelling requirements have been published by FSANZ to date, but we will watch this space!
For further information, please contact:
Anita Cade, Partner, Ashurst
anita.cade@ashurst.com
