Food Labelling changes 2018 |
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Country of Origin Food Labelling
The Federal Government has introduced Country of Origin labelling reforms for food. This will be regulated through a mandatory information standard under the Australian Consumer Law, and the ACCC rather than through the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
The new obligations have been mandatory since July 2018.
To coincide with the national information campaign, supporting advice for businesses is available at
business.gov.au including a new Information Standard made under the
Australian Consumer Law, which establishes the labelling requirements. The Information Standard outlines what
foods need to use the new labels and what the new labels look like.
New Country of Origin rules will apply to:
Non priority foods are listed and include:
-seasonings, confectionery, biscuit & snack foods, bottled water, soft drinks, tea & coffee and alcohol.
You may choose to apply the other elements or marks for non priority foods.
The new country of origin labelling scheme includes new standard phrases and a kangaroo and bar-chart graphic.
This graphic including kangaroo and bar graph and standard phrases will identify two key things about all food products:
1. whether the food was grown or made in Australia.
2. what percentage of the ingredients in the food/product was Australian grown- indicated by a % number and a sliding bar graph.
The slide bar graph percentages rise in increments of 10% is indicated up to 90%, then 95% rounded down to the nearest percent. Labels for food that contains varying Australian content must provide consumers with another means of obtaining the correct country of origin information for that product.
There are also clarified rules about the use of "made in", "packed in" statements, as well as the use of seasonal labels to reflect seasonal variations in products.
The 3 elements or marks are:
- a kangaroo symbol if all or some of the food was grown, packed or made in Australia
- a bar graph, of Australian ingredients (by ingoing weight)
- a country of origin statement.
The 3 elements or marks must be kept together in a box. Exemptions are available for small packages.
The label can appear anywhere on the package, must be legible. Labels can be in green, gold and black, or black & white.
The new country of origin labels will consist of two components
How to develop your new labels.
To design your new labels you will need to:
More information is available at Business.gov.au
Correct Food Systems released a specific newsletter fr subscribers their newsletter "The Correct News" providing a summary of the changes in May 2016 and an update in July 2016.
Correct Food Systems will continue to update this website with information about these changes and can assist you with development of the correct labelling option for you.
Restaurants, canteens, schools, caterers, prisons, medical institutions, fund-raisers, made and packaged on premises are still exempt from Country of Origin Labelling.
Correct Food Systems can assist you with selection and use of appropriate Country of Origin graphic for your product.
Health Star Rating
The HSR System is a national voluntary front of pack labelling system for packaged foods.
At least 115 companies that have adopted the Health Star Rating (HSR) system; with more than 5,500 products displaying the HSR system graphic in Australia (at the end of September 2016)
The system gives consumers at-a-glance information about the food they are buying.
The system uses a nutrition star rating scale of ½ to 5 stars.
The system will also include nutrient information icons for energy (kilojoules),
saturated fat,
sodium (salt),
sugars
and can include one positive nutrient such as calcium or fibre.
As a guide, if a food product carries a NIP, then generally the use of the HSR system should be considered. However some food is exempt.
Further information is available here
The health star rating calculator and guide can be downloaded http://healthstarrating.gov.au/internet/healthstarrating/publishing.nsf/Content/calculator
Correct Food Systems can assist you with the calculations required for the Health Star Rating, and can also guide your selection and use of appropriate graphic for your product.
The Federal Government has introduced Country of Origin labelling reforms for food. This will be regulated through a mandatory information standard under the Australian Consumer Law, and the ACCC rather than through the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
The new obligations have been mandatory since July 2018.
To coincide with the national information campaign, supporting advice for businesses is available at
business.gov.au including a new Information Standard made under the
Australian Consumer Law, which establishes the labelling requirements. The Information Standard outlines what
foods need to use the new labels and what the new labels look like.
New Country of Origin rules will apply to:
- Fresh fruit, vegetables, (and juices) nuts
- Meat, poultry seafood
- Eggs and Dairy products
- Deli products, cured meat
- Canned, dried, packaged fruit and vegetables
- Canned, dried, packaged, frozen ready to eat meals
- Baked Goods
- Meal bases, sauces, dressings
- Cereals and muesli bars
- Cooking ingredients
- Rice noodles, pasta
- Jams & Spreads
Non priority foods are listed and include:
-seasonings, confectionery, biscuit & snack foods, bottled water, soft drinks, tea & coffee and alcohol.
You may choose to apply the other elements or marks for non priority foods.
The new country of origin labelling scheme includes new standard phrases and a kangaroo and bar-chart graphic.
This graphic including kangaroo and bar graph and standard phrases will identify two key things about all food products:
1. whether the food was grown or made in Australia.
2. what percentage of the ingredients in the food/product was Australian grown- indicated by a % number and a sliding bar graph.
The slide bar graph percentages rise in increments of 10% is indicated up to 90%, then 95% rounded down to the nearest percent. Labels for food that contains varying Australian content must provide consumers with another means of obtaining the correct country of origin information for that product.
There are also clarified rules about the use of "made in", "packed in" statements, as well as the use of seasonal labels to reflect seasonal variations in products.
The 3 elements or marks are:
- a kangaroo symbol if all or some of the food was grown, packed or made in Australia
- a bar graph, of Australian ingredients (by ingoing weight)
- a country of origin statement.
The 3 elements or marks must be kept together in a box. Exemptions are available for small packages.
The label can appear anywhere on the package, must be legible. Labels can be in green, gold and black, or black & white.
The new country of origin labels will consist of two components
- Standard mark
-the kangaroo, bar chart and standard explanatory text
or/ and
-bar chart and standard explanatory text only
OR - A country of origin statement label.
The Country of Origin is an explanation of where a food product came from.
These labels are used for products that can’t use a standard mark label
How to develop your new labels.
To design your new labels you will need to:
- Read and apply the new Country of Origin Information Standard Information Standard
- Use the Online COOL tool - Click HERE
- Apply the Style Guide Style Guide (PDF 2.3MB)
Watch the style guide video on U tube. - Fact sheet for businesses.
- OR
- Download the relevant parts of your label from Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) label library and edit the editable sections with the correct information
More information is available at Business.gov.au
Correct Food Systems released a specific newsletter fr subscribers their newsletter "The Correct News" providing a summary of the changes in May 2016 and an update in July 2016.
Correct Food Systems will continue to update this website with information about these changes and can assist you with development of the correct labelling option for you.
Restaurants, canteens, schools, caterers, prisons, medical institutions, fund-raisers, made and packaged on premises are still exempt from Country of Origin Labelling.
Correct Food Systems can assist you with selection and use of appropriate Country of Origin graphic for your product.
Health Star Rating
The HSR System is a national voluntary front of pack labelling system for packaged foods.
At least 115 companies that have adopted the Health Star Rating (HSR) system; with more than 5,500 products displaying the HSR system graphic in Australia (at the end of September 2016)
The system gives consumers at-a-glance information about the food they are buying.
The system uses a nutrition star rating scale of ½ to 5 stars.
The system will also include nutrient information icons for energy (kilojoules),
saturated fat,
sodium (salt),
sugars
and can include one positive nutrient such as calcium or fibre.
As a guide, if a food product carries a NIP, then generally the use of the HSR system should be considered. However some food is exempt.
Further information is available here
The health star rating calculator and guide can be downloaded http://healthstarrating.gov.au/internet/healthstarrating/publishing.nsf/Content/calculator
Correct Food Systems can assist you with the calculations required for the Health Star Rating, and can also guide your selection and use of appropriate graphic for your product.