FSANZ has a useful summary sheet on the elements of a food label in Australia.
Review this useful guide here170314-interactive-labelling-poster_fsanz.pdf
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How do food businesses determine the correct shelf life information for their products?
The responsibility of determining the shelf life of a food, and thus its best-before or use-by date, lies with the manufacturer or distributor.
Correct Food Systems can advise business on how to estimate and then test the safe shelf life of a Characteristics of the product,including the quality, form and consistency of ingredients, the moisture content, acidity levels, addition of preservatives all influence the safety of a food product, as does external factors like storage, transport and packaging of the food.
The most direct way of doing this is to conduct properly constructed storage trials on a sample of food under realistic, controlled conditions.
Correct Food Systems is not a food laboratory testing facility.
There are food testing laboratories in each state and territory that can conduct  microbiological tests for 

• Food-borne micro-organisms such as Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, E.Coli, Yeasts and Moulds, Staphylococcus Aureus, Bacillus Cereus and others
• Total viable count or plate count

Some manufacturers include recommendations for handling the product after opening with regard to time and temperature.If thereare no instructions for use or storage after opening the onus is on the consumer to handle the product hygienically, store it at recommended temperatures and use it within a reasonable time, certainly within the time frame specified by the manufacturer for the unopened container.

NSW Food Authority has a useful publication to assist businesses to ascertain the shelf life and required date marking information for a product.

See our webpage "Shelflife testing"

On 28 November 2016, a minor amendment was made to the Information Standard so that sections 22 and 23 (dealing with imported food packed in Australia) and section 26 (dealing with imported food with Australian ingredients).
The amendment primarily relates to a very narrow range of foods that were made in a single overseas country and subsequently packed in Australia.  
Section 22 provides for the use of a standard mark on the labels of food packaged in Australia where some of the food in the package has not been grown, produced or made in Australia. The standard mark can state that the food is packed or packaged in Australia and include text and a bar chart indicating the proportion of Australian ingredients, but it cannot include the kangaroo logo because it contains food that was not grown, produced or made in Australia. 
The ‘Packed in Australia from at least x% Australian ingredients’ would be retained for foods from multiple countries with some Australian content that are packed in Australia – for example, nuts from Australia and other countries that are mixed together and packed in Australia. Section 23(1) of the Standard has also been amended to prevent food grown, produced or made in a single overseas country from using a label to indicate variance of ingredient origin over time. 
From Country of Origin Food Labelling Factsheet  Country of Origin Food Labelling Update – minor amendment to the Information Standard 2016

NSW Food Authority has launched a interactive Hub for food labeling information.
This hub provides detailed information on the various aspects and requirements for compliant food labelling. 
Review information on Labels and the Law, Understanding Claims, How to read a Label, Ingrredients and Nutrition, Directions for Use, Country of Origin and more.
http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/foodsafetyandyou/food-labelling

The new online tool to assist you to determine and down load the correct Country Of Origin labelling mark for your food product has been released.
It is available for use on  www.business.gov.au/foodlabels. 
This online tool will assist you in choosing an appropriate label for the food product you are planning to sell in Australia. The tool will help you determine if you need a label, and if you need a standard mark that features graphics as well as text, it will then find, customise and download an appropriate label for your food product so your food products are compliant with the new Country Of Origin food labelling requirements that commence on 1 July 2016.

Correct Food Systems is one of Australia's leading food labelling consultancy businesses. 
We assist many clients- both start up businesses and existing clients with comprehensive label checks for products. 
Clients are advised to send us the following information for each product they want us to complete a label check on:

• Nutrition Information
• serve size
• nutrient information (on weight basis)
• pack weight
• nutrition / nutrient or health claims
• allergen information
• artwork or packaging examples
• country of origin
• storage directions
• Australian  manufacturing / distribution address
• Product name and product descriptors
• Ingredient list by in going weight and country of origin of all ingredients
• Copy of draft art work or clear photo of the package.

Correct Food Systems can then complete a comprehensive check of the product label and packaging, against the detailed and often complex Australian Food Standards Code, ACCC and Consumer Law, State and Territory legislation and Trades Weights and Measures regulations. We charge an hourly rate
(or pro rata time) for our professional review and comprehensive report on your product label. The time varies according to the information supplied, complexity of the product, compound ingredients, and claims  made about your product.

The Australian Government is changes to Country of Origin labelling from 1 July 2016.
​However, there is a two-year transition period so that businesses have time to adjust to the new obligations which will be mandatory in July 2018.
​Further Information here on the new CoOL labelling and also the Health Star scheme

Correct Food Systems assists businesses to meet their food labelling requirements.
We conduct comprehensive label reviews for clients, identifying any small details that may mean the label for a product  does not meet the Food Standards Code labelling requirement, the ACCC requirements or trades weights and measures  state requirements.
We also get enquiries regarding compiling information for a correct Nutrition Panel in the correct Australian format.
Here is some information regarding the requirements for Nutrition Panels that may assist.
How to calculate the information for the Nutrition Panel:
FSANZ has a Nutrition Information Calculator to assist you  in the development of  information for your Nutrition Panel.This can be found at :
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/industry/npc/Pages/Nutrition-Panel-Calculator-introduction.aspx.

Note some major retailers do not recognise these calculations for their branded products and will require laboratory testing for nutrition information.

All packaged food has to have a nutrition panel except:
-Food sold at fund-raising events
–-Alcoholic beverages, water, vinegar
–-Herbs, spices, salt, herbal infusions, tea, coffee
–-Food Additives (e.g. flavourings, colours)
-–Fruit, vegetables, meat, poultry or fish where they are one ingredient
–-Small packages

Food for food service and unpackaged food: These have different requirements for nutrition information. Information must be written and displayed near or on the food, or made available verbally on request by the customer.
 
All packaged food has to have a nutrition panel on it covering:
–-Energy (kilojoules or kilojoules and calories)
–-Protein(grams)
–-Fat, saturated fat (grams)
-–Carbohydrates, sugars (grams), and
–-Sodium(milligrams)
-–Any other nutrient declared (appropriate unit).If another nutrient is declared on the label, it must also appear in the nutrition information panel​. Where a nutrient claim in made about the packaged food that is otherwise exempt from a nutrition panel, then it must be included in the nutrition panel be on the package (e.g. fish high in Omega-3). 
Note: This must be expressed both per serving size and per 100g / 100ml

• The values stated in nutrition panels have to be significant to 3 decimal places.
• Food meant to be consumed reconstituted or drained must have their panel reflect the food as eaten. Eg noodles. If a food is prepared using another food (e.g. milk on cereal), then another column can be added for the combined nutrient figure.

Note this is not a comprehensive list of all the detailed requirements for Nutrition Information for all food products. Further information is available at FSANZ website, view the FSANZ nutrition panel video_, or the NSW Food Authority labelling guideline. All businesses should ensure their labels are correct and complaint for all food products.Contact Correct Food Systems for further assistance with your labels for your food products.