Food lawyer Joe Lederman has raised serious concerns about weaknesses in the administration and monitoring of food safety enforcement in the State of Victoria. Mr Lederman, of food law firm FoodLegal, was quoted by the Herald Sun newspaper in an investigative article on Saturday 17 December 2011. The article revealed that laws that are meant to “name and shame” Victorian food businesses that have been convicted of food safety offences, have not been enforced. In the article, Mr Lederman... ...Read more »

The Australian Government’s Primary Industries Ministerial Council (PIMC) has ruled that ritual slaughter methods will continue to be exempt from any “stunning” requirements. The decision came at the end of last week (28 October 2011) when the PIMC considered the issue in Melbourne at its 21st meeting. Jewish and Muslim dietary laws do not allow for animals to be stunned before application of the knife by the slaughterer. In respect of this, a number of abattoirs where Kosher slaughter or Halal... ...Read more »

According to a report from Australian food law specialists FoodLegal, Australian beverage and food companies will need to watch closely what emerges from a recent American lawsuit. Foodlegal has reported that parents of a 13-year-old girl from Maryland, USA, have filed a lawsuit against Nestle USA, manufacturer of ‘Deer Park’ and ‘Poland Spring’ bottled waters with added fluoride, and also against Gerber Products Company, which manufactures baby food and infant formula products containing... ...Read more »

Western Australian organic farmer Steve Marsh is suing his neighbour after genetically modified (GM) canola seed is alleged to have contaminated his property in late 2010, leading to the loss of his organic certification. Marsh has alleged that his neighbour’s negligence resulted in the GM contamination of his land. Slater & Gordon Lawyers and the anti-GM fund-raising organisation The Safe Food Foundation are assisting in his in his attempt to seek damages for financial losses. “I am pleased... ...Read more »

The Commonwealth Health Minister has been a strong advocate for the creation of a new Commonwealth government agency to be known as the Australian National Preventative Health Agency. This article questions why the government needs to establish this separate Agency in relation to initiating and implementing policies that will help counter obesity and its related adverse health consequences. The article suggests a need for the government to review its approach and to consider a better way to achieve... ...Read more »

Usage of the food descriptors ‘natural’, ‘superfood’ and ‘antioxidants’ has been debated by six leading food experts at the recent FoodLegal symposium, with calls made for tighter enforcement of such claims. Leading food nutrition academic, Dr Peter Williams – Associate Professor in nutrition and dietetics at the Smart Foods Centre of the University of Wollongong, delivered a presentation of a descriptive pilot study entitled “How is ‘naturalness’... ...Read more »

New Zealand is contemplating a deferral of the proposed mandatory fortification of folic acid in bread until 2012 in response to concerns about the safety of the move. Australia and New Zealand are currently due to make folic acid fortification mandatory as of September 13, but New Zealand is calling for public comment regarding the possibility of putting the plan on the back burner. Australia is expected to go ahead regardless, creating fears that the joint regulatory system seen across Australia... ...Read more »

Primo Smallgoods, Australia’s largest smallgoods manufacturer, has appeared in a Sydney court today to defend itself against claims of mislabelling. The NSW Food Authority has sought to prosecute the company for allegedly labelling products which had imported contents, as 100 per cent Australian. They are appearing before the Downing Centre Court after a six-month investigation by the NSW Food Authority and could potentially face a bill of over $1 million if found guilty. The company, which... ...Read more »

New food labelling and composition rules aimed at helping people who are intolerant to gluten have been published by the European Union, with a tightening of legislation bringing their laws closer to that of Australia’s. Under the new European Union regulations, only foods that contain less than 20 parts of gluten in a million will be allowed to use the term ‘gluten-free’ on their packaging. Recent evidence has shown that this extremely low level offers better protection for people... ...Read more »

Australian consumers should have the right to claim for compensation if they are adversely affected by food which has been fortified with additives by Government mandate, according to Deakin University’s Adjunct Professor Joe Lederman. Professor Lederman who was addressing an international symposium on Food Law and Policy, run by Deakin University’s Law School at the weekend, said the mandatory fortification of bread-making flour with folic acid was due to take effect from 13 September... ...Read more »