Human rights will be bought into sharper focus as the  Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011 comes into effect from today. Under this new law, all new Federal laws  are to be checked to see they do not infringe human rights obligations. The new Federal legislation could have broad implications for the food and beverages industry and other industries, despite the fact that many of Australia’s food compliance laws are operative at State level rather than at the Federal level. Nonetheless,... ...Read more »

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), which is the Australian government regulatory agency for medicines, legal drugs and complementary health products, has issued a public safety advisory to notify consumers (or potential consumers) of  serious risks that a product known as Lipro Diet Pills may pose to health. The TGA points out that the commercial supply of Lipro Diet Pills in Australia is illegal. However a number of people in Australia appear to have bought the product, seemingly through... ...Read more »

The Australian Capital Territory today introduced a Bill into the Legislative Assembly that will allow the names of food businesses in the Territory convicted of an offence against the Food Act to be placed on a publicly available register. The Food Amendment Bill 2011 proposes an amendment also requires businesses in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) to display their current registration certificates to have suitably trained food safety supervisors at premises. Additionally, closure notices... ...Read more »

Junk food advertisements will be banned from commercial television at certain times of the day in Australia if a new Bill introduced today by the Australian Greens party is passed. The ‘Protecting Children from Junk Food Advertising (Broadcasting and Telecommunications Amendment)’ private member’s bill seeks a ban on “junk food” advertisements on commercial television from 6-9am and 4-9pm on weekdays, and from 6am-12pm and 4-9pm on weekends and school holidays. Junk food is defined by the... ...Read more »

A national standard for the amount of time allowed between the last feed and slaughter of bobby calves in Australia has been agreed to by the main players in the Australian dairy industry. Bobby calves are the young male calves which are slaughtered for human consumption every year. They are the bi-product of the dairy industry as milking cows must be impregnated to lactate each year and the male calves are eliminated since they cannot produce milk. The industry decision came after Primary Industries... ...Read more »

Australian parents’ activist group the Parent’s Jury has slammed two major food companies, Kelloggs and McDonalds, claiming that their marketing campaigns in Australia are misleading. Both companies featured in the Parents’ Jury’s ‘Fame and Shame Awards 2011’. McDonald’s use of Australian cricket hero Shane Warne to endorse its Chicken McBites came under fire for “using sport to promote unhealthy food which influences children”. Kellogg’s Nutri-Grain cereal, which the... ...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 »

The Australian Government’s main food regulatory standards agency, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), has begun development of a new food production and processing standard for game meat (Proposal P1014). The purpose of the new standard is to achieve a nationally consistent approach to the management of meat safety. Development of this standard will require extensive stakeholder involvement with a minimum two rounds of public consultation. FSANZ has said there will be opportunity to... ...Read more »

Introducing a tax on saturated fat in foods is “regressive” and is not the way to reduce obesity levels in Australia, the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) warned today. Yesterday, Australian Food News reported on Denmark being the first country in the world to introduce a tax on processed food products high in saturated fats. In a statement released today, the AFGC said food taxes in Australia are “regressive” as they penalise people who are least able to afford it. AFGC Chief Executive... ...Read more »

New food safety legislation which requires restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs to have a Food Safety Supervisor has been rolled out across the State of New South Wales. Food Safety Supervisors are required to be trained to prevent hazards associated with handling and preparing food. Any retail food business in New South Wales that does not appoint a Food Safety Supervisor will be subject to fines. Commenting on the new law, Federal Minister for Primary Industries Katrina Hodgkinson said, “Incorrect... ...Read more »