Ministers responsible for food regulation in Australia and New Zealand met in Melbourne last week where they finalised a draft Intergovernmental Agreement that will assist Australian consumers and industry to understand food regulation in Australia.Chaired by the Australian Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Mark Butler, members of the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council discussed the various components of the Agreement which is designed to provide nationally consistent... ...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 »

The ACT Government has today outlined its new supermarket policy, which they argue will offer Canberra’s grocery shoppers “more choices, more suburban supermarkets and potentially cheaper prices”.Chief Minister and Minister for Business and Economic Development Jon Stanhope said the plan would guide future supermarket development and, in particular, address a shortage of larger, full-line independent supermarket stores in central Canberra and Gungahlin. “This Implementation... ...Read more »

All school pupils in grades one to three (P1 – P3) in Scotland are to be entitled to free school meals following successful pilot schemes. The move is designed to improve the nutritious content of foods eaten by young children. Plans for a national roll out were announced overnight after pilot schemes ran across five local authorities and 35,000 children between October 2007 and June 2008. Uptake of meals among these students rose from 53 per cent to 75 per cent. Within the target group of... ...Read more »

Regulators and policy makers need to get out from behind their desks to see what it is really like to work in the food and drink industry, Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Director General Melanie Leech told a major conference in London overnight. Speaking at the New Regulatory Reform Agenda conference organised by Whitehall & Westminster magazine, Leech said: “I understand the time pressures facing those in Government and its agencies – but if you don’t understand business processes,... ...Read more »

Pressure has been mounting on caffeinated alcohol beverages as US consumer groups look to ban such products. With binge drinking a concern, it appears the focus has now spread from alcopops to caffeinated alcohol products. Anheuser-Busch has announced that they will remove the caffeine, guarana, and ginseng from their flavored malt beverages Tilt and Bud Extra. The move comes as part of agreements reached with the non-profit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which in February threatened... ...Read more »

Scotland has announced progress in their quest to create their first ‘National Policy for Food and Drink’. The policy will set out to “boost the industry, support healthier and more environmentally sustainable choices and enhance Scotland’s reputation as a land of food and drink”. Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, Richard Lochhead, has floated several new measures including: * A major campaign, led by high-profile chef Martin Wishart, to improve... ...Read more »