One of Australia’s leading public health research bodies, The George Institute, has launched a new smartphone app which gives a Traffic Light rating based on the amount of total fat, saturated fat, sugars and sodium per 100 grams – green for ‘low’, amber for ‘medium’ and red for ‘high’. The new app, called ‘FoodSwitch’, is able to rate 20,000 packaged food products found in Australian supermarkets. The initiative is part of a new partnership with Bupa, one of Australia’s... ...Read more »

Australian and New Zealand ministers today put nutrition and preventative health at the heart of a plan to reform laws on packaged food and drink product labelling in Australia. Ministers met in Melbourne today to consider their response to the recommendations in the Food Labelling Review Report, Labelling Logic (also known as the Blewett report). This was the first meeting of the Legislative and Governance Forum on Food Regulation (Forum). The Forum on Food Regulation replaces the Australia and... ...Read more »

The Federal Government has announced today that it does not support the Traffic Light labelling system previously recommended by the Blewett Report. However, it does support the report’s recommendation on palm oil labelling in Australia. The Federal Government’s position was released today, ahead of the 9 December meeting of food and health ministers comprising the Australian New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council. Front-of-pack labelling Minister for Health and Ageing, Nicola Roxon... ...Read more »

Differences in recommended serving sizes on like-for-like Australian food products are making it “near impossible” for shoppers to compare the nutritional content of the products, according to new research by Sydney-based medical research body, The George Institute. The George Institute’s study contained in its ‘Examination of serving sizes of selected food products in Australia’ report, published today, was commissioned by Australian consumer advocacy group CHOICE. The George Institute’s... ...Read more »

A new smartphone application with the controversial traffic light system has been launched by the Obesity Policy Coalition, which aims to reduce obesity levels in Australia. The Obesity Policy Coalition’s new smartphone app gives a Traffic Light rating based on the amount of total fat, saturated fat, sugars and sodium per 100 grams – green for ‘low’, amber for ‘medium’ and red for ‘high’. Because it is merely a smartphone app, its usage remains voluntary. To use the app, consumers... ...Read more »

A small but growing Western Australian food manufacturer, Sticky Fingers Gourmet Foods, claims that if traffic light labelling were introduced, it could spell the death knell for many small Australian food manufacturers. Lyn Bentley, Managing Director of Sticky Fingers Gourmet Foods contacted Australian Food News about its recent report of the dispute between CHOICE and the ACCC over front-of-pack label systems. Ms Bentley said, “As a small manufacturer supplying to both the food service and retail... ...Read more »

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) and consumer advocacy group CHOICE continue to disagree over the choice of different front-of-pack methods for food product labels to display nutritional information about the food. A Newspoll online survey published this week, commissioned by the AFGC, has found 78 per cent of Australian consumers are familiar with the AFGC-promoted scheme of Daily Intake Guide food labels. Daily Intake Guide labels use thumbnail symbols that outline the amount of energy,... ...Read more »

Australia’s premier consumer advocacy group CHOICE has reignited the food debate over whether Australia should adopt a traffic light system for front-of-package labelling of packaged foods. CHOICE has called for mandatory front-of-pack Traffic Light labelling on muesli in Australia. Traffic Light labelling is a system that features red, green, or amber symbols on the label for each of the main nutrients in the product (such as fat, sugars, and salt). The idea behind Traffic Lights is to make it... ...Read more »

A mandatory strategy to phase out junk food in vending machines and canteens through Queensland Health facilities has been slow to take effect, with an evaluation revealing that only one in four facilities have fully complied with the 2007 plan to limit foods with a high sugar, salt and fat content, and 22% implementing less than half the requirements. The plan, which also included fundraising activities and other hospital dining options, was designed to cut obesity and diet-related disease, is based... ...Read more »

The issue of nutrition labelling reared its head last week after the EU’s politicians voted for the food on sale in the region to carry guideline daily amounts and not traffic lights. It’s a debate that has rumbled on for years and that generates fierce argument on both sides. There are those, predominantly consumer groups but also companies like UK retailer Sainsbury’s, who believe traffic lights make it easier for shoppers to choose healthier food. However, there are those –... ...Read more »