FSANZ – Introduction Changes to Food Standards

How FSANZ’s New Food Standards Will Impact Your Food Business

Recently, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) introduced significant changes to food standards, aiming to enhance food safety, labeling, and consumer information. In this blog post, we’ll explore the latest FSANZ food standards changes and their impact on your food business.

Key Changes to FSANZ Food Standards

1. Enhanced Nutrition Information Panel (NIP)

The Nutrition Information Panel (NIP) is mandatory for all packaged foods, detailing the amounts of energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars, and sodium. The updated standard now requires the NIP to specify both naturally occurring sugars and added sugars. This change empowers consumers to make healthier food choices and motivates manufacturers to reduce added sugars in their products.

Impact on Food Business: Food businesses must update their NIP to comply with the new standards. This may involve modifying recipes or packaging to ensure accurate labeling of sugar content.

2. Comprehensive Allergen Labeling

Under the new standard, all packaged foods must clearly declare the presence of common allergens, including peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, soy, sesame, and gluten-containing cereals. The declaration must be clear and prominent to help consumers easily identify potential allergens.

Impact on Food Business: Compliance with the new allergen labeling standards may require recipe adjustments or packaging redesigns to clearly list all allergens.

3. Clear Country of Origin Labeling

The new standard mandates that food products display their country of origin prominently. This change aims to help consumers easily identify where their food comes from, enhancing transparency.

Impact on Food Business: Businesses need to update their packaging to comply with the new country of origin labeling requirements. This may involve significant changes to the packaging design to ensure clarity and prominence.

4. Primary Production and Processing Information

Certain high-risk horticultural products, such as berries and leafy greens, must now include detailed information about their country of origin and production and processing methods. This requirement aims to inform consumers about potential food safety risks associated with these products.

Impact on Food Business: Compliance with this standard will likely require updates to packaging to include detailed production and processing information.

5. Mandatory Irradiation Labeling

The new standard requires all irradiated food products to be labeled accordingly. Irradiation uses radiation to eliminate bacteria and other microorganisms in food. This labeling must be clear and prominent to inform consumers if a product has undergone irradiation.

Impact on Food Business: Food businesses must revise their packaging to clearly indicate whether a product has been irradiated, ensuring compliance with the new standard.

How These Changes Will Affect Food Businesses

The FSANZ food standards changes will have a significant impact on food businesses across Australia and New Zealand. To ensure compliance, businesses may need to:

• Update recipes to accurately reflect nutritional content, especially added sugars.
• Redesign packaging to prominently declare allergens, country of origin, production details, and irradiation status.
• Invest in new labeling technologies and processes to meet the enhanced requirements.

Benefits of Compliance

Complying with these new standards will help food businesses build consumer trust by providing transparent, accurate, and easily accessible information. Improved labeling can lead to:

• Enhanced consumer confidence in food safety and quality.
• Better-informed purchasing decisions, promoting healthier choices.
• Increased brand loyalty as consumers trust transparent and honest labeling practices.

The recent changes to FSANZ food standards are designed to improve food safety, labeling, and consumer information. While these changes may require significant adjustments in recipes, packaging, and labeling processes, they ultimately aim to foster a safer, more transparent food supply. By ensuring compliance, food businesses can build consumer trust and contribute to a healthier, more informed society.

Stay updated with the latest FSANZ standards and make necessary adjustments to keep your food business compliant and competitive.

For more detailed information on the FSANZ standards and how to comply, visit the official FSANZ website.