About Us - Labelling and Information Standards Section:

At FSANZ, the role of the Labelling and Information Standards Section is to assess proposed new labelling requirements or changes to existing food labelling requirements in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Code).   Team members have a wide range of qualifications, experience and skills, including backgrounds in nutrition, dietetics, food science and technology, social sciences, regulation and research.  

Why are foods labelled?

Food labels provide a wide range of valuable information to make healthier choices easier for consumers.   The food labelling requirements for Australia and New Zealand have also been designed to protect public health and safety through the display of information such as date marking, ingredients, instructions for storage and preparation, and advisory and warning statements.

Nutrition Related Labelling Requirements:

Nutrition information is included on food labels to assist consumers to understand the nutritional properties of food, and to enable them to make informed choices about the food they eat.  

The requirements for food labelling relating to nutrition and health matters can be found in various standards in the Code, of which the following are examples:  

Standard 1.2.8 -Nutrition Information Requirements specifies what nutrition information should be provided for food that is required to be labelled.   It also details how the nutrition information should be presented.

• Standard 1.3.2 –Vitamins and Mineralssets out the labelling requirements when a claim is made about the vitamin or mineral content of a food.
• Standard 2.7.1-Labelling of Alcoholic Beverages and Food Containing Alcohol sets out the requirements for labelling of the alcohol content and number of standard drinks for these products .
• Standard 2.9.1 –Infant Formula Products provides specific nutrition labelling requirements for infant formula products.
• Standard 2.9.2 –Foods for Infants provides some specific labelling requirements for foods intended and/or represented for use as food for infants.
• Standard 2.9.3 –Formulated Meal Replacements and Formulated Supplementary Foods sets out some nutrition labelling requirements that apply to formulated meal replacements and formulated supplementary foods.
• Standard 2.9.4 –Formulated Supplementary Sports Foods provides the labelling requirements when a claim is made about the vitamin or mineral content, or the presence of a particular ingredient in these foods.

Looking Forward:

Some examples of the work the Labelling and Information Standards Section is currently involved in are detailed below:

The development a new Standard (Standard 1.2.7) for nutrition, health and related claims.

• A nutrition content claim refers to the presence or absence of a nutrition-related property of the food (e.g. ‘high in calcium’).
• A health claim describes the relationship between a nutrient and its function in the body, or a ‘food-health’ or ‘food-disease’ relationship (e.g. ‘calcium is good for strong bones and teeth’).  
• This Standard will assist consumers in choosing foods which can lead to better nutritional and health outcomes.  

Application A576 - Labelling of Alcoholic Beverages with a Pregnancy Health Advisory Label.

• This Application proposes to require a health advisory label on alcoholic beverage containers.
• The proposed label would advise of the risks of consuming alcohol when planning to become pregnant and during pregnancy.