After more than a decade of advising the food industry on their marketing compliance, this is the most common question that Charles Fisher gets. In Charles’ most recent webinar he discussed the regulation, risks and rewards of marketing the “natural” angle of your food products. Among many others, he tackled the following curly questions: Where can … Read more
Seemingly as a festive season gift, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has released a call for submissions on 10 December 2021 that closes by 23 December 2021 and will likely be the only round of consultation that FSANZ holds on Proposal P1057. What’s P1057 for? FSANZ is urgently reviewing how kava is regulated under … Read more
On 19 November 2021, Food Standards Australia New Zealand put out a call for comment in relation to Nestle Australia’s application to change the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Food Standards Code) so as to expressly allow for Very Low Energy Diet products (VLED – also known as Very Low Calorie Diet or … Read more
Beverage conglomerate, Lion, has acquired Fermentum Group, owner of boutique craft beer label, Stone & Wood. The transaction required the approval of the ACCC, with the regulator announcing on 4 November 2021 that it will not oppose the deal. The acquisition continues a trend in the craft brewery market, with many small producers acquired by … Read more
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently released a proposed food safety and labelling standard in relation to vegan foods. The global demand for plant-based meat and animal alternatives is exploding (for a range of different consumer drivers but primarily cultural, sustainability, animal welfare and perceived health reasons). While the proposed Indian … Read more
The humble egg is one of the more commonly recalled foods, with Australian egg producers affected by six separate food recalls to date in 2019 alone. A reasonably large recall was declared on 20 March 2019, as Bridgewater Poultry eggs were recalled across Australia after infecting five people with a rare strain of salmonella enteritidis. … Read more
By Amelia Edwards (Senior Associate) and Adrian Faelli (Lawyer) A manufacturer of bottled alkaline water, endorsed by celebrity chef Pete Evans, has fallen foul of the advertising industry’s Food and Beverages Advertising and Marketing Communications Code (the Code). But, given the nature of the claims made in relation to this product, is this an issue … Read more
A recent case in the Magistrates Court of Victoria is a timely reminder to check that safety guards are fully operational and to promptly remove faulty machinery from production for repair. What happened? A machine that individually wrapped small cakes and muffins in plastic film was fed the food product by two conveyors to the … Read more
By Chrystie Siapkas (Lawyer) and Koula Politis (Senior Associate) A study published earlier this month in the Medical Journal of Australia revealed a concerning truth. Melbourne researchers tested 256 commonly-bought manufactured “gluten free”-labelled products and reported that almost 3% of these products actually contained small amounts of gluten, meaning that these products did not comply … Read more
