Australia and New Zealand
Food Regulation Ministerial Council
__________________________________
JOINT COMMUNIQUÉ
1 May 2009
FOOD MINISTERS PROGRESS FOOD LABELLING
The thirteenth meeting of the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial
Council (Ministerial Council) was held in Sydney today. The Ministerial Council
comprises Ministers responsible for food issues in Australia and New Zealand.
The meeting today was chaired by Senator the Hon. Jan McLucas, Parliamentary
Secretary to the Australian Government Minister for Health and Ageing. The Ministerial
Council considered a number of strategic policy and food standards issues.
Comprehensive Review of Food Labelling Law and Policy
The meeting agreed to the Terms of Reference for an independent, comprehensive review
of food labelling law and policy. The review panel is yet to be confirmed but will
comprise prominent individuals who collectively possess knowledge and expertise in the
fields of public policy/economics, public health, law consumer behaviour and business.
The review is to be chaired by an independent public policy expert who will be selected
by the Ministerial Council once funding for the review has been secured.
Front of Pack Labelling
The Ministerial Council noted that progress has been made and that the stakeholder
consultation on the development of a Policy Guideline for front of pack labelling (FOPL)
is complete. The consultation confirmed that there are currently divergent views in
relation to FOPL. The draft Policy Guideline is to be provided to the October 2009
Ministerial Council meeting
.
Health warnings on packaged alcohol
The Ministerial Council considered a report on alcohol warning labels and the evidence
of their effectiveness on risky alcohol consumption. The report was developed in
response to the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) announcement to curb
alcohol misuse and binge drinking among young people. Today the Ministerial Council
has agreed to provide this report to the Ministerial Council on Drug Strategy to allow a
single and coordinated response to COAG as a part of its broad and comprehensive
approach to reducing binge drinking.
Trans fatty acids in the Australian and New Zealand food supply
The Ministerial Council received a progress report on dietary modelling activities in
relation to trans fatty acid intakes in the Australian and New Zealand food supplies, a
review of recent scientific literature regarding the link between dietary intake of trans
fatty acids and adverse health outcomes and a report on the progress of voluntary
initiatives by industry to reduce trans fatty acids in the food supply. It is anticipated that
the final report on trans fatty acid intakes will be presented to the Ministerial Council at
its next meeting in October 2009.
Negotiations to amend the joint Food Standards Treaty
The Ministerial Council was informed that negotiations between Australia and New
Zealand to amend the ‘Agreement between the Government of Australia and the
Government of New Zealand Concerning a Joint Food Standards System’ have
commenced and are progressing well.
FSANZ Proposal P290 – Food Safety Programs for Catering Operations
The Ministerial Council agreed in-principle to review its policy guideline Food Safety
Management in Australia – Food Safety Programs in relation to the food service sector
(excluding existing requirements applying to food service to vulnerable populations)
pending further advice to be provided to its next meeting.
Media contact: Derek Tipper, 0434 663 757
NEWS 
