labelling food & Beverage
Written by Jack Porter - Trainee Underwriter - Casualty
Why is it important to have correct labelling on food and beverage?
FSANZ sets food labelling standards in the Food Standards Code. These are enforced by the Australian states and territories and by the Ministry for Primary Industries in NZ.
Product recalls are implemented when the product poses a health or safety risk to consumers. Therefore, labelling related food recalls can be necessary when labels are missing mandatory warning or advisory statements, mandatory declarations about certain ingredients, or critical storage and preparation advice. In the 12 months from March 2012 to February 2013, there were 16 labelling-related food recalls, which represents just over 30% of all food recalls. Undeclared allergens account for about 90% of labelling related recalls.
Common causes of label mistakes include:
Illegible or Unreadable Labelling
Using Inaccurate Nutrition Facts
Legal Requirements
Disguising Unhealthy Ingredients
Recipe and Formulation Changes
Ingredient Substitution
Intentional Mislabelling
Health Claims
There can be varying consequences associated with incorrect food labelling:
Death
Delayed production
Private consumer action
Loss of consumer confidence
Increase in operational costs
Adverse media exposure
The costs that a business may incur in recalling food include:
Newspaper advertisements
Stock recovery
Stock value
Additional processing / packaging
Stock disposal or destruction
Loss in business revenue
Food Standards Australia requires the following when labelling food and beverage:
Fair trading and food laws in Australia and New Zealand require that labels do not misinform consumers through false, misleading or deceptive representations.
Foods must be labelled with an accurate name or description that indicates the true nature of the food.
Suppliers must label food products with accurate weights and measures information.
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p. 1300 902 210