Report on the nutritional labelling of added sugars has been released.
The following is a release from Food Standards Australia New Zealand about the release of the report of the recent added sugars nutritional labelling review. It is included here with permission from Food Standards Australia New Zealand.
Review of nutrition labelling for added sugars report released
We recently released the findings of our review of nutrition labelling for added sugars.
The review was undertaken at the request of food ministers with the aim of ensuring food labels provide adequate contextual information about sugars to enable consumers to make informed choices in support of dietary guidelines.
Ministers requested FSANZ review three policy options:
- quantifying added sugars in the nutrition information panel (NIP) (preferred by ministers)
- applying a pictorial about sugar to sugary beverages/sugar-sweetened beverages, and
- changing the statement of ingredients to identify sugars-based ingredients.
Our review concluded that although complex, there are no technical barriers to including added sugars in the NIP. FSANZ expects to begin work early this year on a proposal to consider amending the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (the Food Standards Code) with regard to added sugars information in the NIP.
The full report can be viewed at https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/labelling/Documents/Review%20of%20nutrition%20labelling%20for%20added%20sugars.pdf