The NSW Food Authority has launched an online, interactive food labelling hub so Aussies can easily navigate the overwhelming world of food labels.
Dr Lisa Szabo, the food authority CEO, said she was excited to provide a resource to consumers that will help them make better and informed choices when it comes to choosing the food they eat.
“We [recognised] that with so much information out there it can be difficult to find it and understand it,” Dr Szabo said.
“One of our roles as the NSW Food Authority is to educate people by providing information to enable them to make informed choices and this initiative achieves that.”
Szabo said, the online tool is an information hub aims to also help consumers understand more about the food their eating — which is “designed to be mobile and tablet friendly so people can access food labelling information anytime, anywhere.”
“One of the features of the hub sure to appeal to users is the 3D function where a virtual cereal box pops up and visually guides people through the type of information you might expect to see on food packaging,” Szabo further elaborated.
Food sold in Australia must comply with the Food Standards Code and one of those requirements is correct labelling. By law, a food label must stipulate various things like a list of the ingredients; warning or advisory statements about the presence of allergens; a nutritional information panel; the shelf life of a product be it ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ dates and the country of origin. Dr Szabo said in addition to being a much needed resource for consumers, the food labelling hub was also designed to assist industry in complying with regulations.
“The labelling hub is also of benefit to food businesses in providing confidence and certainty by helping them understand how to correctly label food so it meets regulatory requirements,” she further stated. “This will be a real ‘one-stop-shop’ resource for both consumers and industry.”
