Food Labelling Flashcards
Key roles + responsibilities of Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ)
Key role: to have safe food supply and well informed consumers.
Responsibility: to develop standards for food manufacturing, labelling, processing and primary production. Provide risk assessment advice on imported food and conduct consumer and industry researching.
Information that must be on a food label
- nutrition information panel
- percentage of food labelling
- name or description of food
- food recall information
- information for allergy sufferers
- date - use by, best by
- ingredients list
- food additives
- country of origin
What is a characterising ingredient?
An ingredient or category of ingredients that are mentioned in the name of the food, are usually associated with the name of the food by the consumer or are emphasised on label of food in words, pictures of graphs
What is “ use by” and “best before”
Use by: food that should not be consumed after a certain date for health and safety reasons
Best before: food with a shelf life of less than 2 years, which may still be safe to consume by quality and nutritional value may have decreased
What order is used for listing ingredients on food labels?
Ingredients must be listed in descending order by ingoing weight. First ingredient is largest amount in weight and last is lowest
What is “product of”, “grown in”, “made in”
Product of and grown in: means that each significant ingredient or component of the product originated in or was grown in the country claimed. Product of is often used for packaged foods and grown in whole foods.
Made in: means the product was made in the country claimed, and at least 50% of the cost to produce the product was incurred in that country
`Describe nutrient content and health claims on packaging and give examples
Nutrient content claims are about the content of certain nutrients or substances in a food such as “low in fat” or “good source of calcium”
Health claims refer to a nutrient or substance in a food and its effect on health function. E.g. “ calcium is good for the bones and teeth”
Health Star Rating advantages and disadvantages
Advantages is that it helps compare certain products in the same category such as bread against bread.
Disadvantages is its a voluntary scheme, many people don’t understand it, only used on packaged products
Advantages of GMO
potential to contribute to a sustainable food supply as population grows and climate changes. Potential to improve nutrient and or phytochemical composition of plants
Disadvantages of GMO
our ability to manipulate food supply currently exceeds our understanding of what the full environment and health consequences of that manipulation might be
