The Committee recommends that the Minister for Health and Ageing adopt a phased approach regarding regulations on the reformulation of food products. Industry should be encouraged to make changes through self-regulation but if industry fails to make concrete changes within a reasonable timeframe the Federal Government should consider regulations.
The Committee recommends that the Minister for Health and Ageing engage with peak bodies such as the Australian Food and Grocery Council, the Dieticians Association of Australia, and the Heart Foundation, to develop and implement a Healthy Food Code of Good Practice tailored to Australian conditions.
Agreed.
The Australian Government is committed to working with the food industry to address a range of public health goals and has formally engaged with industry through the Food and Health Dialogue and the Industry Partnership.
The Food and Health Dialogue comprises representatives from the Australian Food and Grocery Council, the National Heart Foundation, the Public Health Association of Australia, Woolworths, Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), the Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) Forum and State and Territory Governments. The Dietitians’ Association of Australia participates in the Food and Health Dialogue Executive meetings as an observer. The Dialogue provides a framework for government, industry and public health groups to work collaboratively, on a voluntary basis, to change the formulation of commonly eaten processed and pre-packaged foods and promote healthier food.
One of the key activities of the Food and Health Dialogue is food reformulation, with a focus on reducing salt, saturated fat, energy and added sugar and increasing beneficial nutrients and food components such as fibre, wholegrains, fruit and vegetables. To date, reformulation targets have been agreed for bread, breakfast cereal, processed meat, soup, simmer sauces and savoury pies. Participants have also agreed to portion sizing principles and consumer messaging strategies in line with the Australian Dietary Guidelines. Further categories have been engaged and negotiations are ongoing – these include cheese, savoury crackers, potato and corn chips and the QSR sector.
The Australian Government welcomes the commitment of Australia’s food industry to the health goals of the Food and Health Dialogue. Further work with the food industry will arise in the implementation of the Legislative and Governance Forum on Food Regulation’s response to the Labelling Logic review.
The Australian Government funds the Industry Partnership through the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health. The Industry Partnership enables the Government, in consultation with the states and territories, to partner with various sectors of the food, fitness and weight management industries to support the implementation of programs to encourage changes in policies and practices consistent with the Government’s healthy living agenda. Key activities under the Industry Partnership include:
- establishing a set of principles to guide government engagement with industry;
- convening a series of Food Innovation Workshops whereby industry, government and research bodies involved in food innovation shared experiences around food reformulation; and
- developing a comprehensive Food Composition Database (FCDB) to support the monitoring and surveillance of activities under the Food and Health Dialogue.