By: Joe Lederman, Jenny Awad, John Thisgaard
Fortification of foods
Where there is express permission in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, a food is permitted to be fortified with a range of nutritive substances, including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. A “nutritive substance” is defined as a substance which is refined, concentrated or synthesised for a nutritional purpose. The addition of traditional food ingredients however is not “fortification”. For example, a food may contain orange juice which would contribute to the vitamin C content, but it is fortified if isolated vitamin c has been added in the recipe.
In most cases, there will be a prescribed maximum limit on the amount of an isolated nutritive substance that can be added to food, as well as a maximum limit on the amount that can be declared on the product label and on off-label advertising. In some cases, the minimum compositional requirements for that food will expressly include mandatory fortification (e.g. infant formula) but in other cases, fortification is optional (e.g. energy drinks, pasta, sports foods).
Definitions of vegetarian and vegan
There are no prescribed definitions of “vegetarian” and “vegan”, but there is an overarching obligation to ensure that all representations are not false or misleading. This obligation exists under the Australian Consumer Law, as well as State and Territory Food Acts and industry advertising codes.
The term “vegetarian” is typically used where a product does not contain by-products of animal slaughter (e.g. meat, seafood). Such a product may contain other animal products which are not by-products of animal slaughter (e.g. milk, eggs, cheese).
The term “vegan” may imply the complete absence of animal by-products and allergens, and therefore it is industry best practice to only make a vegan claim where there are no such ingredients in the recipe.
Risks may arise where there is potential for cross-contamination with animal allergens. While some third-party vegan certification bodies take the view that a product can still be eligible for vegan certification even if it may contain animal allergens as a result of cross-contamination, this approach can vary. The use of third-party vegan certification can reduce risk when making vegan claims, but the obligation to ensure a representation is not false or misleading rests with the food supplier.
Country of origin requirements (CoOL)
The Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard (2016) sets out mandatory requirements for country of origin labelling on food, including: when a food can claim to be “made in”, “grown in” or “produced in” a country; when a food can bear the green and gold kangaroo logo; how to calculate the proportion of Australian ingredients; whether the percentage of Australian ingredients needs to be specified in the country of origin statement; whether the origin of a specific ingredient can be highlighted and how it must be formatted.
Other provenance claims, such as flags and place of origin claims, are regulated under the Australian Consumer Law and must not be false or misleading.
Cannabis as an ingredient in food or supplements
Cannabis and isolated cannabidiol (CBD), one of the key active components of cannabis, are both prohibited in food and supplements, but can be used in some therapeutic goods under strict conditions.
Under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, CBD may be naturally present in food through low tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) cannabis sativa seeds so long as the CBD content does not exceed 75 mg/kg. Claims about the presence, absence, quantity, or possible health effects of CBD are all prohibited on food.
