The New Zealand Food Safety Authority is reminding food businesses that they are required by law to comply with food labelling requirements, and that those labels must be accurate.

"New Zealand has strict food labelling requirements that all food manufacturers and sellers need to be fully aware of," says Geoff Allen, NZFSA Director (Compliance & Investigation).

"In light of the recent high-profile Ribena case, it is clear that the consequences of non-compliance can be severe. Food manufacturers must ensure that the label claims they make are accurate and can be verified.

"While NZFSA cannot check the level of every ingredient in every batch of every food produced, we do carry out targeted surveillance studies and also act on reports or suspicions of non-compliance."

Geoff Allen says that there is new food legislation, agreed by Government at the end of last year as a result of the Domestic Food Review currently being drafted. This will integrate the monitoring of food labelling into the already stringent food safety monitoring systems.

"Under the proposed new Food Act, suitability – effectively compliance with labelling requirements – will be an integral part of the Food Control Plan that almost every food business will operate under. Not only must the business meet the requirements, it will also need to prove it has met those requirements during regular audits.

"Accurate labelling is important for both food safety and health. It's critical that allergens and additives are declared on labels so people who react to them can avoid those foods. Of particular health significance are fat, salt and sugar content, allowing people to purchase foods that are right for their diets."

Labelling requirements are set under the joint Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. NZFSA has a set of fact sheets on its website (and also available in hardcopy) that set out the key elements of the requirements.

"Over the years, we have had a great deal of interest in these fact sheets from consumers and businesses alike, and have distributed thousands of them with many thousands more downloads. This sends a clear message to food manufacturers and sellers that people are keenly interested in food labels."

Geoff Allen says that NZFSA will continue its targeted monitoring of food label compliance and take appropriate action where non-compliance is discovered. He encourages people and businesses that may have concerns about the accuracy of labels to contact either their local public health service or NZFSA directly.

Fact sheets on New Zealand's food labelling requirements are on the web at: http://www.nzfsa.govt.nz/consumers/food-safety-topics/food-processing-labelling/index.htm and are available free from NZFSA by calling 0800 693 721 or emailing info[at]nzfsa.govt.nz.

Concerns about food safety or labelling issues can be referred to NZFSA on
0800 693 721 (0800 NZFSA1).

ENDS

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