Australia,New Zealand Look into Health Claims

Australia, New Zealand Look into Health Claims

WELLINGTON, New Zealand--The Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) held a call for public comment in mid-March for a number of proposed changes to the Food Standards Code, including new requirements for health claims.

Currently, the two countries prohibit the use of health claims on food. The only exception is a folate/neural tube defect health claim approved by the Ministerial Council as a pilot program until August 2002. In an ANZFA press release, the agency (www.anzfa.gov.au) recommended that the folate health claim be extended until 2004 or when a generic health claims standard is established. In June 2001, ANZFA created a proposal to determine if the current prohibition should be lifted, and if so, under what regulatory framework. It was this proposal that included launching the folate health claim program.

"Our system of reviewing and developing food regulations is one of the most transparent and inclusive in the world," stated Ian Lindenmayer, ANZFA's managing director. "Information and commentary provided by scientific bodies, food companies and community groups are of vital importance in our work."

Share this article: Email, Slashdot, Digg, Del.icio.us, Yahoo!MyWeb, Windows Live Favorites, Furl
Add this article feed to: RSS, My Yahoo, Newsgator, Bloglines