Food Standards Australia New Zealand agrees to industry requests for longer transition, rejects low-energy sugar exclusions

Published 2024년 1월 17일

Tridge summary

The government of Australia and New Zealand sought public comment on the definition of 'added sugars' and received over 80 responses from the food and beverage industry as well as the general public. Mars Australia and New Zealand Food and Grocery Commission requested a longer transition period for the classification of certain sugars in the proposed 'added sugars' list, and the transition period was extended after numerous appeals were made. However, FSANZ refused to remove low-energy sugar D-tagatose from the list, stating that it still contains 65% of the energy content of other sugars.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

The process to properly define ‘added sugars’ was started by the government back in September 2023 upon request from Australia and New Zealand ministers, sparking a call for public comment that saw FSANZ receive over 80 responses from the food and beverage industry and general public. One of the most common requests made were to lengthen the transition period for classifying certain sugars or ingredients within the proposed ‘added sugars’ list from the initially proposed two years. This included brands such as Mars Australia, which stressed that the agency needs to keep in mind the many changes that industry have had to face in this regard in recent times. “Mars Australia does not agree with the two-year transition period and no stock in trade period - We strongly encourage FSANZ to consider a more pragmatic and longer implementation,” Mars Australia said via formal documentation submitted to FSANZ, which FoodNavigator-Asia has viewed. All submitters’ names, titles and contact ...

Source: Food Navigator Asia