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

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 ...