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The Proposition For The Debate On Food Standards Australia And New Zealand

Decent Essays

The selected proposition for the debate was topic 2: FSANZ should permit the use of proven health claims on food labels.
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) write the food labelling laws and local State and Territory agencies enforce these laws. There are also fair trading laws that require labels to be truthful.
Standards to regulate health claims were introduced in 2013 so that consumers would not be misled.
Standard 1.2.7 became law on 18 January 2013 to regulate nutrient content claims and health claims on food labels and in advertisements. It was introduced to reduce the risk of misleading and deceptive claims about food. Nutrition content claims and health claims are voluntary statements made by food businesses on labels and in advertising about a food. Food businesses must comply with the new standard (Standard 1.2.7) from 18 January 2016. A product must meet certain strict criteria for energy, sugars, sodium and other key nutrients in order to carry a health claim.
Health claims will only be permitted on foods that meet the nutrient profiling scoring criterion (NPSC). For example, health claims will not be allowed on foods high in saturated fat, sugar or salt.
Health claims refer to a relationship between a food and health rather than a statement of content. There are two types of health claims:
General level health claims refer to a nutrient or substance in a food and its effect on a health function. They must not refer to a serious disease or to a

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