More labelling changes

Not only  do food producers need to meet labelling requirements, but alcohol businesses as well.

Some years ago the voluntary requirements for pregnancy warning labels was introduced for alcoholic drinks.

According to The Brewers Association of Australiamany alcohol producers are“dragging their heels” in meeting this requirement.

Brewers Association CEO, Brett Heffernan, said; “After six years of voluntary pregnancy labelling it is bewildering that so many are still dragging their heels and giving the whole industry a black eye. Any alcohol produced in Australia since 2012 could, and should, bear the warning label by now. There is simply no excuse for any further delay in adopting pregnancy warning labels on all alcohol products made in Australia. We are calling on all industry players to fix it.”

It is well recognised that consumption of alcohl whilst pregnant can have detrimental and long lasting effects on the baby. This voluntary labelling  is a way for those in the industry to show their social commitment.

Heffernan said; “According to the latest Australian Institute of Health and Welfare National Drug Strategy Household Survey, 55.6 per cent of pregnant women in Australia do not drink alcohol at all. The data points to an encouraging trend of continual improvement, up from 40 per cent in 2007. Among the 44.4 per cent of women who did consume alcohol while pregnant, 97.3 per cent were having no more than 1-2 standard drinks over the course of their pregnancy. While the trends are very positive, there is still more to do.”

CoOL is here

The new mandatory Country of Origin Labelling  (CoOL) requirements are just about with us and all food producers, including retail businesses, must meet them, as applied to their business and food.