(May 2017)
One of the recommendations of an independent review of food labelling was that the declaration in the nutrition information panel (NIP) of the amount of nutrients per serving be no longer mandatory unless a daily intake claim is made.
Manufacturers currently provide nutrient information in the NIP in both 'per serving' amounts and per 100 grams or 100 mls. The recommendation proposed that manufacturers only be required to provide the amounts per 100 grams or 100 mls. Manufacturers would be permitted to provide 'per serving' information voluntarily.
Ministers responsible for food regulation asked FSANZ to assess and provide advice on the recommendation. In their response to the recommendation, ministers recognised that food labels were a finite space for providing information to consumers, and noted that the aim of the recommendation was to simplify the requirements for the NIP and reduce the regulatory burden on industry. See the full response from ministers.
FSANZ released a consultation paper in December 2014 to seek information and stakeholder views on the recommendation.
Read the consultation paper (pdf 587kb) | (word 142kb)
Submissions (zip file 54417kb) | Late comment
FSANZ completed its report in June 2015 and provided its advice to ministers.
At a meeting in November 2015, ministers accepted the advice of FSANZ that no further work be undertaken on the recommendation. The advice was based on broad stakeholder opposition (including from industry) to the proposed removal of the mandatory requirement for per serving information in the NIP, the lack of evidence of a problem with per serving information, and the lack of a benefit from the recommendation.
Read FSANZ's report to ministers (pdf 240kb) | (word 176kb)
Read about our other work in response to Labelling Review recommendations