In February 2009, the Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance (ACDPA) hosted a forum to bring together health experts and representatives of major health organisations to discuss and reach agreement on a set of key principles that should be met by any front-of-pack food labelling system proposed for implementation in Australia. The agreed principles are set out in the Forum Consensus Statement.
The development of a front-of-pack food labelling system which will assist consumers to make healthier food choices and encourage the production of healthier food products will be an important element of a comprehensive strategy to address the growing burden of chronic disease caused by overweight and obesity.
The Australian Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance (ACDPA) is an alliance of five non-government health organisations who are working together in the primary prevention of chronic disease, with particular emphasis on the shared risk factors of poor nutrition, physical inactivity and overweight and obesity. The members of the Alliance are:
- Cancer Council Australia (CCA)
- Diabetes Australia (DA)
- Kidney Health Australia (KHA)
- National Heart Foundation of Australia (NHFA)
- The National Stroke Foundation (NSF)