Cancer Council welcomes the decision by the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) and the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council (Ministerial Council) to undertake a comprehensive review of food labelling law and policy which will consider options to reduce the regulatory burden in food labelling without compromising public health and safety.
Our organisation is interested in food labelling as a vehicle to assist consumers to make healthier food choices, and as a means of encouraging the food industry to innovate and develop healthier food products. Cancer Council is concerned about the potential for false, misleading, deceptive, or simply misconstrued food labelling, which has the potential to contribute to unhealthy food choices, and the development of obesity and consequent chronic disease, including cancer.
The high rates of obesity in Australia and the link between obesity and cancer make this issue of extreme importance to Cancer Council Australia.
Posted below are Cancer Council Australia’s preliminary submission to the review, a published journal article providing further background information, and our specific responses to the questions in the review’s issues consultation paper.