Claims made on packages

• Made on either front of pack or the back.

• Health claims vs nutrition content claims.

• Designed to grab your attention and make you buy the product

• Often use the latest buzz words, follow trends

• Be a switched on shopper!
 Nutrient content claims
• New ‘Standard’ became law on 18 Jan 2013, food businesses must comply by 18 Jan 2016
(1.2.7)

• Regulated by FSANZ

• Nutrition content claims eg ‘low in fat’ or ‘good

source of calcium’ need to meet criteria set out
in the Standard.

• For example, for a product to claim that it is a

‘good source of calcium’, it must have a higher
amount of calcium in it than is stipulated in
the Standard.
Health claims

• Health claims – general vs high level. Refer to a relationship between

health and that food rather than a statement of content.

• 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 biomarker of a serious disease.

For example: calcium is good for bones and teeth.

• High level health claims refer to a nutrient or substance in a food and its
relationship to a serious disease or to a biomarker of a serious disease.

For example: Diets high in calcium may reduce the risk of osteoporosis in
people 65 years and over.

An example of a biomarker health claim is: Phytosterols may reduce blood

cholesterol.
Tight regulation
• The Standard has >200 pre-approved food-health relationships that food
businesses can draw from to make a general level health claim.
• To make a high-level health claim, FSANZ has only 13 pre-approved food-
health relationships in the Standard for use.
• All health claims need to be backed up by scientific testing whether pre-
approved by FSANZ or self substantiated.
• Only foods that meet the Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion (NPSC) can have
health claims on them. Eg foods high in saturated fat, sugar or salt will never
be allowed to make claims.
• Regulation aims to;
• Reduce the risk of misleading and deceptive claims about food
• Expand the range of permitted health claims
• Encourage the industry to innovate, giving consumers a wider range of healthy food
choices
• Help to enforce the Standard.
Common claims
• Lite/light

• No cholesterol/cholesterol free

• X% fat free

• Baked not fried

• Fresh as..

• Rich in..

• High fibre

• Low fat
Guidelines for claims

For a manufacturer to make various claims, their products must meet the following
guidelines:
• No added sugar - products must not contain added sugar, but may contain natural
sugars.
• Reduced fat, salt - should be at least a 25 per cent reduction from the original
product.
• Low fat - must contain less than 3 per cent fat for solid foods (1.5 per cent for
liquid foods).
• Fat free - must be less than 0.15 per cent fat.
• High Fibre – Must contain at least 3g of fibre per serve.
• Percentage of fat - remember 80 per cent fat free is the same as 20 per cent fat.
• Good source of – must contain no less than 25% of the RDI for that nutrient
Names for sugars
• Brown sugar
• Corn syrup
• Dextrose
• Disaccharides
• Fructose (fruit sugar)
• Glucose
• Sucrose
• Honey
• Golden syrup
• Cane sugar
• Invert sugar (used by bakers)
• Agave nectar
• High fructose corn syrup (USA)
• Treacle
• Concentrated pear juice
Names for fat
• Beef fat “Baked not fried” implies that
• Butter a food is low in fat.
• Shortening
• Coconut Often on snack foods and
crackers.
• Coconut oil or palm oil
• Copha
Still high in fat!
• Cream
• Dripping
• Lard
• Mayonnaise
• Sour cream
• Vegetable oils and fats
• Hydrogenated oils
• Full-cream milk powder
• Egg (cholesterol)
• Mono-, di- or triglycerides.
No cholesterol/cholesterol free

• Confusing! Does not mean ‘no fat’

• On foods like oil, margarine, mayo, avocado, nuts and potato crisps

• Meaningless - all plant foods contain virtually no cholesterol

• Some can be high in fat and can contribute to weight gain if eaten too generously
Names for salt
• Baking powder
• Booster, “Seasoning”
• Celery salt
• Garlic salt
• Meat or yeast extract
• Onion salt
• Stock cubes
• Sea salt
• Rock salt

Sodium compounds
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
• Sodium bicarbonate
• Sodium metabisulphate
• Sodium nitrate/nitrite
• Sodium
Food symbols
Organic Produce

• All certifying organisations report to the Department of Agriculture.

• Classification groups for organic produce:

• Honey
• Meats
• Milk and dairy products
• Fish and crustaceans
• Juices, chutneys, jams, sauces, pickles,
• Mushrooms
• Vegetable oils, herbs
• Wine

• Many things need regulation incl; land preparation, growth phases, crop
management, irrigation, landscaping, environment, pest control,
harvesting, packaging, GM content, transport to shops and labelling
Glycaemic Index Label
• To be eligible, foods must:

1. Contain at least 10g carbohydrate per serve, Or;

2. Be ≥ 80% carbohydrate AND be traditionally served in multiple units of small
serve sizes (eg. nutritive sweeteners) as part of one meal or snack.
3. Have had their GI determined using the Standards Australia methodology
(Glycemic Index of Foods AS4694-2007).
4. Have a nutritional composition that meets the required Nutrient Criteria for the
appropriate food category.

Excludes: High and intermediate GI soft drinks, cordials, confectionary, sugars and
syrups unless they are jams/honies/spreads that contain CHO that may fit the
criteria.
GI symbol cont.

• Grouped by: Cereal grains and products, legumes and products, fresh fruit
and fruit products, fresh vegetables and vegetable products, milk, dairy
and alternatives, snack foods, formulated meal replacements,
convenience foods.

• Nutrients tested in this label include not only CHO but also kilojoules,
saturated fat, sodium and if appropriate fibre and calcium too.

• http://www.gisymbol.com/

• For example, Breakfast cereals

Fat - 5g/100g or less

Sodium - 400mg/100g or less
Dietary fibre - 3g/100g or more
Gluten free label
• Coeliac Australia Endorsement program.

• Crossed grain logo.

• http://www.coeliac.org.au/crossed-grain-logo/

• Search for products here, tells where to buy or find.

Gluten free cont.

Products that use this logo are:

• Gluten Free – the product must be tested to have no detectable gluten as per the
FSANZ guidelines for gluten free.

• Tested to have gluten levels <20ppm (considered suitable as per the international
Codex standard for gluten). Any products that meet these requirements will have
an alternate version of the Coeliac Australia Endorsement Logo without the
Gluten Free Claim.

• Subject to laboratory testing every 12 months, and random annual audit testing.

• Independently approved.

• Supporting those following a gluten free diet.

Kosher products
• By Kosher Australia. www.kosher.org.au

• “Kosher” means proper, or fit. It has

nothing to do with a Rabbi’s blessing.

• The principles include:

• Basic ingredients – only animals that chew cud, have split hooves. Birds are
turkey and chicken only, not birds of prey. Dairy only from kosher animals.
Eggs only from kosher animal.
• Preparation – can’t have touched non kosher
• Mixtures – No meat/milk, meat/fish, milk/fish together
• Level of supervision – Rabbi must supervise making of hard cheeses
otherwise no kosher.
• Passover guidelines
 Halal certification
• According to Islamic Sharia law.

• Foods are haram (forbidden) if they contain

• Blood
• Alcohol
• Meat or any products from a forbidden animal including pigs, canivorious animals or
birds of prey
• Meat or products not slaughtered in the correct way in the name of Allah

• Companies pay a fee to display the halal symbol

• Butchers exist to specifically provide halal meats.

Heart foundation tick

• Working with food industry since 1989

• Quick and easy guide to healthier food choices

• Public health program

• A voluntary program

• Self funding model

• Retail model adopted internationally

• Singapore, New Zealand, South Africa, Canada
Licencees with the tick

• Australian Egg Corporation

• Sanitarium Light & Tasty cereal, Peanut butter
• Campbells Country Ladle soups
• Bega So-Light cheese
• Meadow Lea margarine
• Burgen bread
• Kellogg’s Sultana Bran
• Kraft Extra-Light Philly cheese
• McCain Healthy Choice frozen dinners
• Meat Livestock – lean beef, lean lamb
• Dairy Farmers reduced-fat milk
• Birdseye fish
• Continental Cup-a-soup
 Percentage daily intake (%DI)
• Not as useful as reading the NIP

• Presumes you make up the food exactly as specified on the pack eg skim milk with cereal.
 Health Star Rating
• Like with appliances, food labels set to have a health star rating.

• ½ star to 5 stars

• ½ rating applied to packaged, manufactured or processed foods presented ready for sale.

• Number of stars calculated using a gov’t endorsed system.

• The more stars, the more healthy.

Health star cont.

• Other nutrients shown will include

• Saturated fat
• Sugars
• Sodium
• One optional positive nutrient eg calcium

• Also a kilojoule content for the food.

• Will be shown per 100 g.

• Why is this so important? Comparison of products.

• Discourse related to the system – not all vegetables meet the 5 star rating.
Exposed! The tricks used on labels

• Food companies and marketers use lots of tricks to make foods seem
healthier and more appealing.

• Especially used at targeting children.

• Easiest way to implement these tricks is through the food packaging itself.

• Other methods for marketing include freebies (like on campus), TV ads,

magazine ads and promotions.
Trick 1 - Colour

• Colour influences our perception of how healthy a product is.

• Study in Health Communications (Schuldt, J. 2013. 28(8);814-821) found

that consumers chose one chocolate bar as healthier than the other
based on colour of the NIP even though they were identical.

• Although identical calories, green label was perceived as healthier

Examples
 2. Ticks and seals
• Subconsciously we think that the product has met some form of certification criteria.

• More applicable in the USA

3. Weasel words

• Words that imply the food contains certain ingredients, has been
prepared in a certain way or that makes it healthier or at least better than
similar foods.

• “Natural”, “healthy”. Often no meaning.

• Aus NZ Food Stds Code regulates health and nutrient claims, it doesn’t
regulate these kinds of words.

• Weasel words are things like may/can/might/could. Is weaker than saying

will/does/results in.

• Covers the behinds of companies that use them. Often overlooked by the
consumer.
 4. Less ‘”XYZ” than ??
• Unfinished claims eg 25% less salt, 50% less fat, half the calories, etc.

• Often labelled as a ‘smart’ product.

• Will have a * which you have to hunt for

• Reduced isn’t synonymous with low.

5. Irrelevant claims

• Uses a claim that in itself is true for the product but completely useless
because the product never contained it to begin with.

• These claims suggest that the product is unique or unusual. In reality, it is

no different to most foods in that category.

• Eg children’s products “all natural”, “no artificial colours or flavours”

• Think carefully, compare the nutrition to other products. It doesn’t make

it a bad product necessarily.
6. No added “XYZ”

• Most common claim found on food packaging is “no added sugar”.

• The claim is meant to make the customer believe that the product has
none of that nutrient in it at all.

• The product may naturally be high in that nutrient anyway!

6. Examples
7. Healthy brand names
• The brand name is often seen as the key descriptor
of the product.

• Study in Appetite (Oakes, M. 2005. 44(3);317-324) found that people rate

food based on preconceived ideas about the healthiness of a product
category or descriptor, especially people who are dieting and thus may select
the unhealthier option based on its name or product category.
• For example: A dieter or someone health conscious will be more likely to
choose the Go Natural Gluten Free Fruit & Nut delite bar assuming that it will
be healthier than a candy bar. Actually, it contains 932 kJ (11% of your RDI)
and 13.6g of fat (10% of your RDI).

• A 53g Mars bar contains slightly more calories (1020 kJ) but a lot less fat
(9.1g).

• But…the Go Natural bar could argue that it has healthier fats because of the
40% nut content.
Breaches

• NSW Food Authority controls for this state.

• In 2011 Coles and Woolworths got fined for breaching the Country of
Origin labelling.

• Implied origin of food Australia but from o/s

• Coles
• St Mary’s displayed grapefruit without a sign of origin on either ticket price
or stickers. They were from Israel. $880

• Woolworths
• Newington displayed lemons for sale as ‘product of Australia’ but they
were from the USA. $1540
Other breaches or surprises

• Coles
• Australian Federal Court involved
• Misleading customers ‘freshly baked’/’baked fresh’
• Coles bakery or Cuisine Royale products
• Pre-cooked months in advance.
• Up to $1.1million fine for each breach

• Some fruit flavoured drinks can contain traces of beef and alcohol. Golden
circle long life juices
Recap of today’s lecture

• Food label laws

• 9 things that need to be on a food label

• Who controls the labelling laws

• Tricks that companies use to get us to

buy the products

• Good symbols to look for

• How to read and compare food labels.