Health claims and certifications were a hot topic for food manufacturing throughout 2013.
The Health Star Rating system was given the go ahead to replace the Daily Intake Guide, the FODMAP Friendly certification (foods that are low in Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides and Polyols) was launched and a number of food manufacturers were ousted by consumer watchdog Choice for ‘misleading claims’ regarding fibre content and other related nutritional claims.
The wording of nutritional claims has long been a grey area for legislation within the food industry. Various claims such as ‘a good source of protein’ or ‘a great source of calcium’ were not previously legislated – this resulted in confusion amongst consumers and questionable tactics by some marketers that did not adhere to the voluntary Code of Practice.
In an effort to address this, Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) announced a new standard designed to regulate nutrition content claims and health claims on food labels and in advertisements which food manufacturers must comply with from 18 January 2016.
Under the new standard (Standard 1.2.7), nutrition content claims which relate to the content of certain nutrients or substances in foods such as ‘high in calcium’ and ‘high in fibre’ will need to meet certain criteria in order to make the claim.
In an effort to provide some consistency in relation to whole grain ingredient content claims (which are not included in standard 1.2.7), peak body on the nutritional benefits of grains and legumes, the Grains & Legumes Nutrition Council (GLNC) launched a voluntary industry Code which aims to provide consumers with clear messages regarding the whole grain content of foods.
The new standards will come into play on pack in early 2014, a move that managing director of GLNC, Georgie Aley says is being welcomed by consumers and industry alike.
Food magazine recently spoke to Aley about the specifics of the Code and why it was necessary for Australia to develop a voluntary standard that accurately communicated content levels to consumers.
“The Code was developed to provide clear and consistent messaging to consumers on the whole grain content of food,” says Aley. “Food manufacturers can opt-in by formally becoming a Registered User of the Code with GLNC, enabling them to register products which will carry the approved whole grain ingredient content claim.”
The ingredient content claims are as follows:
- A product containing less than 8g whole grain will not be permitted to make a whole grain content claim
- A product containing greater than 8g whole grain may use the contains whole grain claim
- A product containing greater than 16g whole grain may use the high in whole grain claim
- A product containing greater than 24g whole grain may use the very high in whole grain claim
“In addition, the Code covers the use of the GLNC 48g whole grain Daily Target Intake which was launched in 2006, and is widely used across the industry along with the option for companies to apply for the GLNC logo and/or certification for foods that identify as ‘core foods’ (foods represented within the Australian guide to healthy eating) as per the 2013 Australian Dietary Guidelines.”
Since the launch of the Code in July this year, a number of large manufacturers have signed up as registered users including Goodman Fielder, Sanitarium and Bakers Delight.
Both Bakers Delight and Goodman Fielder have chosen to use the Daily Target Intake (DTI) statement and content claims on a range of their products, and Sanitarium will use the DTI statement across its Weet-Bix range from 2014. Nestle/Cereal Partners Worldwide – makers of Uncle Toby’s breakfast cereals has also jumped onboard, outlining that their breakfast cereals contain at least a minimum of 8g whole grain per serve with the majority of products representing a high whole grain content per serve.
Aley also explains that GLNC’s code is in line with international labelling standards of whole grain foods including the recently approved characterisation of the AACCI (American Association of Cereal Chemists International) standard of 8 grams of whole grain per 30 grams of product.
The AACCI standard was introduced in May this year – a move that Aley says was highly anticipated by the American, European and Australian cereal grains industries.
“Many countries have explored and implanted whole grain certifications or symbols over the years, however some programs did not have strict criteria or a minimum whole grain content amount specified to quantify the overall whole grain level of the food,” says Aley.
“The AACCI released a whole grain characterisation in May 2013 which characterised a whole grain food as having 8g whole grain per 30g serve size.
“We believe that GLNC’s new voluntary industry standard is leading the way in terms of establishing a consistent message to consumers through clear, scalable levels to communicate the whole grain content of a food.”
The current Australian Dietary Guidelines specify that Australians need to consume six serves of grain foods each day, and Aley says that the new GLNC characterisation will provide consumers with the information that they need in order to reach these recommended levels effectively, as well as providing industry with a measurable benchmark for claims that they can use in their marketing.
“The Code is a win for consumers as whole grain content varies across food and this provides them with a clear comparison of foods that assist them in meeting their daily target. For food industry it signals their adherence to best practice within the industry and a commitment to communicating clearly to consumers.”