Use contemporary food standards for analysis:
Health claims
Review the information pertaining to this standard and provide an assessment of the following issues:
1. Document the policy statement that informs the standard.
2. Discuss the history/development of the standard
3. Describe the key players / submitters / commentators and their position in relation to standard
4. Situate the standard within relevant global policy/standards
5. Critique its alignment with public health principles
Conclude your analysis by summarizing the changes you would recommend to enable achievement of improved public health impacts
Length:2000 words
NOTE: the following criteria must be address strictly while addressing main question
This assessment relates to Module 3.4: food regulation and key regulatory issues. You may find it helpful to listen to the related online lectures and associated readings and links in this Module.
I also suggest that you use the individual task points for this assessment as subheadings in your report, as well as an introduction and conclusion.
You may find the following points helpful:
If you were to chooseHealth claims,for example, the policy statement that relates to that is Standard 1.2.7.
You are required to
- Document the policy statement that informs the standard ie give a summary overview of Standard 1.2.7, with some detail about the different levels of health claims
- Discuss the history/development of Standard 1.2.7 – from its development to the present day
- Describe the key players / submitters / commentators and their position in relation to standard – you will find it helpful to refer to the submissions that were made to the consultation paper of March 2009 – there is a link on Module 3.4 of Moodle that I copied and past in next page
- Situate the standard within relevant global policy/standards – how does Standard 1.2.7 compare with other countries’ food standards/legislation and with Codex Alimentarius?
- Critique its alignment with public health principles – I think this is straight forward and will be up to your individual judgement
- Given your review what else to you think could be done to improve public health impacts??
2000 words
Following note and link will be needed for assignment
http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/labelling/nutrition/Pages/default.aspx main link
Foodand nutrition laws have been in place for decades. Traditionally in Australia, theirfocus has beenon safeguarding the purity and safety of thefood supply, andensuring that foodproviders were being honest about foodcontents. Ultimately, theaim was to prevent acute food safety concerns. Historically, there has been less focusonregulations to maintain and optimise the nutrition status of individuals or populations (i.e. health promotion objectives). However, two of the food regulatory issues that we will discuss as part of this sub-module relate to the broader Public Health agenda for not only protecting public safety, but also promoting good health – i.e. food labelling and food fortification.
USE THESE LINK FOR assignment
MOODLE 3.4
Further information onkey regulatory bodies can be found here:Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ);NSW Food Authority;Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation; and theFood Regulation Standing Committee.The Food Standards Code can be foundhere. (You should, at the very least, click through to all of these links to see how toaccess information on these organisations/bodies).
Since the review of Review of Food Labelling Law and Policyin 2009, a large number ofconsultation and policy documentshave been developed on the issue, with subsequent changes to the Food Standards code related toNutrition, Health and Related Claims. There has also been avoluntary front-of-pack labelling schemethat has been endorsed by the Australia and New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation.
· Have you seen food products displaying the Health Star Rating System? This system will be rolled outover the next five years, from June 2014. Note, however, that this isvoluntaryand so we cannot expect the same uptake as would be seen by a mandatory system (this is due to it’s implementation being a negotiation between Government, industry, and public health and consumer groups. So it’s not an ideal outcome but a step in the right direction!
In relation to Nutrition, Health and Related Claims, outcomes from this standard have been met with mixed views from the public health community. According to the standard, for manufacturers to be able to make a general or high-level health claim, the product must meet certain nutritional criteria for the product overall (theNutrient Profiling Scoring Criteria). Unfortunately, the same restrictions do not apply to nutrient content claims, nor for health-relatedingredient claims(e.g. ‘Contains fruit and vegetables’ or ‘whole grains’). Therefore, there is a potential for unhealthy products to carry nutrient content claims or to promote certain ingredients. Seeherefor amedia article describing this issue
