Over 3,500 Australians join the call for traffic light labels
CHOICE says Federal Parliamentary Secretary for Health, Catherine King, should listen to the voices of Australian consumers and support better food labelling when Australia’s food and health ministers meet this Friday in Melbourne.
“Since last Wednesday, more than 3,500 consumers have joined CHOICE’s call on governments to introduce a traffic lights-style labelling system and help Australians make quick, easy decisions about the food we eat every day,” says CHOICE spokesperson Ingrid Just.[1]
CHOICE says that the Ministerial Council will have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to act on the demands of consumers when they respond to the recommendations of the independent, expert review of food labelling.
“Reviews like this come along very rarely, and every Minister who votes on Friday will shape food labelling for the next couple of decades, affecting millions of Australians in the decisions they make about the food they eat every day,” says Ms Just.
“That’s why we are calling on the Parliamentary Secretary to heed the expert panel’s advice, stand up for the future health of Australians and commit to better food labels.”
The people’s watchdog has put forward five priorities to fix dodgy food labels for the Ministerial Council meeting this Friday:[2]
- Introducing a traffic light labelling system
to make healthy choices easier.
- Stamping out dodgy nutrition and health claims to reduce consumer confusion.
- Improving country-of-origin labelling to close loopholes and clear up uncertainties in the current regulations.
- Developing free-range labelling standards to ensure consumers willing to pay a premium for these products get what they pay for.
- Establishing a better framework for food labelling to ensure we don’t find ourselves another 13 years down the track confronting the same problems as today but with even worse health consequences.
CHOICE is sending its open letter on traffic lights to the nine Federal, state and territory ministers who will decide the future of food labelling at Friday’s meeting.
“We encourage Ms King to put the interests of consumers first, and we will ensure the spotlight is kept on governments as they decide the future of food labelling,” says Ms Just.
Read more on CHOICE's position on traffic light labelling.
Media contact:
Ingrid Just, CHOICE, Head of Media and Spokesperson: 0430 172 669