Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has been working on updating its health claims laws for several years. Until now, the Antipodean markets have been among the stricter food markets in this area.
Currently, they only allow nutrient content claims such as 'this food is high in fibre' and some health maintenance claims like 'calcium is important for healthy bones and teeth'.
The only health claim permitted is for the benefit of folate to help prevent neural tube defects in babies.
The new draft standard, expected to be finalised in mid-2006, proposes two levels of claims. The first are those referring to the content of a food such as 'this food is high in calcium' or a general level health claim on a non-serious disease such as 'yoghurt high in X and Y as part of a healthy diet may reduce your risk of stomach upsets'.
The second type are high level health claims - those that describe the function of a nutrient, vitamin, mineral or other substance in relation to a serious disease. Examples include 'This food is low in sodium. Diets low in sodium may reduce the risk of hypertension'.
Melanie Fisher, FSANZ's food standards manager, said that the proposals would encourage healthier eating and may boost the development of health food products.
She added: "There are checks and balances in the proposed standard. All claims must be substantiated with scientific evidence and, in the case of high level claims, these will be assessed by FSANZ before the product goes on the market."
The Australian proposal follows European draft health claims in that it specifies limits on the amount of fat, sugar and salt for any product making a claim, known as 'nutrient profiling' in Europe.
"Some foods, such as infant formula and alcohol products, will not be allowed to make health claims," said Fischer.
There will also be specific qualifying criteria for some nutrient content claims, for example, food described as 'low salt' must contain no more than 120mg per 100g for solid food and there will be additional information on all content and health claims, for example, the percentage of daily nutrition needs, Fisher added.
The proposed standard also contains recommendations for endorsement programmes (such as the Heart Foundation's Pick the Tick), cause-related fundraisers and dietary advice.
Comments on the draft law can be made until 22 February 2006. The report is available on the FSANZ website.