Banned in Europe, but we'll eat it

AUSTRALIANS are being let down by the food regulator, by failing to keep up with European counterparts in enforcing higher standards in supermarkets.

Caroline Jane and her kids Saskia, Hugo and Freya pictured at her Mosman house today. (L to R) Hugo, Freya, Caroline and Saskia. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

AUSTRALIANS are being let down by the food regulator, which has failed to keep pace with European counterparts in enforcing higher standards on supermarket shelves.

While Europe is moving to ban trans fats, artificial colours and pesticide residue from food, our regulator, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), sits idle.

FSANZ works with a ministerial council, which meets every six to 12 months; but communiques show that few decisions are made.

While iodised salt will be used in bread and there will be mandatory fortification of bread with folate from today, little else has been done to improve the diet of Australians.

Nutritionists say FSANZ should be following the lead of the European Union. It is banning artificial colours found to cause behavioural issues in children; is working to cut saturated fat and sugar levels in key foods; has published salt-reduction targets for 80 categories of food; and will ban cereal-makers from promoting their products with bogus health claims.

Deakin University Associate Professor of Public Health and Nutrition Mark Lawrence said the problem was Australia's regulatory system.

He said it operated for the food industry and consumers and public health interests didn't get a look in.

FSANZ should be cracking down on energy drinks, high-sugar fruit juices and breakfast cereals high in sugar and salt, he said.

"A lot of junk foods are being dressed up with a cocktail of nutrients to make them appear healthier than they are,'' he said.

"We've got very lax regulations on what products can be fortified on a voluntary basis and ... then being able to claim they are good sources of vitamin C or whatever. That combination has been quite detrimental to public health.''

Several nations have also moved to ban potentially deadly trans fats, but FSANZ believes Australians don't consume enough to warrant action.

"Where you have international jurisdictions steaming ahead with getting rid of trans fats you have FSANZ playing footsies, saying we don't eat that much trans fats,'' said Greens MP John Kaye, who has campaigned for tougher food regulations.

Leading nutritionist Rosemary Stanton said the regulator only had to introduce mandatory labelling to halt their use.

"If you make it mandatory for the label to declare the quantity of trans fat, manufacturers will fall over themselves to put `no trans fat' labels on their products,'' she said.

Dr Stanton said FSANZ needed to be given greater powers to bring it up to UK standards.

Mr Kaye said Australia lagged behind other nations on front-of-package labelling, or ``traffic light'' labelling, and allowed pesticide residue in food that other countries had banned because of their links to birth defects and cancer rates.

"What FSANZ is doing is putting barriers in the way - it's not allowing Australian parents access to the same quality of information that parents in the UK are getting,'' he said.

An FSANZ spokesman defended its position and said it relied on scientific evidence when making decisions.

"Obviously, we take great notice of international research from our sister and brother organisations around the world; however, we make our own decisions,'' FSANZ spokesman Mark Thornton said.

"Where we have taken the contrary decision, we believe that's the correct way to go - that there is no scientific evidence to the contrary.''