Food watchdog is all bark

THE food regulatory body has failed to act on trans fats, food colourings and chemicals in baby food.

Slow moving ... The food regulatory body has failed to act on trans fats and other hazards.

THE food regulatory body has failed to act on trans fats, food colourings and chemicals in baby food, despite warnings about their health impacts.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), has been attacked for being "too heavily influenced by industry" following the release of it's annual report, which revealed no regulatory action would be taken on consumer issues raised this year.

"We don't rate them highly as a consumer protection agency,"said Choice senior food policy officer Clare Hughes.

A Choice study this year raised concerns on the presence of Bipheral A, or BPAs found in baby food, plastic bottles and canned food. BPA is a plasticiser than can interfere with the body's hormones.

FSANZ conducted a review to address consumer concern and concluded the levels in Australian products were safe.

"They found similar levels to what we found, but the bulk of the debate has been on what level is safe," Ms Hughes said. "We think they need to take a more cautionary approach and the onus should be on manufacturers to prove that they are safe."

Sue Dengate from the Food Intolerance Network was also disappointed FSANZ failed to act on food colourings, which have been linked to disturbances in childhood behaviour. The European Union moved to require warning labels on all foods containing the offending colours. US research also linked several artificial colours with cancer this year.

However, FSANZ reviewed the studies and found no action was required.

"FSANZs is not protecting the consumer, they are protecting the food industry and parents need to understand they can't rely on the regulator to protect their children, all you can do is vote with your buying dollar," Ms Dengate said. Some manufacturers, like Aldi, have responded to consumer concerns, removing the colours from their product lines.

The Public Health Association also weighed into the debate calling on the regulator to be much more proactive on consumer issues.

"The concern of the PHA in the past is that we believe they have been industry focused," Chief Executive Officer of the PHA Michael Moore said. "It's incredibly frustrating they haven't responded to these areas of concern."

"Their charter is the protection of public health and safety and the provision of adequate consumer information, so we think it should be a regulator with a strong consumer protection focus," Ms Hughes said.

FSANZ spokeswoman Lorraine Belanger said: "We are aware of consumer concerns but our role is to assess these things on the basis of the science available, then make a decision," she said.

The regulator also failed to take action on trans fats, preferring non-regulatory measures by industry.

Nutritionist Rosemary Stanton has campaigned for the labelling of trans fats, which are proven to contribute to coronary heart disease.

On trans fats, the agency said Australians intake was 'quite low' and non-regulatory measures were being reviewed.

Rosemary Stanton has long been critical of FSANZ's lack of power and close ties with food lobby groups, asking:.

"Why doesn't FSANZ require labelling of trans fats?"