The Cabinet has decided New Zealand should opt out of joint Australia-New Zealand standards on infant formula.
This is in response to failed talks in Sydney late last month, Food Safety Minister Andrew Hoggard said.
“After discussions, Cabinet has decided not to adopt the Australia-New Zealand joint infant formula standard.
“New Zealand sought a review of new labelling requirements, but my Australian colleagues were not in a position to support it. As a result, we will now implement a New Zealand standard over the next five years.”
The issue arose when Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) sought to restrict the amount of promotional material allowed to be put on packages of infant formula. This was being done for health reasons, to promote breastfeeding.
New Zealand has long concurred on breastfeeding, but argues that people who need infant formula for a variety of reasons should be able to know the nutritional details of the product from information on the packaging.
“So long as infant formula is safe and the claims on labels are not misleading, consumers should be allowed to make their own informed choices,” Hoggard said.
He pushed this line at a meeting with ministers of the Australian states and the Federal Government, but was not able to win the argument. As a result, New Zealand will develop its own standard. It remains committed to FSANZ in principle.
The problem is that FSANZ rules are accepted in principle by China under its e-commerce practices. China does the same with European products endorsed by European Union regulators. But because EU rules are more liberal, Chinese consumers would be exposed to far better marketing from European products than would be permissible under FSANZ rules – and that would put New Zealand exporters at a disadvantage.
