Food, Health and Product Safety

Two people on a quad bike Two people on a quad bike

On Friday, CFA hosted its Consumer Advocacy Soapbox Session, celebrating the best consumer advocacy campaigns over 2019–20. The Soapbox Session was initially part of the National Consumer Congress, which was to be in March. With the support of the ACCC, CFA moved the Session online. The winner of the Award was Raphael Grzebieta from the…

Read More CFA Soapbox Prizewinner — Quad Bike Performance Project

A childs hands playing with toy blocks A childs hands playing with toy blocks

Luke Nottage, Professor, Sydney Law School, University of Sydney This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article. The death of Brittney Conway, the three-year-old Gold Coast girl killed by swallowing a button battery, has again drawn attention to deaths and injuries caused by consumer goods – and to…

Read More Rather than recalling unsafe products, why not ensure they’re safe in the first place?

Small round disk batteries in green and black cardboard packaging that says 'GP Lithium' Small round disk batteries in green and black cardboard packaging that says 'GP Lithium'

The ACCC is urging parents and carers to be aware of the serious risks associated with button batteries, as it launches its ‘Tiny batteries, Big danger’ safety campaign today. In Australia, one child a month is seriously injured after swallowing or inserting a button battery, with some of them sustaining lifelong injuries. In Australia and globally, there…

Read More Button batteries – tiny batteries, big danger

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This is an important consultation because this Act is one of the main pieces of legislation and agreements that that make up the joint food regulatory system that operates in Australia and New Zealand. It mainly empowers Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to set and amend food standards and undertake other core functions. It…

Read More Scoping Paper on the Review of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 released for public consultation

An eyeshadow pallette An eyeshadow pallette

CFA has appointed John Furbank as its representative to the Standards Australia Technical Committee CS-108 Cosmetics – Terminology. John is also a member of FT-032 Organic and biodynamic products which developed the standard AS 6000 Organic and biodynamic products that includes requirements for organic cosmetic and skincare products. The Australian marketplace is exposed to a…

Read More CFA representative appointed to a Standards Australia committee on cosmetics

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CFA’s submission on a consultation paper on the development of a National Preventive Health Strategy strongly supports the preparation and implementation of the Strategy. CFA agrees with the paper that: Our health system is focussed fundamentally on the treatment of illness and disease. There is a need to enhance the focus on prevention providing more…

Read More CFA makes submission on development of the National Preventive Health Strategy

A Stethoscope A Stethoscope

In June 2019, the Minister for Health, the Hon Greg Hunt MP announced that the Australian Government would develop a National Preventive Health Strategy. The Strategy aims to help Australians improve their health at all stages of life, through early intervention, better information, and targeting risk factors and the broader causes of health and wellbeing.…

Read More Consultation on the development of the National Preventative Health Strategy

Photo of jars of honey Photo of jars of honey

Country of origin labelling (CoOL) lets consumers know which country a product came from. The Federal Government developed a discussion paper to consider if labels are helping consumers make more informed choices and clarifying the origin claims that businesses can make. In summary, we recommend that: Requirements under the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information…

Read More CFA makes submission to Evaluation of Country of Origin Food Labelling

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The Battery Stewardship Council (BSC) will be able to establish and operate a national scheme for managing expired batteries under an authorisation granted by the ACCC. BSC was formed in 2018 with the primary goal of establishing a battery stewardship scheme in Australia that would see a significant increase in battery collections and recycling. Batteries…

Read More Voluntary battery stewardship scheme granted authorisation

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Beyond Blue and Financial Counselling Australia (FCA) are encouraging people to access free support services to cope with the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The organisations have launched the Money on Your Mind campaign to support people experiencing financial stress and mental health issues. Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows 41 per cent of…

Read More Money on your mind – campaign to improve mental and financial health