On Wednesday 10 October 2012, representatives of Choice, the Consumer Federation of Australia (CFA) and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) met at the Consumer Standing Forum (CSF) which was held at the office of Standards Australia (SA) in Sydney. The CSF was briefed on the developments and the decisions of the COPOLCO Mirror Committee (CMC) meeting which was held a day prior at the same venue.
The CSF discussed investigative research undertaken by the ACCC and SA regarding the development of free range egg standards and more broadly the positive impact that food labelling standards can have on the consumer population. Guest speakers from the National Measurements Institute (NMI) and Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) delivered presentations on their respective involvement in the development of food labelling and packaging standards.
The two organisations’ representatives also discussed their current areas of interest and their upcoming publications. CSF members agreed to investigate and where possible present opportunities for SA to become involved with the development of food labelling standards in the future.
A discussion was also held regarding the current standards being developed by SA relating to the consumer sector, which are open for public comment. CSF members were encouraged to seek comment from their respective constituencies and to participate in the public comment process.
The Chair of the CSF invited participants to introduce new agenda items for the next CSF meeting which will be held in 2013.
For more information contact the Standards Coordinator standards@consumeraction.org.au