Food, Health and Product Safety Archives - Page 14 of 46

5 September , 2022

ASIC review finds room for improvement remains with life insurance claims handling

ASIC’s review of nearly 4800 individual disability income insurance (IDII) claims received between 1 January and 30 June 2021 has found more work is needed by insurers to ensure that consumers are protected from unfair practices in non-disclosure investigations and physical surveillances. As a result of ASIC’s review, some life insurers have made improvements to…

22 August , 2022

Price transparency and consumers’ right to food

Recently, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published an interview with Ian Jarratt from the Queensland Consumers Association on the relevance of retail food price transparency to the FAO’s Right to Food Program. In the interview Ian says that food price transparency is extremely relevant to consumers’ right to food because it ensures that…

22 August , 2022

Red alert for dangerous infant mattresses

The following is a piece by Dr Ron Somers (PhD) former external senior lecturer in public health at the University of Adelaide, former director of epidemiology at SA Health, and a long-time GP practice manager. Ron is also the CFA Standards Representative on two Standards Australia Technical Committees. Australian consumers need to exercise caution over the coming…

12 August , 2022

ACCC seeks to reduce infant sleep product risks to help keep babies safe

The ACCC is seeking feedback on ways to reduce significant safety risks associated with products commonly used to place babies to sleep. A consultation paper published today, outlines a range of proposed regulatory options which aim to prevent infant injuries and deaths caused by inclined and other products when used for sleep. This is a media release from the Australian…

8 August , 2022

Food and Agruculture Organization interview CFA Executive Ian Jarratt

Ian Jarratt, CFA Executive member and Queensland Consumers Association (QCA) member, was recently interviewed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations about the importance of food transparency, unit pricing, and the role that consumer associations need to play in the transformation of agri-food systems. In this interview, he talks about his experiences from…

8 August , 2022

Consumer Check-in: Expectations in 2022

ACCAN recently commissioned research asking the Australian public about their top concerns when it comes to their communications services. This is a media release from the Australian Communications Consumer Action Network (ACCAN). It was originally published on 27th July, 2022. We surveyed nearly 1000 (n=998) Australians on a range of topics. We asked people about the affordability and…

8 August , 2022

ACCC launches Your First Steps to help parents keep their baby safe

Parents and carers can get the latest, most reliable information on best practices to keep their baby safe and unsafe products, as part of a new ACCC initiative. Your First Steps, launched today by the ACCC, is a dedicated website, where parents and carers can go for safety advice on how they can protect their…

14 June , 2022

CFA supports mandatory safety and information standards for toppling furniture

Consumers’ Federation of Australia has made a submission to the ACCC consultation paper, Toppling Furniture Consultation Paper – Assessment of Regulatory Options. The CFA strongly supports the proposal to enact mandatory safety and information standards to address product safety associated with toppling furniture. The move towards a more holistic approach to prevent, in the main,…

20 May , 2022

CFA Seeks a Consumer Representative for the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Consumer and Public Health Dialogue (CPHD)

FSANZ is a statutory authority operating under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. FSANZ develops standards that regulate the use of ingredients, processing aids, colourings, additives, vitamins and minerals. The Food Standards Code also covers the composition of some foods, such as dairy, meat and beverages as well as foods developed by new…

20 May , 2022

ACCC seeking to reduce toppling furniture dangers

The ACCC is seeking feedback about ways to reduce the dangers posed by toppling furniture, which has killed at least 28 people in Australia since 2000 and causes close to 20 injuries every week. This is a media release from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC). It was originally published on 13th May, 2022. A consultation paper published today,…

16 May , 2022

Inadequate unit pricing risks higher grocery prices, says complaint to ACCC

The Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) has complained to the ACCC about the inadequate display of grocery unit pricing in some supermarkets operated by Woolworths and by Harris Farm Markets. CFA’s CEO Gerard Brody says “it is essential that the unit prices of grocery products are displayed so that they are easy for all consumers…

5 May , 2022

Grocery shoppers advised to look out for “shrinkflation”: hidden grocery price increases caused by package downsizing

The Queensland Consumers Association (QCA) is advising grocery shoppers to look out for hidden price increases caused by reductions in the amount of product in pre-packaged items. This is a media release from Queensland Consumers Association. It was originally published on 10th April, 2022. Unless the selling price is also reduced proportionally, package downsizing means that consumers pay more…