Food, Health and Product Safety Archives - Page 24 of 46

2 August , 2018

Measurement Law Review should take more account of consumer needs

Submissions by the Queensland Consumers Association and Choice on a recent Discussion Paper on the scope of Australia’s measurement laws, want the current review, and future laws, to: Be more driven by the needs of consumers and society in general and to not be excessively focused on measurement for economic activity and the needs of…

25 July , 2018

ISO Unit Pricing Committee Meet in Japan

The following is an excerpt from an article contributed by John Furbank and Dr Clinton Weeks Many Australian consumers are familiar with and regularly use unit pricing. In Australia Unit Pricing Regulations came into effect in July 2009. However, some unit prices are not easy to read and in other counties there is no unit pricing…

18 July , 2018

Cots and strollers consistently failing CHOICE lab tests

CHOICE is calling for urgent reform to Australia’s product safety system as analysis shows children’s products consistently fail CHOICE lab tests for voluntary and mandatory safety standards. “From portable cots that fail suffocation tests to strollers with finger traps, safety failures are so routine it’s clear that manufacturers are not prioritising safety,” says CHOICE Head…

18 July , 2018

Public comment invited on new refrigeration appliance standard

On 14 June 2018, Standards Australia’s draft AS/NZS 4474:2018 Household refrigerating appliances – Energy labelling and minimum energy performance standards requirements standard was published for public comment. This standard embodies several years of work by members of the EL-059 Committee that includes E3 Program representatives and other key stakeholders. Once implemented, this standard will bring into effect…

11 July , 2018

Clear sugar labelling on the table

CHOICE welcomes the Federal Government’s options paper on added sugar today which includes options for strong measures for sugar labelling like visual labelling of teaspoons of sugar on sugar-sweetened beverages. “For years CHOICE has been calling for added sugar labelling and it’s great to see the Federal Government putting forward options that will allow Australians…

1 July , 2018

WA Fitness Industry Code Review

The Western Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has published a consultation paper as part of its review into the WA Fitness Industry Code. Feedback is being sought from fitness services providers, consumers, industry associations and other interested parties as to the effectiveness and appropriateness of the Code. Attending a gym or fitness…

27 June , 2018

Country of origin food labelling surveillance to commence

After 1 July, Australian consumers will have much greater certainty about the origins of the food they buy, due to the introduction of mandatory Country of Origin food labelling. The ACCC will conduct market surveillance checks on 10,000 food products to ensure businesses are correctly displaying the new labels. All businesses – including manufacturers, processors…

26 June , 2018

2018 Wiring Rules are now available for licensed electrical practitioners

Standards Australia announced today that the 2018 edition of AS/NZS 3000:2018, Electrical Installations (known as the Wiring Rules) has been published in Australia and New Zealand. The new standard, created through collaboration between industry and government, has now been published with key updates in important areas, such as main switches, residual current devices (RCDs) and DC wiring…

31 May , 2018

G20 Consumer Summit 2018

The second ever G20 Summit on Consumer Protection was held in Argentina in May 2018. At the invitation of the co hosts, the Argentinian Directorate for Consumer Protection and Consumers International, Professor Gail Pearson represented Australia and spoke on Food Waste and consumer awareness and education. The program focused on the digital economy and protection…

30 May , 2018

What can truthfully be labelled recyclable?

With China no longer willing to accept material from Australia for potential recycling, there is a national discussion about what can and cannot truthfully be labelled as “recyclable” going forward in Australia. Standards Australia has played a lead role in the development of standards on environmental labelling as the Secretariat of the ISO TC 207 SC 3 Environmental…

9 May , 2018

Playing safe with kids’ toys

Keeping kids free from harm is the effect of standards for toy safety. ISO has just updated a toy safety standard to ensure it covers all bases. Made for play, children’s toys are rife with potential hidden hazards ranging from sharp edges to cords or small parts, to name a few. The humble plaything can cause great harm if not designed and manufactured…

3 May , 2018

Product Safety: A global picture

Consumers International has released a new report: The challenge of protecting consumers from unsafe products: A global picture. The report, based on a survey of 132 organisations in 100 countries, found that national product safety legislation is struggling to adapt to the unprecedented challenges created by technological advances and the transformative nature of international supply chains…