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Food and Health Dialogue Communiqué

The Australian Government’s Food and Health Dialogue met on 24 August and endorsed a Quick Service Restaurant engagement strategy as part of its work with industry to make healthier food choices easier and more accessible for all Australians.

PDF printable version of Food and Health Dialogue Communiqué (PDF 52 KB)

24 August 2012

The Australian Government’s Food and Health Dialogue met today and endorsed a Quick Service Restaurant (QSR) engagement strategy as part of its work with industry to make healthier food choices easier and more accessible for all Australians.

Modelling of work done to date by the Dialogue of reformulation in its first four food categories indicates that approximately 2200 tonnes of salt can be removed from the food supply every year.

"Research suggests that discretionary foods form a large part of Australians’, and particularly children’s, diets,” the Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King said today.

"The QSR sector can play an important role in improving the health outcomes for Australians through participation in activities aimed at improving the nutritional quality of fast foods, reducing standard portion sizes, and further educating customers about how to make healthier food choices.”

"The engagement strategy involves negotiating with the sector on a range of reformulation activities and targets.”

"Many QSR companies are already reformulating their products to improve nutritional quality, and the Dialogue aims are to build on, rather than replicate, these efforts.

"The QSR sector’s response to the Dialogue’s proposal has been very positive and we are looking forward to making some significant changes in this area," Ms King said.

QSRs engaged in Food and Health Dialogue activities to date include McDonalds Australia; Hungry Jack's; Yum! Restaurants International (KFC and Pizza Hut); QSR Holdings (Red Rooster, Oporto, Chicken Treat); and Subway.

Ms King said a QSR roundtable is expected to be held in September 2012 where members will discuss and agree on reformulation activities they will be undertaking in the forthcoming months.

Members of the Dialogue also discussed the initiative’s progress against key milestones and priorities. Items included:

Dairy Australia - Cheese Reformulation: Innovation and Challenges

Professor Barry Law and Dr Eithne Cahill from Dairy Australia provided members with an outline of innovative cheese reformulation activities currently taking place in the dairy industry, and some of the challenges faced by industry as part of these activities.

Progress reports – Industry Roundtables

Members noted the progress to date achieved by participants on the bread, breakfast cereal, and processed meat roundtables.

Bread roundtable participants advised that between May 2011 to May 2012, 27 bread products were reformulated, with an average total sodium reduction of approximately 11%. Of the 33 new products that were launched since May 2011, 26 have a sodium content of ≤400mg/100g. Since 2010 a total of 67 bread products have been reformulated.

Over the same period, participants on the breakfast cereal roundtable advised that of the 28 cereals identified for reformulation during the period, 22 have had their sodium content reduced by an average of 25 per cent. Of the 17 new products that were launched between May 2011 and May 2012, 14 have a sodium content of ≤400mg/100g. Since 2010, a total of 40 breakfast cereals have been reformulated.

The processed meat roundtable participants have been conducting research on how best to reduce sodium without impacting shelf-life. So far, four processed meat products have had their sodium reduced by an average of 28.5%, and one company reduced the saturated fat content of four of its cocktail frankfurt products by 38.3%. Five new products were launched during the period, all of which are below the Dialogue’s reformulation targets for sodium and saturated fat.

Simmer sauce roundtable participants and soups roundtable participants are due to report back to the Dialogue late December 2012 and February 2013.

Members noted that engagement with the processed poultry industry has been delayed due to the sale of one of Australia’s major manufacturers. The Dialogue will revisit engaging with this industry sector at a later date.

Members noted the technological constraints with cheese reformulation and the need for continued consultation with Dairy Australia in respect of setting appropriate reformulation targets.

Company Action Plan – Savoury Pie Roundtable

On 25 March 2012, the Parliamentary Secretary publicly announced the agreed reformulation targets for participants of the savoury pie roundtable. Members were provided with a summary of savoury pie company action plans.

As part of their company action plans, participants on the savoury pie roundtable committed to reduce the sodium content of approximately 58 products by March 2014. Participants will report back to the Dialogue on progress against their commitments annually with the first progress report due in November 2012.

Next Priority Food Categories

The next categories to be engaged under the Dialogue are potato and corn chips, and savoury crackers.

Dietary Intake Modelling

Members noted the key findings of the final report provided by FSANZ on its dietary exposure analyses for the four combined reformulated food categories, of bread, ready-to-eat breakfast cereal, processed meats and simmer sauces.

Members noted the work reaffirms that food reformulation is cumulative and requires the involvement of all food manufacturers to achieve more significant reductions similar to those experienced in the UK where over 80 food categories have been reformulated resulting in a reduction of 1.4g of sodium per person per day.

Members of the Food and Health Dialogue are:

The Hon Catherine King, Parliamentary Secretary for Health (Chair)
Mr Steve McCutcheon, Chief Executive Officer, Food Standards Australia New Zealand
Dr Lyn Roberts, Chief Executive Officer, National Heart Foundation of Australia
Mr Andrew Hall, Director Corporate and Public Affairs, Woolworths
Dr Manny Noakes, Senior Dietitian and Research Scientist, CSIRO
Mr Michael Moore, Chief Executive Officer, Public Health Association of Australia
Mr Gary Dawson, Chief Executive Officer, Australian Food and Grocery Council
Ms Patricia Carter, Principal Advisor-Public Health Nutrition, Health Promotion Branch, Public Health and Clinical Systems, SA Health
Ms Tracey Monaghan, Director of Quality Assurance ANZ, McDonald’s Australia (Quick Service Restaurant Forum representative)