Food and Health Dialogue Communique
An Australian Government project to tackle poor dietary habits and to make healthier food choices easier and more accessible for all Australians, is achieving significant outcomes with the food industry stepping up to the mark with a number of better nutrition initiatives, the federal Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, said today, when chairing the seventh meeting of the government's Food and Health Dialogue.
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26 August 2011
An Australian Government project to tackle poor dietary habits and to make healthier food choices easier and more accessible for all Australians, is achieving significant outcomes with the food industry stepping up to the mark with a number of better nutrition initiatives, the federal Parliamentary Secretary for Health and Ageing, Catherine King, said today.
Chairing the seventh meeting of the government's Food and Health Dialogue, which brings together government, industry and public health groups to act on giving the Australian public healthier food choices, Ms King said the Dialogue is undertaking, as its primary activity, action on food innovation.
"This includes a voluntary reformulation program to reduce the salt, added sugar and saturated fat, and increase the fibre, wholegrain, fruit and vegetable content of commonly consumed foods. This activity is being supported by strategies to standardise and reduce portion sizes and improve consumer awareness of healthier food choices," Ms King said.
“The Dialogue continues to achieve significant outcomes and the progress industry has shown in reformulating its products over the past 18 months is very promising.
“Consumers can see which companies have committed to improving the nutritional profile of their products on the new Food and Health Dialogue website.
“Together with industry, the Dialogue will make a real difference on the dietary intakes of Australians."
Members of the Dialogue met in Canberra today and discussed progress against key milestones and priorities. Items included:
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to join the Food and Health Dialogue
Members agreed to extend an invitation to FSANZ to nominate a representative to join the Dialogue Executive. FSANZ is involved in several key activities under the Dialogue, including the monitoring of reformulation activities to ensure that the public health objectives of the initiative are met. Extending the Dialogue membership to FSANZ will enable the Dialogue to draw on the Agency’s extensive experience in food modelling analysis and knowledge of the food supply chain.Progress reports – Industry Roundtables
Members noted the progress to date achieved by participants on the Bread, Breakfast Cereal, Simmer Sauce and Processed Meat Roundtables. Between December 2010 and May 2011, Bread Roundtable participants reduced by up to 16 per cent the sodium (Sodium is a key component of dietary salt content) of more than 35 bread products. Over the same period, participants on the Breakfast Cereal Roundtable achieved an average sodium reduction of 25 per cent across more than 20 ready-to-eat cereals. The products reformulated represent major brands with considerable market share.Participants on the Simmer Sauce Roundtable have committed to reduce the sodium content of more than 120 products by the end of 2014. Processed Meat Roundtable participants have committed to reduce the sodium content of more than 50 products by the end of 2013 and are also looking to reduce the saturated fat of their popular processed meat products.
Members noted that the first Soup Roundtable was held on 26 July 2011, where sodium reduction targets were discussed. The Soup Roundtable will convene again in October 2011.
Members noted that roundtables will be held with the savoury pies, cheese and processed poultry sectors from October 2011.
Further information on the industry roundtables is available on the Food and Health Dialogue website: http://www.foodhealthdialogue.gov.au
Review of national and international programs
Members noted key findings from a review of programs that are being undertaken nationally and internationally to address poor dietary intakes, including through product reformulation, portion sizing and consumer messaging. Among those reviewed were programs from the United Kingdom, Canada and Europe. Dialogue members will review and consider how best to apply the findings in formulating the Dialogue’s forward work plan.Modelling
FSANZ provided an update on modelling work being undertaken to estimate the impacts of the Dialogue’s reformulation activities on population intakes of specified nutrients. The modelling is initially considering the effects on sodium intakes of the Dialogue’s bread and breakfast cereal reformulation targets. FSANZ is expected to present its findings to the Dialogue in November 2011.Food Composition Database Pilot
Members noted the progress on the Food Composition Database (FCDB) Pilot. The FCDB Pilot aims to establish a system for the Department of Health and Ageing to monitor the reformulation activities of companies engaged under the Dialogue. The FCDB Pilot will initially capture nutrient and serve size information on products from participants on the Bread and Breakfast Cereal Roundtables. The feasibility of matching product information with sales data will be explored as part of the Pilot.Engagement with the Quick Service Restaurant sector (QSR)
Members were advised that efforts are underway to engage the QSR sector in the Dialogue’s reformulation, portion sizing and consumer messaging activities. With an increasing proportion of food consumed away from home, Dialogue members agreed that efforts to engage the QSR sector were timely.Food and Health Dialogue webpage
Members noted the launch of the Dialogue’s new website (http://www.foodhealthdialogue.gov.au ) on 29 July 2011. The new website provides information to industry, consumers and public health groups on Dialogue activities, including agreed reformulation targets, as well as further opportunities for industry partners to promote their involvement in the Dialogue. An e-newsletter to accompany the new-look website is in development, with the first edition anticipated to be released by the end of September 2011. Subscription to the e-newsletter can be arranged by contacting the Dialogue secretariat at foodandhealthdialogue@health.gov.auMembers 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
Ms Kate Carnell, Chief Executive Officer Australian Food and Grocery Council
Dr Amanda Lee, Director, Nutrition and Physical Activity Unit, Preventative Health Directorate, Queensland Health (state-territory representative)
Ms Tracey Monaghan, Director of Quality Assurance ANZ, McDonald’s Australia (Quick Service Restaurant Forum representative)
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