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Australian MPs demand regulation of plant-based food labelling


植物基

On March 23, the Australian Senate Committee, which oversees fisheries and agricultural issues, released a report on plant-based proteins titled 'Don't Mince Words', which recommended that a "" National Information Standards to Define and Restrict Meat Brands for Use in Animal Protein Products".

Veronica Papacosta, chief executive of the Seafood Industry Association of Australia (SIA), said the recommendations were necessary because food categories were increasingly blurred and plant-based protein products were not clearly regulated.

The committee's recommendations will help ensure that animal protein terms, images and descriptions are used in actual products, which is good for everyone, but not good for anyone if a product is marketed unfairly and dishonestly.

According to the report, the industry has been debating the benefits of products' nutritional value, sustainability and environmental standards, and consumers have failed to truly understand product categories and ingredients through label content.

John Connelly, director of the National Fisheries Institute (NFI), said it was a proactive approach to research showing clear consumer confusion and that Australian lawmakers, regulators and stakeholders were not ignoring the growing problem. the way to start is to realize that plant mixtures are not meat and should not be labeled as meat. Now, policymakers are being asked to figure out how they should be defined and labelled accordingly.

The recommendations also call on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to re-examine plant-based protein products in retail stores and how they are advertised on online platforms.

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