Commonwealth legislation

Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Schedule 4 – Nutrition, health and related claims

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What this instrument does (mechanically)

It is Schedule 4 to the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code and sets the detailed, technical rules that determine when food businesses may make voluntary nutrition content claims (e.g. “low fat”, “good source of protein”), permitted high‑level health claims (claims that link a food or food property to a serious disease or risk factor), and general level health claims (functional or nutritional role claims about vitamins, minerals, fibre, protein, etc.). (See S4—3, S4—4, S4—5.)
It defines key terms used in those tests (for example, how “sugars” and “added sugar(s)” are to be interpreted for claims) and refers to other parts of the Code for limits on claimable amounts. (See S4—2; cross‑references to sections such as 1.3.2—4, 1.3.2—5 and S1—2/S1—3.)
It prescribes the Nutrient Profiling Scoring Criterion (NPSC) used to screen whether a food is eligible to bear certain health claims (Category 1, 2 or 3 foods with numeric cut‑offs). (See S4—6.)
It lays out numerous specific, measurable conditions attached to each descriptor (for example thresholds expressed as mg/100 g, g/serving, percentage reductions relative to a reference food, “no detectable” requirements, or composition rules for fatty acids and sugars). (See S4—3 table entries for fat, sugar, sodium, omega‑3s, fibre, protein, vitamins and minerals.)
It records transitional and application arrangements for amendments to these rules (including multi‑year transition and post‑transition periods for recent changes, and stock‑in‑trade allowances). The compilation also contains an amendment history showing progressive technical changes (e.g. on added sugar definitions and claims). (See application and transitional provisions table and Amendment History.)

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Sourced from the Federal Register of Legislation (legislation.gov.au), CC BY 4.0.

1 Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Schedule 4 – Nutrition, health and related claims

Schedule 4 Nutrition, health and related claims

Note 1 This instrument is a standard under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth). The standards together make up the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code. See also section 1.1.1—3.

This Standard, together with Schedule 5 and Schedule 6, relates to Standard 1.2.7 (nutrition, health and related claims), and sets out information for the purpose of that Standard.

Note 2 The provisions of the Code that apply in New Zealand are incorporated in, or adopted under, the Food Act 2014 (NZ). See also section 1.1.1—3.

S4—1 Name

This Standard is Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Schedule 4 – Nutrition, health and related claims.

Note Commencement:
This Standard commences on 1 March 2016, being the date specified as the commencement date in notices in the Gazette and the New Zealand Gazette under section 92 of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991 (Cth). See also section 93 of that Act.

S4—2 Definitions

In this Schedule:

maximum claimable amount means the maximum claimable amount as prescribed by section 1.3.2—4 or 1.3.2—5.

reference quantity means the reference quantity specified for the food in the Table to section S17—4.

Note In this Code (see section 1.1.2—2):

sugars:

(a) in Standard 1.2.7, Standard 1.2.8 and Schedule 4—means monosaccharides (other than D-allulose) and disaccharides; and

(b) otherwise—means any of the following products, derived from any source:

(i) hexose monosaccharides and disaccharides, including dextrose, fructose, sucrose and lactose;

(ii) starch hydrolysate;

(iii) glucose syrups, maltodextrin and similar products;

(iv) products derived at a sugar refinery, including brown sugar and molasses;

(v) icing sugar;

(vi) invert sugar;

(vii) fruit sugar syrup;

but does not include:

(i) malt or malt extracts; or

(ii) sorbitol, mannitol, glycerol, xylitol, polydextrose, isomalt, maltitol, maltitol syrup, erythritol or lactitol.

Note Sugar is defined differently—see section 1.1.2—3.

Note Sugars\* is relevant for claims about no added sugar.

S4—3 Conditions for nutrition content claims

<table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" style="width:440.25pt; border-collapse:collapse"><thead><tr><td colspan="5" style="width:429.45pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Conditions for nutrition content claims</td></tr><tr><td style="width:63.35pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Column 1</td><td style="width:127.05pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Column 2</td><td style="width:65.1pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Column 3</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Column 4</td></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td style="width:63.35pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">*Property of food</td><td style="width:127.05pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">General claim conditions that must be met</td><td style="width:65.1pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Specific descriptor</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Conditions that must be met if using specific descriptor in Column 3</td></tr><tr><td style="width:63.35pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">*Carbohydrate</td><td style="width:127.05pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top"></td><td style="width:65.1pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Reduced or light/lite</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The food contains at least 25% less *carbohydrate than in the same amount of *reference food.</td></tr><tr><td style="width:63.35pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top"></td><td style="width:127.05pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top"></td><td style="width:65.1pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Increased</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The food contains at least 25% more *carbohydrate than in the same amount of *reference food.</td></tr><tr><td style="width:63.35pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Cholesterol</td><td style="width:127.05pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The food meets the conditions for a nutrition content claim about low saturated fatty acids.</td><td style="width:65.1pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Low</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The food contains no more cholesterol than:(a) 10 mg/100 mL for liquid food; or(b) 20 mg/100 g for solid food.</td></tr><tr><td style="width:63.35pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top"></td><td style="width:127.05pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top"></td><td style="width:65.1pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Reduced or Light / Lite</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The food contains at least 25% less cholesterol than in the same amount of *reference food.</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3" style="width:63.35pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">*Dietary fibre</td><td rowspan="3" style="width:127.05pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">A serving of the food contains at least 2 g of *dietary fibre unless the claim is about low or reduced dietary fibre.</td><td style="width:65.1pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Good source</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">A serving of the food contains at least 4 g of *dietary fibre.</td></tr><tr><td style="width:65.1pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Excellent source</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">A serving of the food contains at least 7 g of *dietary fibre.</td></tr><tr><td style="width:65.1pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Increased</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">(a) The *reference food contains at least 2 g of *dietary fibre per serving; and(b) the food contains at least 25% more *dietary fibre than in the same amount of reference food.</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3" style="width:63.35pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Energy</td><td rowspan="3" style="width:127.05pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top"></td><td style="width:65.1pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Low</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The *average energy content of the food is no more than:(a) 80 kJ/100 mL for liquid food; or(b) 170 kJ/100 g for solid food.</td></tr><tr><td style="width:65.1pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Reduced or Light/Lite</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The food contains at least 25% less energy than in the same amount of *reference food.</td></tr><tr><td style="width:65.1pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Diet</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">(a) The food meets the NPSC, unless the food is a special purpose food; and(b) either of the following is satisfied:(i) the *average energy content of the food is no more than 80 kJ/100 mL for liquid food or 170 kJ/100 g for solid food; or(ii) the food contains at least 40% less energy than in the same amount of *reference food.</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="3" style="width:63.35pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Fat</td><td rowspan="3" style="width:127.05pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top"></td><td style="width:65.1pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">% Free</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The food meets the conditions for a nutrition content claim about low fat.</td></tr><tr><td style="width:65.1pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Low</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The food contains no more fat than:(a) 1.5 g/100 mL for liquid food; or(b) 3 g/100 g for solid food.</td></tr><tr><td style="width:65.1pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Reduced or Light/Lite</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The food contains at least 25% less fat than in the same amount of *reference food.</td></tr><tr><td rowspan="2" style="width:63.35pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Gluten</td><td rowspan="2" style="width:127.05pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; border-bottom:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top"></td><td style="width:65.1pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">Free</td><td colspan="2" style="width:141.55pt; border-top:0.75pt solid #000000; padding-right:5.4pt; padding-left:5.4pt; vertical-align:top">The food must not contain:(a) detectable gluten; or(b) oats or oat products; or