There are several changes affecting the labelling of Foods and Beverages in New Zealand.
Pregnancy Warning Labels on Alcoholic Beverages
What are the New Pregnancy Warning Label Requirements?
There are two parts:
In 2020 the Food Standards code was updated to mandate pregnancy warning labels on alcoholic beverages for retail sale.
Earlier in May further requirements for warning labels on outer corrugated cardboard outer packaging were introduced.
Both these requirements exclude beverages:
containing no more than 1.15% alcohol
packed or poured in the presence of the purchaser
When are the Pregnancy Warning Labels Required?
Outer corrugated cardboard containers must comply with the new pregnancy warning requirements from 2 February 2024
Individual alcoholic beverage containers and other packaging must comply with the requirements from 1 August 2023
What are the Requirements of the Pregnancy Warning Labels?
The form of the pregnancy warning label is prescribed. The FSANZ website provides downloadable files, along with details of required colours, sizes, fonts and clear space around the images.
FSANZ has guidance in the form of FAQs on Code requirements for pregnancy warning labels.
MPI has updated their Pre-Packaged Alcoholic Drink Labelling Guide to include these requirements. On page 4 of the guide MPI has included a link to the downloadable pregnancy warning labels.
Plain English Allergen Labelling
Food Safety Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) have revised the allergen labelling requirements to make it easier for consumers to find and identify the allergens present in foods and beverages they purchase.
When do the Allergen Labelling Changes take effect?
The FSANZ rules for labelling allergens changed in 2021 and business have until 25 February 2024 to comply with these rules. (Any food packaged and labelled prior to this date may be sold for up to 2 years from this date: eg. up to 25 February 2026)
What are the new Allergen Labelling Requirements?
The key changes include the terms that must be used for identifying allergens, and the format for declaring them:
specific names of tree nuts must be stated (rather than using generic term “tree nuts”
molluscs must be identified separately
individual cereals that contain gluten must be listed
allergenic ingredients must be identified in bold in the ingredients list
a separate allergen summary statement in bold font must be immediately above or below the ingredients list and in the same field of view, prefixed with “Contains” followed by the list of allergens
For products with labelling exemptions, there remain requirements to provide suitable allergen information.
MPI has provided a Plain English Allergen Labelling Guide that details the new requirements providing multiple examples of each of the new requirements.
