Regulation Impact Statement – Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ)
On 17 July 2020, the Australia New Zealand Ministerial Forum on Food Regulation (the Forum) accepted a proposed draft standard for mandatory pregnancy warning labels on alcohol to ensure women are appropriately informed about the advice to not consume alcohol while pregnant. The mandatory warning label includes a pictogram and the text ‘PREGNANCY WARNING’ and ‘Alcohol can cause lifelong harm to your baby’.
The Forum confirmed the colour requirements of red, white and black for the warning label and agreed with Food Standards Australia New Zealand’s (FSANZ) proposal to change the signal words from ‘HEALTH WARNING’ to ‘PREGNANCY WARNING’ and to extend the transition period for implementation from two to three years.
The decision relates to an earlier decision on 11 October 2018 when the Forum agreed to the outcome of a Decision Regulation Impact Statement (DRIS) that mandatory pregnancy warning labels provided the greatest net benefit. As the substantive decision by the Forum was already informed by the earlier DRIS, and as FSANZ’s analysis and advice (link to CEO letter) states that the new standard for pregnancy warning labels aligns and supports the earlier decision, a further RIS was not required.