This week Down Under

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (Fsanz) has called for submissions on an application to allow food derived from a genetically modified corn line.

Chief executive Steve McCutcheon said the corn line had been genetically modified to be tolerant to glufosinate ammonium, a herbicide, and for protection against common corn pests.

“Fsanz has completed its safety assessment on this application and found there were no potential public health or safety concerns​,” said McCutcheon.

“Fsanz has determined that food derived from this corn line is as safe for human consumption as food derived from conventional corn cultivars​.”

All decisions made on standards by Fsanz are then notified to ministers responsible for food regulation, who then decide to adopt, amend or reject standards, or they can ask for a review.

Fsanz has called for comments from any interested stakeholders. The closing date for this is July 14.

Choice condemns “healthy” food marketing​

A Choice investigation has found food companies are serving up health-related marketing messages designed to give their products a “halo effect”, even though they perform poorly in the health star rating system.    

Choice uses halo effect to describe when a company sells its brand as being a healthy alternative, although this is not always the case.

The consumer watchdog looked at 117 products from frozen meals to muesli bars and found a mixed bag when it came to how health-related marketing messages on pack translated into the products' health star performance.

"Phrases such as 'healthy choice', 'natural', 'made with wholegrains' and 'gluten free' trick consumers into believing a product is healthy when in fact it can be higher in salt, sugar and saturated fat than a product without those claims​," says Tom Godfrey of Choice.

"Food manufacturers use messages on pack to persuade consumers that their product is healthier or better than other similar products. This is called the health halo effect and is often used as a marketing tool to entice consumers into paying a premium​.”

He said some of the biggest and much loved brands use marketing messages to confuse and mislead consumers.

"It's vital that consumers look at the health star rating scheme, and that tells you how much salt, sugar and saturated fat is in each product, per 100 grams.”

Companies including McCain, Weight Watchers, Naturally Good and Mother Earth were named in the investigation.

Aussies are backing low-carb beer a decade after its introduction​

Back in June 2006, when low-carb beer was still a relatively new addition to the beverage market, 1.6% of Australian adults—or 219,000 people—were drinking it in any given four-week period. 

By September 2011, when the low-carb craze was at its peak, almost one in 10 of the adult population were drinking the healthier brew in an average four weeks. The trend has since stabilised, with the latest findings from Roy Morgan Research revealing that low-carb beer is now consumed by some 1,540,000 Australians.

Over the same time period, the total proportion of Australians drinking beer has steadily declined from 42.3% to 36.5%. Or, to look at it another way, low-carb beer consumers now comprise almost one quarter of Aussies drinking beer in an average four weeks—well up on June 2006, when they accounted for just 3% of the country’s total beer drinkers.

“Since that distant day more than a decade ago when Australia’s first low-carb beer, Pure Blonde, hit the shelves, the range of low-carb beers on the market has exploded​,” said Angela Smith of Roy Morgan Research. 

“Until recent months, Pure Blonde was able to maintain top spot in this increasingly crowded field, but was overtaken by close rival Carlton Dry in December 2014​.”

Although one might expect low-carb beers to appeal to dieters and calorie-counters, the people drinking it are less concerned than the average Australian with such issues, suggesting that the appeal of these beers does not lie with their dietary perks.

Men aged between 18 and 24—not generally a weight-conscious bunch—are the most likely age group of either gender to drink low-carb beer, with 20% consuming it in an average four weeks.

“As men in this age range are less likely than men of any other age to drink beer in general, this is quite noteworthy, and category leader Carlton Dry has clearly recognised the opportunity it presents, aiming their playful ‘Hello Beer’ advertising campaign squarely at this demographic​.”