GS1 Australia and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) are working together to develop a single source of nutrients for branded foods and beverages sold in Australia.
Consumers can access the Branded Food Database to make more informed decisions about the products they buy. The database will also support public health initiatives such as the Health Star Rating System and the Healthy Food Partnership.
"The database will benefit consumers, industry, healthcare professionals and policy makers by providing a 'single source of truth' 'with credible product information that is accurate, comprehensive and regularly updated," said Dr. Sandra Cuthbert, interim CEO of FSANZ.
This is how it will work
In contrast to other databases, the product information is provided directly by the brand owners.
By 2023, 85 percent of all packaged food and beverages sold by national retailers are expected to be loaded and available.
GS1 Australia will host the data and facilitate the collection and loading of product information from brand owners. It will also conduct a range of comprehensive data quality measures, including in-store product data audits, to ensure database accuracy and schedules to ensure consumers and industry stakeholders alike can rely on the data.
"After more than 25 years of hosting and managing an industry database, we are pleased that we were able to make our expertise in capturing and storing product master data available to FSANZ and our industry partners," says GS1 Australia Executive Director and CEO Maria Palazzolo.
Use know-how
The database will leverage decades of work already invested in the GS1 Australia program, the National Product Catalog and the Global Data Synchronization Network (GDSN), an industry-focused tool used worldwide to share and share product master data between brand owners and retailers Promote supply chain and merchandising efficiency.
Other similar initiatives are taking place around the world, with GS1 working with government agencies in the US and New Zealand to provide food product data from manufacturers and suppliers.
“Once we develop this valuable tool and equip it with most of the items that consumers can buy, we believe there will be many other tools like nutrition apps that can deliver that data directly to consumers and get the value out of there will, ”says Ms. Palazzolo.
Information for trademark owners
GS1 Australia and FSANZ have already started reaching out to key stakeholders. More in-depth announcements will be released in the run-up to Christmas, and a focused industry engagement program will begin in January 2022.
To discuss your participation, send an email to fsanz@gs1au.org.
More information is available at www.gs1au.org/bfd.
