FoodNZ Magazine Column: Food regulatory change - what will 2026 bring?

Read more here: https://issuu.com/annescott1/docs/food_new_zealand_feb_mar_2026 

Bob Dylan said, “there is nothing so stable as change” and while change can be challenging it also brings opportunities. My column covers various avenues that may open up to the food industry in the coming months.

The first, and probably most anticipated decision in food labelling regulation for 2026 is expected when Australian and New Zealand Food Ministers meet in February to decide whether our front of pack labelling system, Health Star Rating (HSR), should be mandated or not. It has long been signalled that if less than 70% of all intended food products carried the HSR in November 2025, Ministers would consider mandating it. While the November results aren’t in yet, based on previous uptake surveys we are unlikely to have reached target. Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) has been undertaking preliminary work exploring the possibility of development of a Standard within the Food Standards Code to provide the mechanism for mandating.  FSANZ has also been doing research into consumer use of the HSR in both countries, including priority consumer groups. The outcomes of this work will also inform the Ministers’ decision. The HSR Secretariat have recently updated their HSR Implementation Guide – a process that the NZFGC and our members provided feedback on. This should help industry to better understand what is involved when adding HSR to product labels.

Another area of regulatory uncertainty at the time of writing this is the outcome of the government’s proposal for a trial exemption from the Food Act for some imported products in favour of digital labelling to provide the information required by the Food Standards Code. This may provide an opportunity to evaluate, in a controlled and limited way, how feasible it is to provide mandatory information in a digital from, without it needing to be on the physical label. There are definite opportunities and risks involved in such a trial that we have submitted should be carefully considered by Ministers.

More broadly, the Ministry for Regulation’s product labelling review recommendations are with Ministers now for their consideration. We understand any decisions will require further consultation, so we eagerly await the opportunity to provide further feedback from our members in the FMCG sector.

FSANZ also have a full agenda of priorities for this year, including completing the caffeine review re-starting the review of supplemented sports foods and preparing the first call for submissions on a review of young child formula. Preparatory work will also be undertaken on commercial foods for infants and young children. Priority is also being given to the development of service improvements, including provision of information and tools to better support Food Standards Code users and applicants. There is definite opportunity there for the food industry.

Additionally, and well aligned with the FSANZ workplan, the joint Food Regulation System workplan until 2028 identified a number of priority projects – many of which are welcomed by the food industry.  Particularly the modernisation of the Food Regulation Agreement, the establishment of a framework to evaluation the impact of food regulations, a policy guideline for packaged food sold online and exploration of opportunities to improve food allergen management. Work will continue on the composition of foods regarding trans-fats and sugary beverages.

And finally, there are some interesting developments in the non-regulatory nutrition space. While we await signposted updates in the Dietary Guidelines for Australians and the Eating and Activity Guidelines for children and young people in New Zealand, the new United States “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” were released in early January. The significant volume of commentary around the later has been quite polarised, with many nutrition scientists left scratching their heads over some of the contradictions within the Guidelines, and between the Scientific Foundation document and the Guidelines themselves.

The team at NZFGC will continue to support our members on all of these issues and more to ensure any opportunities are maximised.