1 00:00:00,080 --> 00:00:02,080 Speaker 1: Might have a little bit of trouble and dairy back home. 2 00:00:02,120 --> 00:00:04,600 Speaker 1: This week, food ministers here and in Australia are discussing 3 00:00:04,600 --> 00:00:07,920 Speaker 1: the label of or labeling of infant formula products. Food 4 00:00:07,920 --> 00:00:11,639 Speaker 1: Standards Australia New Zealand basically wants to change the way 5 00:00:11,640 --> 00:00:14,560 Speaker 1: they package up these products make them less glamorized. This 6 00:00:14,640 --> 00:00:17,240 Speaker 1: has led to Denome, one of the big producers, suggesting 7 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:19,000 Speaker 1: the end of the world as NI. I think they're 8 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: overegging it a bit. But the Infant Nutrition Council Chief 9 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:24,920 Speaker 1: Executive Jonathan Chew is with us on this Jonathan. 10 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,800 Speaker 2: Morning to you, Good morning, make so one O. 11 00:00:27,880 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: One this forming can the Food Standards Council make rules 12 00:00:31,800 --> 00:00:33,199 Speaker 1: that have to be adhered to? 13 00:00:34,720 --> 00:00:39,040 Speaker 2: Absolutely? They've got power to make rules around composition, labeling 14 00:00:39,080 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 2: and the way you sell pructs and that includes infant formula. 15 00:00:43,200 --> 00:00:45,199 Speaker 1: So do they have the power to say this is 16 00:00:45,280 --> 00:00:48,600 Speaker 1: what a can of infant formula will look like, what's 17 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:51,360 Speaker 1: contained on that label and that is the end of 18 00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:52,280 Speaker 1: that simple as that. 19 00:00:53,360 --> 00:00:56,400 Speaker 2: That's right. They've got power under the Food Treaty between 20 00:00:56,440 --> 00:00:59,960 Speaker 2: Australia and New Zealand to set the regulation around how 21 00:01:00,320 --> 00:01:03,440 Speaker 2: products are labeled. Under the Food Standards code. 22 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:06,000 Speaker 1: Do they want to plane package the stuff or not. 23 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:10,839 Speaker 2: I've heard people call it plane packaging. What they want 24 00:01:10,880 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 2: to do is remove a lot of information that's currently 25 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:18,720 Speaker 2: on the label, particularly around the ingredients for infant formula. 26 00:01:18,760 --> 00:01:25,360 Speaker 2: Why because some people believe in order to protect breastfeeding, 27 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:30,000 Speaker 2: you have to make infant formula as unattractives and as 28 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 2: unappealing as possible, and that includes removing ingredients that might 29 00:01:35,440 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 2: be valued by the parents of formula fed children. 30 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:42,840 Speaker 1: Can you have a cute baby photo on them? 31 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:47,039 Speaker 2: No. What they're trying to do is take away anything 32 00:01:47,080 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 2: that makes infant formula appealing. Many of these ideas are understandable, 33 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:56,720 Speaker 2: but when it comes to ingredient labeling, this would be 34 00:01:56,760 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 2: the first time any comparable country in the world has 35 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 2: gone this far in removing that type of information. 36 00:02:04,120 --> 00:02:06,480 Speaker 1: So it's only US. So we go into China. There's 37 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,200 Speaker 1: a shelf full of good looking product apart from ours 38 00:02:09,200 --> 00:02:11,040 Speaker 1: at the end, which looks brown and boring. And that's 39 00:02:11,040 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: the problem, right, that's the problem. 40 00:02:13,440 --> 00:02:16,400 Speaker 2: If you're a Chinese consumer and you've got paract from 41 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:21,320 Speaker 2: say Europe, which talks about their ingredients, their high quality ingredients, 42 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:24,440 Speaker 2: and you compare that to a parduct from New Zealand 43 00:02:24,520 --> 00:02:28,200 Speaker 2: which can't talk about these ingredients. It's obvious that the 44 00:02:28,320 --> 00:02:32,160 Speaker 2: Chinese are going to be more attractive to the European paructs. 45 00:02:32,200 --> 00:02:33,360 Speaker 1: This politics gone nuts. 46 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:37,400 Speaker 2: I think it has gone a step too far. You 47 00:02:37,520 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 2: can protect and promote breastfeeding without creating infant formula packaging, 48 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:48,360 Speaker 2: which just causes confusion and chaos for parents who need 49 00:02:48,360 --> 00:02:50,360 Speaker 2: to use formula here in New Zealand. 50 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:52,600 Speaker 1: Would you have faith Andrew Hoggart's a man in that 51 00:02:52,639 --> 00:02:54,320 Speaker 1: particular part of the world. Would you have faith that 52 00:02:54,360 --> 00:02:56,280 Speaker 1: he would because he's a farmer, of course. Would you 53 00:02:56,320 --> 00:02:57,880 Speaker 1: have faith that they will be standing up for a 54 00:02:57,919 --> 00:02:59,640 Speaker 1: bit of common sense or all we in trouble here. 55 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:05,079 Speaker 2: I think Minister Hoggart understands the scope of the problem 56 00:03:05,720 --> 00:03:08,440 Speaker 2: and we just need to implore him to stand up 57 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:11,560 Speaker 2: to the Australian ministers who don't seem to care so 58 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:14,760 Speaker 2: much about the problem and say this is why it's 59 00:03:14,800 --> 00:03:17,720 Speaker 2: an issue for the New Zealand consumer and for the 60 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:21,720 Speaker 2: New Zealand industry, and that for Zand has to review 61 00:03:22,040 --> 00:03:23,720 Speaker 2: this of the proposal. 62 00:03:23,880 --> 00:03:25,520 Speaker 1: Yeah, all right, well, I'm stay in touch with out 63 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:27,880 Speaker 1: Jonathan appreciate your time very much, so we'll talk with 64 00:03:28,080 --> 00:03:30,080 Speaker 1: lux and about that tomorrow. We need returns from holiday 65 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: because the last thing we need to be doing at 66 00:03:31,960 --> 00:03:34,720 Speaker 1: the moment, economically speaking, is shooting ourselves on the foot. 67 00:03:34,880 --> 00:03:37,800 Speaker 2: For more from The Mic Asking Breakfast, listen live to 68 00:03:37,880 --> 00:03:38,440 Speaker 2: news talks. 69 00:03:38,480 --> 00:03:41,680 Speaker 1: It'd be from six am weekdays, or follow the podcast 70 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:42,560 Speaker 1: on iHeartRadio.