A ‘Branded Food Database’ that provides the nutrient breakdown for brand-specific foods and beverages sold in Australia is being developed by GS1 Australia and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
The Health Star Rating system and Healthy Food Partnership will be supported by the database which will help consumers make informed decisions about the products they purchase.
Funded by the federal health department, the database is part of its food and nutrition initiatives.
GS1 will utilise decades of information gathered from the National Product Catalogue and the Global Data Synchronisation Network (GDSN) – a global industry-driven tool for sharing product master data from brand owners and retailers as well as improving supply chain and merchandising efficiencies.
GS1 Australia CEO and executive director Maria Palazzo said the organisation is happy to be lending its storage of data.
FSANZ interim CEO Dr Sandra Cuthbert: “The database will deliver benefits to consumers, industry, health professionals and policy makers by providing a 'single source of truth' containing credible product information, which is accurate, comprehensive and updated regularly.”
Palazzo said: “Once we have this valuable tool built and populated with the majority of items consumers can buy, we believe there will be many other tools such as nutrition apps that can bring this data directly to consumers and that’s where the value is really delivered,” said Palazzo.
With a goal of loading 85 per cent of all packaged food and beverage products sold by national retailers by 2023, the database will maintain its accuracy through brand owners directly providing relevant information about their products.
Other than hosting the data and holding responsibility for the collection and loading of product information from brand owners, GS1 will also ensure consumers and industry stakeholders find the data reliable. The organisation will conduct in-depth data quality measures which includes in-store product data audits to maintain accuracy and timelines on the database.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Services has also undertaken a similar initiative, having partnered with GS1 US which incorporates the organisation’s same GDSN standards to deliver food product data from manufacturers and suppliers.
Business unit of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), New Zealand Food Safety has also partnered with GS1 NZ to collate branded food product data.
A focused industry engagement program will commence in January 2022 as GS1 and FSANZ have started to reach out to key stakeholders.
More information on the database is available on GS1’s website.
