Australians urged to read labels as country marks Food Safety Week

Australians have been urged to look before they cook and read the safety advice on food labels.

The Food Safety Information Council (FSIC) issued the call ahead of Australian Food Safety week from Nov. 9 to 16.

Lydia Buchtmann, FSIC CEO, said the charity’s research shows that only 3 in 10 consumers always read cooking and storage instructions.

“Food manufacturers are required by law to include this information on labels and following this advice plays an important role in reducing the estimated 4.67 million cases of food poisoning in Australia each year that result in 47,900 hospitalizations, 38 deaths, costing the economy AUD $2.81 billion (U.S. $1.8 billion). Foodborne disease isn’t always a minor illness; it can leave you with long term effects such as organ damage or reactive arthritis.”

The survey was conducted nationally online in late August 2024 with 1,229 people aged 18 years and over.

Only 6 in 10 always read use by dates and 5 in 10 always read best before dates.

However, the research shows there is a generally high rate of compliance with instructions, even if people don’t always read them. For example, 88 percent comply with use by dates, 83 percent follow best before dates, 83 percent comply with storage instructions and 74 percent abide by cooking instructions.

General advice
There has been a marked improvement since the questions were last asked in 2013 with a 19 percent increase in reading cooking instructions and a 17 percent rise in complying with them.

Taking precautions, such as keeping cold food cold, following cooking times and temperatures and checking use by dates can reduce the risk. It’s also always important to wash hands before and after handling food.

Advice from the Food Safety Information Council includes consuming packaged food by the use by date. Food with a best before date will be of better quality before that date but can be eaten afterwards but it may have lost some nutrition or taste. Cans with any swelling, dents, leakage or rusting should be discarded.

Date marking applies only if the storage instructions are followed. Once opened products are more susceptible to spoilage, or may become contaminated.

Put recent food purchases at the back of the pantry or fridge to use the oldest products at the front first. Long shelf life items, like canned foods, could be labeled with the date of purchase.

Follow the manufacturer’s cooking instructions on the packaging as they know how to cook the product safely and use a meat thermometer to check the recommended cooking temperature

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