(Cth) Display Added Sugar Content on Front of Package Labelling
Author: Allie Flanders, Bethany Roger, Shera Subba, Alex Day & Monya Pannam | Publish date: 15/10/2026
P: In Australia, packaged food is not required to display ‘added sugar’ content on front-of-pack labelling.
S: The Australia New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council should amend Standard 1.2.8 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (Cth) to insert a new Division requiring front-of-pack labelling to display ‘added sugar’ content on all packaged food.
E: Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport (2024): ‘Recommends that the Australian Government implements food labelling reforms targeting added sugar to allow consumers to clearly identify the content of added sugar from front-of-pack labelling.’
Problem Identification:
Standard 1.2.8 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (Cth) (the Food Standards Code) only requires packaged food to declare a combined total sugars figure. Therefore, naturally occurring and added sugars are not distinguished on the Nutrition Information Panel.
According to the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA), ‘current food labelling regulations do not … support consumers to identify the presence and amount of added and free sugars in a product’.
Context:
The World Health Organisation (WHO) refers to ‘added sugars’ as ‘sugars added to food during food processing, sugars used as sweeteners and sugars from honey and concentrated fruit or vegetable juices.’
The Food Standards Code, administered by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), sets mandatory labelling requirements for packaged food. According to FSANZ, changes to the Food Standards Code must be undertaken using the statutory process outlined in the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. This includes following scientific assessments, stakeholder consultation and expert advice.
Research by Williams et al. (2025) found that Front of Package Labelling (FOPL) ‘provides a rapid, visual cue at the point of purchase, highlighting nutrients most relevant to chronic disease risk’.
Arguments:
The PHAA stated that ‘current food labelling regulations … [undermine consumers’] ability to select products lower in sugars’. According to The George Institute for Global Health, Australian food labels contain more than 400 names for added sugars. Dr Daisy Coyle (2022) stated that ‘added sugar by stealth meant some [Australians consumed] nearly twice the maximum limit recommended by the [WHO].’ The Food for Health Alliance noted ‘it is important that consumers have access to accurate information about how much added sugar is in the food they buy.’
The PHAA stated that excess sugar intake is associated with ‘dental caries, unhealthy weight and associated non-communicable diseases.’ Further, a study published in Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases by Endy et al. (2024) found that high added sugar intake was ‘associated with increased risks of incident obesity and abdominal obesity.’ The Food for Health Alliance stated that this is because ‘72% of school age children and 47% of adults in Australia [exceed] the recommended amount of sugar in their diet’.
Advice/Solution Identification:
The Parliamentary Inquiry Into Diabetes (2024) has called for FOPL to identify added sugar content, separate from changes to the Nutrition Information Panel. According to Williams et al. (2025), FOPL can empower people to make ‘sustainable, informed food choices, ultimately improving cardiovascular outcomes at the individual and population levels.’
Precedent:
There is international precedent for mandatory FOPL for added sugars. Chile and Mexico mandated that FOPL identify foods containing added sugars. These policies require products exceeding certain thresholds of added sugars to display warning symbols, which ‘[supports] consumers in making healthier food choices’ and prevents ‘food companies from selectively disclosing only favorable information, thereby reducing misleading marketing practices’.
Public Support of the Solution:
(This list reflects publicly stated positions and should not necessarily be taken as endorsement of this specific brief.)
Broad Support
Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) - They have called for additional interpretive measures such as ‘advisory labels and/or pictorial displays of the amount of sugars.’ However, they have not explicitly called for front-of-pack labelling for packaged foods containing added sugar.
Diabetes Australia - They have called for mandatory labelling of teaspoons of added sugar on sugary drinks. Diabetes Australia’s Group CEO Justine Cain stated ‘clearer labelling of added sugar is a simple but powerful tool that would help people make more informed choices.’ However, they have not explicitly called for front-of-pack labelling for packaged foods containing added sugar.
Dietitians Australia - They have stated that they support recommendations by the Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport (2024) which ‘include[s] recommendations to introduce a sugar-sweetened beverage reformulation levy, improve the front-of-pack nutrition labelling, and restrict the marketing of unhealthy food to children.’ However, they have not explicitly called for front-of-pack labelling for packaged foods containing added sugar.
News Coverage:
AusSMC - “Added sugar labels would prompt teens to dump sugary drinks”. This article, based on a SAHMRI-led study, found sugar warning labels significantly changed adolescent behaviour, while highlighting that Australia's food regulator recently shelved work on mandatory added sugar labelling. By: Scimex | 8 May 2026. Read the article here.
ABC News - “Food ministers move closer to mandating Health Star Ratings on packaged food”. This article reported that a majority of state and federal food ministers were progressing a plan to make nutrition labelling compulsory on packaged food. By: Fiona Willan | 11 February 2026. Read the article here.
Diabetes Australia - “The time is now for clear labelling of sugar content on sugary drinks”. This article, backed by the Rethink Sugary Drink Alliance's call for mandatory teaspoon labelling, cited rising type 2 diabetes rates and widespread public support for the reform. By: Diabetes Australia | 13 May 2025. Read the article here.
ABC Radio National - “Changing unhealthy eating with help from Mexico's food labelling”. This Health Report episode examined how Mexico's mandatory front-of-pack warning labels for high sugar, fat and calorie content have been used to shift eating behaviours. By: Dr Norman Swan | 28 August 2023. Listen to the episode here.
ABC Radio National - “Added sugar labels fail to change the habits of shoppers”. This Health Report episode examined a Deakin University trial that tested different added sugar warning label designs and found no design consistently influenced consumer behaviour. By: Tegan Taylor | 29 August 2022. Listen to the episode here.
Where to go to learn more:
(2024) The State of Diabetes Mellitus in Australia in 2024 | Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Sport - This report provided a list of recommendations for the Commonwealth Government to enact. This included a call for food labelling reforms targeting added sugar to allow consumers to clearly identify added sugar content from front-of-pack labelling. Read the report here.
(2024) Chile Provides a Convincing Case for Mandatory Warning Labels on Processed Food | Health Policy Watch - This analysis outlined Phase 2 results of Chile's warning label law, finding that households purchased 37% less sugar, 22% less sodium, 16% less saturated fat and 23% fewer calories from products bearing warning labels. Read the analysis here.
(2021) Front-of-Pack Nutrition Labelling: A 'How-to' Guide for Countries | UNICEF - This Technical Guidance outlined global policy progress on front-of-pack nutrition labelling, confirming that at least 32 governments worldwide had endorsed some form of front-of-pack labelling as part of a comprehensive approach to preventing diet-related disease. Read the guide here.
(2026) Food Labels | Better Health Channel, Victorian Department of Health - This fact sheet explained Australia's existing food labelling system, including the Nutrition Information Panel, ingredient lists and the Health Star Rating, providing background on the framework that this brief's solution would sit alongside. View the sheet here.
Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code (Cth) - Read the full standards here.
Human Perspective:
Priya is a first-time mother who has just started feeding her 10-month-old daughter solid foods. Wanting to give her daughter the healthiest start possible, she has been careful to choose products that look nutritious, reaching for a yoghurt snack marketed as “99% fruit and yoghurt”, pictured with bright, ripe berries on the front of the pack. She fed it to her daughter several times a week, believing it to be a healthy option similar to fresh fruit. It was only when a friend, who is a nurse, suggested checking the ingredients list that Priya turned the packet over and discovered the product was more than half sugar, most of it added. She felt shaken and a little betrayed, realising that nothing on the front of the packet had told her this. As a result, she had been unknowingly giving her daughter far more sugar than she would ever have chosen if the information had been clearer from the start. Since then, Priya found herself spending far longer in the supermarket aisle, turning packets over and squinting at ingredient lists, wishing the answer could simply be on the front of the pack where she could see it at a glance.
To protect the anonymity of those involved, this is a fictionalised account drawn from an amalgamation of real-life stories, experiences and testimonials gathered during the research process for this brief. Any resemblance to actual individuals is purely coincidental.
Conflict of interest/acknowledgment statement:
N/A.
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Reference list:
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