• Foods must be labelled with an accurate name or description that indicates the true nature of the food, for example ’Strawberry Yoghurt’ should contain strawberries. If it were to contain strawberry flavouring rather than real strawberries, the label should indicate that it is strawberry flavoured yoghurt.
• Suppliers must label food products with accurate weights and measure information (the quantity of food contained in a package). Weights and measures declarations are regulated by the Australian National Measurement Institute.
• The Food Standards Code requires that labels must be legible and prominent so they are distinct from the background, and in English. The size of the type in any warning statements must be at least 3 mm high, except on small packages where the size of the type must be at least 1.5 mm high.

If your product is  a food, it must meet the standards set by the Food Standards Code for Australia and New Zealand.

• FSANZ – This page on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) website provides comprehensive information on food labelling requirements in Australia and New Zealand. Bhutanese producers exporting food products to Australia must ensure that their products comply with all applicable food labelling requirements, including those for nutrition information, allergens, and health claims.
  • Allergen labelling​ – Some foods can cause allergic reactions in some people. Australia has a list of foods that must be declared even if it is only contained in small quantities. These foods must be listed in bold font on the label.
  • Country of origin labelling​ – The name of the country your product is coming from (i.e., Bhutan) should be displayed on the label. If your product is a food, then the label must also include the name and contact details of your supplier in Australia. This is to ensure that Australian consumers can directly contact someone in Australia regarding your product in the event of an issue with the product.
  • Ingredients list and percentage labelling – The guideline on the ingredients list in Australian guidelines is straightforward.
    • You must list all the ingredients that went into the production of your export. The list must go from the most used ingredient to the least (by weight – so, if you used 1kg of rice and 0.8kg of wheat, the list must show Rice – 1kg, Wheat – 800g, etc)
    • If your product uses an ingredient that is made up of other ingredients (for example, you are exporting Jangbuli, which is made from flour, egg, and water), then you must declare the sub-ingredients as well, unless the sub-ingredient forms less than 5% of the sub-product (in this case, the Jangbuli). 
    • To make it easier for consumers to compare products, all products that claim to be of a special ingredient must list what % the ingredient is. For example, if you are selling Strawberry Yoghourt, it must state what % of the product’s final weight is from Strawberries (so the label might read, “9% strawberry.”)
  • Nutrition, health and related claims – You can only make health-related claims about your product based on the guidelines set by the Australian Government. The most relevant one is the Standard 1.2.7, found here. You can either make a general-level health claim that is already accepted by the Standard or you can make a unique claim specifically about your product. If you are making the second type of claim (called a “self-substantiating” claim), you must get it approved by the FSANZ before putting it on your label. 
  • Pregnancy warning labels – All packaged alcoholic beverages with more than 1.15% alcohol by volume for retail sale in Australia and New Zealand must have a pregnancy warning label.
  • Warning and advisory statements – A food must have a warning statement when people may be unaware of a severe health risk posed by a food or an ingredient. For example, food containing the product royal jelly from bees is required to have a warning statement, which states that: This product contains royal jelly which has been reported to cause severe allergic reactions and, in rare cases, fatalities, especially in asthma and allergy sufferers. You can find the full list of which foods need these statements and what the statements should be on here.
  • Country of Origin Labelling – This page on the Australian government’s Business.gov.au website provides resources on country of origin labelling for food products. Bhutanese producers exporting food products to Australia must ensure that their products are labelled with the correct country of origin.