Consumers are being failed by the national food regulator charged with the protection of public health and safety, a collection of health and consumer advocates and political and environmental campaigners say.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the independent statutory agency charged with setting and reviewing food standards, has been accused by the coalition of critics of placing the business interests of multinational companies ahead of consumers to the point of endangering public health and compromising the safety of Australia's food supply.
The group, which includes the Public Health Association of Australia, the Institute of Health and Environmental Research, the consumer advocacy group Choice and Greenpeace, is calling on the Federal Government to hold an inquiry into the actions of the regulator.
The NSW Greens are spearheading the push for the inquiry.
"Australians are poorly served by a food regulator that fails to put consumer health and safety first and that is not accountable to any parliament.
"Its board is stacked with people with an industry focus," said Greens MP Dr John Kaye.
Among FSANZ's 12 board members, eight are either shareholders in Wesfarmers, which owns Coles, work for a food production or processing corporation or have done so in the past, including Unilever and Kellogg's.
The executive officer of the Public Health Association, Michael Moore, said recent decisions made by FSANZ, including its failure to set labelling requirements on processed foods capable of being easily read by consumers, indicated the regulator was being driven by the food manufacturing industry's concerns.
FSANZ'S spokeswoman, Lydia Buchtmann, referred the Herald to the parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Health and Ageing, Jan McLucas, for comment.
Senator McLucas did not return the calls from the Sydney Morning Herald.
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