New Zealand Gazette – 2000 – No. 170

Page 4472

✨ Food Standards Regulations



4472
NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE
No. 170

characterising ingredient means an ingredient or category of ingredients that –

(a) appears in the name of a food; or
(b) is usually associated with the name of a food by the consumer; or
(c) is emphasised on the label of a food in words, pictures or graphics; or
(d) is essential to characterise a food, and to distinguish it from other foods with which it might be confused because of its name or appearance;

but does not include –

(e) an ingredient or a category of ingredients which is used in small quantities for the purposes of a flavouring; or
(f) an ingredient that is the sole ingredient of a food; or
(g) a category of ingredients that comprises the whole of the food; or
(h) an ingredient or category of ingredients which, while appearing in the name of the food, is not such as to govern the choice of the consumer, because the variation in the quantity is not essential to characterise the food, or does not distinguish the food from other foods; or
(i) an ingredient or category of ingredients declared as a characterising component of a food in accordance with this Standard.

Editorial note:

Standard 1.2.4 defines ‘ingredient’ as ‘any substance, including a food additive, used in the preparation manufacture or handling of a food’. A component of a food that is naturally present in a food is not an ingredient of the food and therefore cannot be a characterising ingredient. For example, caffeine that is naturally present in coffee or tea cannot be a characterising ingredient. Food components that are mentioned in the name of a food, but which have not actually been used in its preparation eg cream in ‘cream biscuit’ are not ingredients of the food and therefore cannot be characterising ingredients.

Examples of ingredients that appear in the name of the food include “strawberry yoghurt”, and “steak and kidney pie”. An example of a category of ingredients that appears in the name of the food that should be declared as a percentage is ‘vegetables’ in a “vegetable pastie” and ‘meat’ in a “meat pie”. Examples of ingredients that are usually associated with the name of a food by the consumer are ‘meat’ (a category of ingredients that may be declared using a generic name) with salami, or unpackaged pastry encased products such as meat pies and sausage rolls.

Examples of ingredients that are emphasised on the label of a food in words, pictures or graphics would include ‘fruit and nuts’ in fruit and nut chocolate, or ‘cheese’ if it is emphasised by words on the label such as ‘extra cheese’.

Under Standard 1.2.4, ingredients include compound ingredients. An example of a compound ingredient that would require percentage labelling is ‘spaghetti’ in a tin of spaghetti and tomato sauce that is either pictured on the tin of spaghetti and tomato sauce or that is part of the name of such a food.



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Online Sources for this page:

VUW Te Waharoa — PDF NZ Gazette 2000, No 170


Gazette.govt.nz — PDF NZ Gazette 2000, No 170




✨ LLM interpretation of page content

🏥 Characterising Ingredients and Components of Food (continued from previous page)

🏥 Health & Social Welfare
Food Standards, Ingredients, Components, Labelling, Declaration