Food regulatory compliance Australia — lawyer-led compliance consulting for food and beverage businesses

Running a food business in Australia means living inside a regulatory framework that is genuinely complex — overlapping federal and state law, multiple regulators with different powers, labelling rules that change, and consumer-protection rules that bite hard when things go wrong. Good compliance isn't a one-off audit; it's a way of operating that protects the brand, the directors, and (most importantly) the customers. We act for food and beverage businesses across Victoria — from artisan producers to growth-stage importers and multi-site operators — and our role is to make compliance practical, not theatrical.

At a glance — food regulatory compliance in Australia

What "food regulatory compliance" actually covers

Most food businesses come to us with one of these issues, and end up needing advice on several of them:

• Product labelling and claims — mandatory information under the FSANZ Code (name, ingredients, allergens, nutrition information panel, country of origin), restricted descriptive terms ("natural", "organic", "fresh", "premium"), nutrition content and health claims (Standard 1.2.7), and the country-of-origin requirements under the Australian Consumer Law.
• Allergen management — the 14 declared allergens under the FSANZ Code, the Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) requirements (Standard 1.2.3), and the cross-contact controls a food business needs in place.
• Imported food — Imported Food Inspection Scheme requirements, BICON conditions, country-of-origin and labelling on imported goods.
• Food safety programs — Class 1 and Class 2 food businesses (high-risk) require a Food Safety Program under the Food Act 1984 (Vic), audited annually by an approved food safety auditor.
• PrimeSafe licensing and audits — meat, poultry, seafood and game-meat processors are licensed and audited by PrimeSafe under the Meat Industry Act 1993 (Vic) and the Seafood Safety Act 2003 (Vic).
• Dairy Food Safety Victoria — dairy processors and farmers are licensed and audited under the Dairy Act 2000 (Vic).
• Council registrations and notifications — environmental health officers from local councils inspect food businesses, issue improvement notices and prohibition orders, and prosecute under the Food Act 1984 (Vic).
• Recalls and incidents — managing a recall under the FSANZ-coordinated national recall system; communicating with regulators; minimising consumer harm; managing the brand and legal exposure.
• Director and officer liability — the Food Act 1984 (Vic), the Food Standards Code and the Australian Consumer Law all carry director-level obligations and exposure.
• Advertising claims — premium positioning, sustainability and ethical claims, health claims, "Made in Australia" and "Product of Australia" claims, comparative claims against competitors.

How we help

A typical engagement combines three things:

1. Compliance review — we look at your product range, labels, claims, internal processes and supplier chain, and tell you what's compliant, what's borderline, and what needs to change. Honest, written, actionable.
2. Practical remediation — relabelling, claim revisions, process changes, supplier-contract amendments, allergen-management changes, food-safety-program updates.
3. Ongoing advisory — when launches, ranging conversations with retailers, regulator contact or an incident arises, you have a lawyer who already knows the business.

We work with founders, in-house counsel, food technologists, marketing teams and quality teams. Where you have a food technologist or quality manager already, we partner with them; where you don't, we'll help you build the right relationships.

Common scenarios

• A growth-stage brand is launching into Coles or Woolworths and needs labelling and claims review before listing.
• An imported-food business has had a consignment held by the Imported Food Inspection Scheme and needs urgent compliance and regulator-communication advice.
• A PrimeSafe audit has identified non-conformances and the business needs help with the corrective action plan and the regulator response.
• A council Environmental Health Officer has issued an improvement notice and the business needs to respond properly within the timeframe.
• A new health or "Made in Australia" claim is being considered and the marketing team needs sign-off that it complies with the Food Standards Code and the Australian Consumer Law.
• A recall is being contemplated and the business needs lawyer-led incident management, regulator communication, and post-incident review.

Why lawyer-led compliance matters

Compliance consulting is a crowded market and there are good food-technical consultants out there. The difference a lawyer brings is twofold: legal professional privilege over the advice (your compliance gap analysis stays privileged), and direct experience with how regulators actually use their powers, how Australian Consumer Law claims are litigated, and how directors are pursued personally when things go wrong. When the stakes are real — a regulator inquiry, an imminent recall, a contested investigation — that combination matters.

Frequently asked questions

My product is sold in supermarkets but produced in a small facility — what compliance do I really need?

At a minimum: council registration as a food business (Class 1, 2, 3 or 4 depending on risk), a food safety program if you're Class 1 or 2 (with annual audits by an approved food safety auditor), full compliance with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code on labelling and composition, and management of all 14 declared allergens including the new Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) requirements that became mandatory in 2026. If you're producing meat, poultry, seafood or dairy, you'll also need PrimeSafe or Dairy Food Safety Victoria licensing. We can audit what you have and tell you exactly what's missing.

Can I describe my product as "natural" or "organic" or "premium"?

"Natural" has no specific definition under the Food Standards Code, but the ACCC has prosecuted misleading "natural" claims under the Australian Consumer Law — so the claim must be substantiated and consumers must not be misled. "Organic" is regulated specifically — certified organic claims require certification by an accredited body (such as ACO, NASAA or AUS-QUAL) and must comply with the National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce. "Premium" is broadly permissible as a positioning claim but must not mislead about specific attributes. We routinely advise on the strength and substantiation requirements of these claims before the product goes to market.

What's the difference between a nutrition content claim and a health claim?

Under Standard 1.2.7 of the Food Standards Code, a nutrition content claim is a factual claim about the nutrient content of the food ("source of fibre", "low fat", "high protein") — permitted if the food meets the specified threshold criteria. A health claim is a claim that a food or a property of food has, or may have, a health effect ("supports immune function", "good for heart health"). Health claims are far more strictly regulated — there's a list of permitted general-level claims, and high-level claims require pre-approval. Most claims that sound therapeutic land in this category and need careful review.

A retailer has asked me to indemnify them for any product issues. Should I sign?

Carefully. Retailer supply agreements routinely include broad indemnities, ranging clauses, recall-cost allocations and IP clauses that can be financially devastating to a small or growth-stage food business. We routinely review and negotiate these agreements — not to refuse the indemnity entirely (most retailers won't budge on the principle), but to scope it sensibly, cap it where possible, and align it with your insurance.

A consumer has had an allergic reaction to my product. What do I do?

Treat it as serious from the first phone call. Internally, gather the facts (what product, what batch, what was the reaction, what was on the label), notify your insurer, and preserve the relevant batch records. Externally, assess (with legal help) whether a public recall is required under the FSANZ-coordinated national recall system. Allergen-related issues are one of the most common recall causes in Australia and the regulators take them seriously. Don't communicate with the affected consumer or their lawyer without legal advice — well-intentioned admissions can become admissions of liability.

My business has been served with an improvement notice from council. Do I need a lawyer?

Often, yes — even though the notice itself may look like a routine inspection finding. The compliance steps required, the timeframes, and the consequences of failing to comply all carry real exposure. Council can escalate to a prohibition order (stopping you operating) and ultimately to prosecution under the Food Act 1984 (Vic), which carries both fines and director-level exposure. Responding properly to the first notice — accepting it, contesting it, or remediating it — protects the business.

Does the new Plain English Allergen Labelling (PEAL) apply to me?

If you sell food in Australia that contains any of the 14 declared allergens, almost certainly yes. PEAL (mandated under Standard 1.2.3 of the Food Standards Code, effective from 25 February 2026 with a transitional grandfathering period) standardises how allergens must be declared on labels — in plain English, bold, in a specific format. Old labels that comply with previous rules may no longer be compliant. We routinely review labels for PEAL compliance during a relaunch or compliance audit.

Get a compliance review today

Whether you're launching a product, scaling distribution, responding to a regulator, or building compliance from scratch, the first consultation is free, in confidence and without obligation. Send the enquiry form with a brief note about your business and the issue you're working on, and Elisa will personally call you back — usually the same day. For urgent matters (a regulator hold, an imminent recall, a hearing date), say so and we'll prioritise the callback.