Welcome to Food Action – Your Trusted Food Technology Consultancy. We are experts in food labeling, serving clients across the country. With a proven track record of excellence, we provide comprehensive labeling solutions tailored to your specific needs.
Labelling is a critical aspect of your product’s success, and we understand its complexities. Our team integrates labeling seamlessly with our array of services, including custom food control plans, national programs, new product development, shelf life testing, and compliance.
Don’t risk recalls or wasted packaging due to improper labeling. Let our specialists ensure compliance and precision. Whether you’re a small business or a large enterprise, we have the expertise to support you.
Contact us today on freephone or email to discuss your labeling needs or explore our comprehensive range of services below.
Food Labelling Compliance
Are you a bit confused by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, or don’t even know what it is? We can help.
Food Labelling
Want a legally compliant food label? We are experts.Food Labelling
Confused by what needs to go onto a label? There are pages and pages of legislation that need to be read and reviewed in order to create a label. We can do this for you, or show you how to do it yourself. Contact us nowNutrition Panels
Need help calculating a nutrition panel? We can helpNutrition Panels
With the government introducing instant fines for incorrect panels, it is now more important than ever to get this right. We can create nutrition panels for you, or show you how to do them yourself. Contact us nowHealth Claims
Not sure what you can claim about the benefits of your product?Health and Nutrition Claims
There is little doubt that claims made about foods help sell some products, but are they always legal? New laws were introduced in 2016 which standardises what claims can be made. Find out what you can claim.Health Stars
Need help with the Health Star Rating system?Health Stars
Do you need help calculating the health stars for your product, or need to reformulate to get more stars? Don’t miss this opportunity to enhance and show the health credentials of your product. Contact us nowFood Labelling Package Deal
Are you a bit confused by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, or don’t even know what it is? We can help.
We have put together a package deal for a food label technical design
- Nutrition Panel Calculation*
- Generate Ingredient Listing
- Estimation of Potential Health and Nutrition Claims
- Preliminary Barcode Check
- Final Label Check
Total Cost $200 per label excluding GST**
Optional Extras
- Nutrition claims
- Health claims
- Laboratory verification
- RDI calculations
- Health star calculations
- Advice on reformulation for improved nutrition claims, health claims, health stars
When health and nutrition claims are involved, labelling projects may become complicated quickly so we treat these on a case by case basis and often charge an hourly rate.
*Calculations cannot be performed on every style of product e.g. fermented products may be difficult or impossible
**Discounts may apply to sets of more than 3 labels
Allergen Labelling and Management
Allergen management can be tricky. The law gives little direction and there can be a lot of inconsistency on the supermarket shelves. All too often the solution is to just label everything, but to those with allergies, this isn’t always helpful.
Industry guidance is available if you know where to look and it is important to follow the process correctly. The majority of recent food recalls in New Zealand are allergen related so it is important to get it right as early as possible because new packaging is expensive. Let us help you through this minefield.
Our Labelling Tools
We use a range of tools to complete labelling work quickly, ranging from automated spreadsheets to online forms and databases.
Ingredient List Generator
Want a legally compliant food label? We are experts.Ingredient List Generator
Making errors in long ingredient listings can be so easy. We have developed our own software to speed up the process and minimise the risk of simple errors.
Allergen List Generator
Allergen listings causing you confusion?Allergen List Generator
We have written some software to consider your allergen risks so you can focus on what is important.
NIP File Joiner
Automatically join 2 nutrition panel calculator filesNutrition Panel Calculator File Joiner
Need to join 2 nutrition panel calculator files? FSANZ told us it was impossible, but we found a way and saved a lot of misery.
Labelling Upload Form
Speed up the process by sharing information efficientlyLabelling Upload Form
Half the work involved with labelling is getting access to the right information. Check out our labelling upload tool here foodaction.co.nz/food-labelling-upload
Shelf Life Testing
Use by dates or best before dates are usually, but not always, a legal requirement. The rules around determining shelf life can be complex and the MPI Food Safety guidance document is over 40 pages long. And want to know a secret, that’t not even the main document you’ll need to refer to.
A conservative shelf life can cost a lot of money in wastage and returns, and a product that doesn’t maintain its quality to the end of its shelf life will cost you dearly, and one that doesn’t remain safe might cost your customer even more.
Shelf life calculations are sometimes easy. For the right product, starting with a good guess is both safe and suitable when done by someone qualified to make that judgement. This approach taken by the wrong person can be disasterous.
Longer shelf life products can also be a nightmare and that’s where accelerated shelf life testing can come into play. This is about the most inexact discipline there is in food science, but can offer some benefits and if you want to know if your product is likely to last 6 months, 12 months, or 24 months, then this could be a good option.
Whatever your product or needs, we know food and can help you run this gauntlet with the minimal risk to your business and your customers.
Labelling Articles
Nutrition Panels – How the Pro’s Do Them
Six Levels of Nutrition Panels Foodaction has calculated over 800 nutrition panels and have found that few are easy. Here are some of the details that you may want to consider when working
Food Labelling Case Study: Business Case Lost
A food product’s business case might be highly dependent on what you can stick on a label. If this is true, then you need to make sure early on that you’ll be allowed to claim
When Do You Need A Lab To Determine A Nutrition Panel?
When Do You Need a Lab to Determine a Nutrition Panel? We have been calculating nutrition panels for just short of 10 years. As a food technologist consultant, this is everyday work. In that
Ingredient Listings – 5 Common Mistakes
Most people look at an ingredient listing on a food label and don’t pay a lot of attention to it. Many don’t understand that all those ingredients are listed from biggest to smallest, those
Food Labelling Software New Zealand
At Foodaction, we have a wide range of advanced computer skills. In the past we have developed a few pieces of software, or added code to commonly used tools to enhance what those pieces
Merging Two Nutrition Information Calculator Files?
Is it Possible to Merge Two Nutrition Information Panel Calculator Backup Files? Yes, it can be done, and we have done it, but it is unbelievably difficult. Being a food technology consultancy, we produce a
Five Common Nutrition Panel Mistakes
Nutrition panels can sometimes be easy to generate if you know what you are doing. The government has a publicly available calculator, or you can send a product sample to a lab. The rulebook is
The Hidden Cost of a Food Business that will Hurt
If you aren't experienced in running a food business, there is one cost that will bite you hard - barcodes. The average person will barely consider the world of barcodes, but as a small food
How to create nutrition panels – collecting the data
We spend a lot of time doing the calculations for nutrition panels. These are easy if you know how and have the right information in front of you. They are very difficult and error prone
Developing Nutrition Panels
Most food products require a nutrition panel, but not all products. There are a few exceptions like vinegar, tea, or very small products like sachets of ketchup from takeaways which are exempt. Creating a nutrition
How to label foods correctly
Food labelling in NZ is horribly complicated. Unfortunately too many new operators just go into a store, find a comparable product, and copy all the mistakes someone else has already made. Others are unaware of
Other Labelling Services
Labelling overlaps and integrates with many elements of a food business. We have it covered.
Food Labelling Reports
Need a signed off report?Food Labelling Reports
Need a signed off labelling report for supermarkets or your verifier? We can create a report for you and help with any non-conformances. Contact us now
Country of Origin Statement
Need help with Australian regulationsCountry of Origin Statement
New Zealand and Australia have different rules on how to label for Country of Origin. Improve your chances to successfully export by getting it right first time. Contact us now
Labelling Complaints
Need to defend against a complaint, or make one yourself?Labelling Complaints
The NZ system for labelling compliance is largely based around complaints. Are you losing a competitive advantage to other brands because they are breaking the rules. Call now to discuss your options.
Mock Recall
What would happen if you had to recall your products?Mock Recall
Allergen labelling is the biggest reason that products in NZ are recalled. You are required to regularly run through recall simulations to ensure your systems can cope with a crisis. We have fast and efficient tools to help with this process. Contact us now