Displaying kilojoule content of food
Kilojoule displays provide consumers with information about the energy content of their food.
Kilojoule displays help to align the information available on non-packaged foods with that available on packaged foods that are required to nave a Nutrition Information Panel.
The Food Act 2001 requires some ACT food businesses to display the average kilojoule (kJ) content of their standard food items.
The laws aim to give consumers nutritional information to help them make informed dietary choices when purchasing food items.
Not all food businesses are affected by these laws, such as caterers who are exempt.
Some examples of standard food outlets affected by the laws include:
- quick service restaurants
- convenience stores
- dine-in chain restaurants
- pizza chains
- coffee chains
- bakery chains
- ice cream chains
- doughnut chains
- beverage chains
- salad chains
Food businesses that must display kilojoule information
Your business must display kilojoule information if:
- You sell standard food items which are items of ready-to-eat food sold in standardised servings. They may be listed or otherwise shown on a menu with a picture display, or they may be displayed for sale with a price tag or name label.
- You are a standard food outlet selling items at other premises or as part of a chain or franchise arrangement.
- You are a chain or franchise group selling standard food items at 7 or more places in the ACT or at 50 or more places in Australia:
- under franchise arrangements with a parent business
- under common ownership or control
- under the same trading name as a group of other food businesses that sell standard food items.
How to display kilojoule information
If your business must display kilojoule information you need to ensure that you display the average kilojoule content of each of your standard food items in accordance with the Food Regulation 2002.
You also need to display the following statement in one location on each menu board and food display cabinet stand:
- 'The average adult daily energy intake is 8,700kJ. '
It must be placed in close proximity to the standard food items.
When displaying kilojoule information, it must be:
- clearly legible expressed in 'kJ' (kilojoule is used in the legislation instead of calories because it is the internationally accepted metric unit of measurement for energy)
- in the same font and size as the price, or if no price is displayed, the same font and size as the name of the item
- close or adjacent to the name or price of the item.
How to calculate kilojoule content
The average energy content (in kilojoules) of a standard food item should be worked out in line with Standard 1.2.8 of the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
You will need to adjust so the calculation is done for the whole of the standard food item rather than per a 100g serve. The number of kilojoules calculated may be rounded to the nearest 10 kJ.
There are numerous methods for calculating the average kJ content including the online Nutrition Panel Calculator developed by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ).
The Health Protection Service (HPS) enforces the kilojoule display laws and can provide advice on the laws to businesses and consumers.
Contact
If you have any questions, contact the HPS by phone on 02 5124 9700 or by email at hps@act.gov.au.
More information for displaying kilojoules in your business is available in the Kilojoule Display User Guide.