A recently proposed law in South Australia seeks to regulate the marketing and labeling of pet food to establish transparency and accountability that will protect pets and their owners from unscrupulous producers and vendors.
Though limited to the state of South Australia, the bill nonetheless highlights the fact that a country as big as Australia, with a US$6 billion pet food industry, remains bereft of national oversight and uniform legislation for pet food.
“There is currently no pet food regulation at all in Australia,” said lawmaker Frank Pangallo, who introduced the Pet Food (Marketing and Labelling) Act 2024 last June. “Given the number of serious pet food poisoning incidents in recent years, I find this astonishing.”
Bill recommendations and language
Pangallo said his bill recommends using the 2023 version of the Australian Standard AS5812 (Manufacturing and Marketing of pet food — cats and dogs) in general to have some regulations at least for marketing and labeling. Reviewed and refined by experts from the Pet Food Industry Association of Australia (PFIAA) and the Australian Veterinarians Association (AVA), AS5812:2023 is the standard’s most recent iteration, but compliance remains voluntary as it has been since 2011 when the standard was first developed.
“The Australian Standard is somewhat meaningless if it is not enforceable,” Pangallo said during the bill’s second parliamentary reading. “The bill’s intention is simple: It provides an important first line of protection for South Australian consumers and their pets; that is, mandating transparent and accurate marketing and labeling of pet food products sold in South Australia to ensure that pet food is safe and nutritionally adequate.”
Pangallo’s bill stipulates four types of offenses: Selling pet food not labeled in accordance with AS5812:2023, failing to ensure that the pet food label complies with AS5812:2023, failing to provide relevant information to the person buying the pet food and marketing pet food in a way that is against the established standard. All four offenses carry penalties of AU$20,000 (US$13,599) for a first offense, AU$40,000 (US$27,197) for a second offense and AU$60,000 (US$40,796) for a third or subsequent offense.
Any person suspected of committing any of these offenses will be given a chance to prove their innocence about the nature of the pet food they are selling.
In addition, the proposed law will have authorized officers conduct inspections of goods and facilities and slap a AU$5,000 (US$3,399.65) fine to anyone who stops them.
Pangallo said he believes that the majority of pet food businesses in Australia are reputable, but without regulation, dodgy operators could get away with using the cheapest ingredients and poor manufacturing processes under the cover of dishonest labeling and false marketing. In the case of pet food importers, some conceal the true country of origin by declaring their products as “packaged in Australia” even though the pet food was manufactured in China, for example, where different pet food regulations may or may not exist.
The comprehensive Australian Standard AS5812:2023
The Australian Standard AS5812 was developed 13 years ago by representatives from federal and state government and industry stakeholders like PFIAA, AVA and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) to provide an official Australian standard for the production and supply of manufactured pet food for dogs and cats. It goes under regular review and refinement to ensure that it is setting the latest standards to produce quality pet food, meet pets’ nutritional requirements, give guidance on the use of additives and stipulate what must be included on pet food labels. The latest version, AS5812:2023, covers marketing and content labeling in a much more comprehensive standard, said Pangallo.
But aside from being non-mandatory, the other weakness of the Australian Standard for pet food is that it is a copyrighted material that not everybody would want to purchase. The pending bill hopes to reverse these challenges, at least in South Australia.
Other industry efforts
Aside from Pangallo’s bill, other industry efforts are trying to bring pet food regulations in parts of or throughout Australia. For example, the Department of Primary Industries and Regions of South Australia recently introduced Australian Standard 4841:2006 for the hygienic production of pet meat.
Then there’s the “Tick of Approval” program launched by PFIAA in early 2024 to help consumers nationwide to easily identify AS5812-compliant pet food by means of a logo printed on pet food containers and featured on a product’s website.
The group, which is made up of over 70 pet food businesses, said their members are committed to the production of safe pet food products that are compliant with AS5812 and are regularly third-party audited against the Australian Standard. Complying with the proposed bill in South Australia would simply be like an established routine for the members, Pangallo said.
The bill awaits a third reading at the parliament prior to being passed. It will come into effect two months after it is signed into law by the governor. So far, it has received overwhelming bipartisan support.
“The potential for this legislation to elevate standards nationally offers an additional compelling argument to support it … We can model improvements in pet food safety and nutrition in South Australia, setting the stage for national-level reforms that align with the best interests of pets and their owners throughout Australia,” Pangallo said.
Lack of pet food regulation reflects poorly on the Australian industry, the lawmaker said, and is a disservice to millions of households with pets. Currently, there are 28.7 million companion animals that include dogs, cats, fish, birds and other small animals in Australia. Nearly 40% of Australian households own a dog and 27% own a cat.