FoodLegal

A summary of regulatory developments and updates for the month of March 2025.

New requirements for the recall process for therapeutic goods took effect on 5 March 2025. Aimed at ‘sponsors’, this article explains the definition of a sponsor, the key steps and responsibilities businesses need to be aware of under the new process and the important differences from the previous process.

The Federal Court of Australia has recently held that a private label product infringed the copyright of a competitor product due to similarities of the design. This article explores this December 2024 decision by the honourable Justice Moshinsky in the Federal Court decision of Hampden Holdings I.P Pty Ltd v Aldi Foods Pty Ltd (2024). The court case has wide implications for many food businesses and private label retailers.

Both the Advisory Committee on Novel Foods and the Therapeutic Goods Administration have issued separate decisions which have significant potential ramifications on the use of green tea extracts in food. This article addresses these decisions and the important issues they raise for food businesses in assessing whether their green tea extract products or ingredients are still to be permitted for use.