Warning and advisory statements 

Warning and advisory statements are required for certain foods or ingredients that may cause health risks for some consumers. Warning and advisory statements are different to allergen declarations, which tell allergic customers when an allergen is present in a food.

Advisory statements

Foods that must have advisory statements include:  

• aspartame  
• cava
• bamboo
• guarana or guarana extracts  
• plant sterols  
• caffeine
• bee pollen
• milk, and beverages made from soy or cereals, where these foods contain no more than 2.5% m/m fat
• unpasteurised milk and unpasteurised egg products.

See Food Standards Australia New Zealand for the full list.

Warning statements

A food must have a warning statement when people may be unaware of a severe health risk posed by a food or ingredient. For example, food containing the bee product royal jelly must have the following warning statement: This product contains royal jelly which has been reported to cause severe allergic reactions and, in rare cases, fatalities, especially in asthma and allergy sufferers.

More information on warning and advisory statements is on the Food Standards Australia New Zealand website.