04.CHOICE on country of origin labelling
Of products made in Australia, it’s not
always easy to determine exactly where
the ingredients came from. A large
proportion of the products we surveyed
that were made in Australia included
ingredients of unidentified origin.
Of our sample of 100 market leader
products, 42% specified they were
packaged locally with some or all
ingredients from overseas. Of the Coles
products, 63% were labelled as packaged
in Australia from a combination of local
and/or imported ingredients, while 71% of
Woolies products were labelled as packed
locally but including ingredients of
overseas origin.
So what does the term “made in
Australia” even mean? Right now, in
order to use these words, the product
must have undergone substantial
transformation and 50% of processing
costs here. Labels such as “packed in
Australia from an imported ingredient”
don’t really explain much at all, except
that an ingredient from a mystery country
was repackaged in an Australian factory.
“‘Made in Australia from imported
and local ingredients’ doesn’t quite give
you the whole story,” says Churchill. CHOICE agrees this grey area needs
tightening.
In July, Australian Greens leader
Christine Milne announced the Accurate Country of Origin Labelling for Food Bill
in an attempt to protect both Australian
consumers and farmers from this type of
misleading labelling. Milne argues the bill
provides clear food-specific country-of-origin
labelling to allow customers to
better understand where the produce they
buy comes from and ensure a fair and
transparent market for local growers.
What CHOICE wants
CHOICE knows that country
of origin (CoO) labelling
is one of the biggest consumer
frustrations when it comes to
food labelling. We’ve long
called on governments around
the country to clear up with
confusion caused by the
multitude of different terms
currently used on packaging.
In our July 2011 members’survey, close to 90% of more
than 300 respondents said
it was important to know
the origin of the food they eat,
with two-thirds rating it as
very important.
Do you look for country of origin
labellng on any foods in particular?
Do you find it difficult to make
informed purchases? And which
terms are most confusing or
unhelpful – “made in Australia
from local and imported
ingredients” or “packaged in
Australia”? We‘d like to hear your
thoughts – please email us at
investigation@choice.com.au.