“Currently, a product can be described as ‘Australian made’ if it is ‘substantially transformed’ in Australia and at least 50% of the cost of manufacturing it is incurred here,” she says.
“Australian Made Campaign supports tightening of the guidelines around what constitutes ‘substantial transformation’ in food products, to ensure that products such as bacon or ham, processed in Australia from imported pork, cannot use an ‘Australian made’ claim.”
Australian Made Campaign also believes the qualified claim “Made in Australia from local and imported ingredients”, which is currently a source of major confusion, should be clearly defined in legislation.
“Australian Made Campaign is currently in discussions with the Greens and other stakeholders in this area to devise a labelling system for food products which addresses the concerns of consumers and industry alike,” says Crowe.
Australian Made will be making a submission to the Senate inquiry into the Greens’ bill.
Crowe says the ACCC’s current campaign will be helpful if it assists consumers to better understand the current labelling regime.
“However, the current system is far from perfect and it is possible that with consultation a better solution to consumer concerns can be found,” Crowe says.
Sims also announced today the ACCC is launching a buying guide for consumers which provides information about the different grades of olive oil products available, such as “extra virgin” and “virgin”.
This follows enforcement action earlier this year against the Big Olive Company which paid two infringement notices totalling $13,200 for labelling products as ‘extra virgin olive oil’ that the ACCC considered were not.
This story first appeared on SmartCompany.
Cara Waters is a former SmartCompany editor. Previously, Cara was a senior reporter for the Financial Times’ website and worked for The Sunday Times in London.
