From July 1, 2018, most of the food products consumers buy will give them information about the country of origin. The government has made it compulsory for the businesses to provide information about the product’s Country of Origin.
The new labelling requirements for the food sold in Australia already started on 1 July 2016, but the Australian Government gave food companies two years’ time to make the necessary changes on the food labels.
The new rule will become mandatory from 1 July 2018.
The new label will display the country of origin details of where the food is grown, made, produced or packaged in Australia or another country, and whether it falls into the 'priority' or 'non-priority' food category.
Talking about the governments'new rule for the food products, store owner Anand Luhar said, "it is good to have this kind of rule. It is the consumer’s right to know about the origin and ingredients used in the product. The new rule will make customers more aware before purchasing the product.”
Anand Luhar, a shop owner in Melbourne. Source: Anand Luhar
“It will help to stop the duplication of the overseas products. Many products are produced to be sold in India only, but somehow some vendors sell them here illegally this practice should also be stopped,” said Anand.
The new law will not apply to food sold in coffee shops, restaurants, pubs and takeaway shops. Moreover, food products that were packaged and labelled on or before 30 June 2018 can still be sold without the new labels.
It will be businesses’ responsibility to ensure that representations made about the product are accurate, clear and truthful.
Label on the tomatoes in a super market in Australia. Source: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Know the difference between 'Grown in,' 'Produced in' and 'Made in'
When a food product has been grown, and the ingredients are Australian, it’s called: 'Grown in Australia.' When the ingredients are of Australian origin, and its processing has occurred in Australia, it is called: 'Produced in Australia.' If the ingredients come from Australia, or from overseas, but the manufacturing process has occurred in Australia, it is called: 'Made in Australia.'
Priority food must contain Australian ingredients to be claimed 'Grown in Australia'
Fruit, vegetables, meat, bread, milk, juice, seafood, honey, nuts and cereal fall into the ‘Priority Food’ category. Under the new reform, priority foods can only claim to be grown or produced in Australia if they carry 100 percent Australian ingredients.
Priority food which shows a kangaroo in a triangle logo on the packaging will inform the consumers that the food is of Australian origin.
Labels on products from Australian food icon Maggie Beer were likely to mislead the public about where they were manufactured. Source: AAP Image/ACCC
Country of origin text statement for Non-priority food
For the non-priority food, it will be compulsory to show the country of origin in text statement on the packaging. Seasoning, tea, coffee, biscuits, snack food, confectionery, bottled water, soft drinks, sports drinks and alcohol products are known as non-priority food.
Same as non-priority food, it is obligatory for the imported food to display a text statement about the country of origin on the packaging. Businesses will have the option to use a label with a shaded bar chart informing whether the food contains ingredients from Australia.
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