The World Trade Organization (WTO) has ruled that current U.S. Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) measures are inconsistent with the U.S.’s WTO trade obligations. The WTO had examined complaints by Canada regarding the United States’ current CoOL requirements. The U.S. Food, Conservation and Energy Act imposes mandatory CoOL for beef, pork, chicken, lamb and goat as well as some perishables sold by U.S. retailers. The WTO ruled that the requirements discriminate against foreign livestock. In... ...Read more »

Japan’s government has imposed a ban on shipments of rice produced in certain parts of Fukushima after high levels of radioactive caesium were detected. The announcement was made by the Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura, who said restrictions had been imposed on the shipment of rice produced in 2011 in former Oguni-mura in Fukushima City, where radiation leaks occurred after the earthquake and tsunami in March 2011. Mr Fujimura said that the Japanese government had asked the Governor of Fukushima... ...Read more »

The 2011 total winter wheat crop is expected to be Australia’s third-largest on record, according to a new industry report released by specialist agribusiness bank, Rabobank. Rabobank estimates the wheat crop at 25.6 million tones for winter, despite variable crop conditions along the east coast and in South Australia. The expected increase in Western Australian production should compensate for the anticipated fall in the East Coast production. Rabobank senior analyst Dean Smith said that Spring... ...Read more »

The State of Tasmania is seeking to maintain import restrictions on New Zealand apples. The move comes despite the fact that regulator Biosecurity Australia yesterday gave the green light to the importation of New Zealand apples into Australia. Last year, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) found Australia’s biosecurity and quarantine standards stopping New Zealand apples exported to Australia to be in breach of WTO rules. In a statement passed on to Australian Food News, the Tasmanian Premier Lara... ...Read more »

Apple growers across Australia today launched a fightback against the apple import trade. The move comes following officially authorised shipments of apples being imported from New Zealand. This follows the decision of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2010 that found Australia’s biosecurity and quarantine standards to breach WTO rules. Apple growers have taken the step of branding locally grown apple with an ‘Aussie Apples’ sticker, allowing consumers to choose home-grown apples at the... ...Read more »

Supermarket giants Coles and Woolworths have been taken to task over dodgy origin labelling, after an investigation by the NSW Food Authority revealed that two stores were selling mislabelled fruit The incident marks the first time Coles and Woolworths have been fined for Country of Origin labelling breaches, and both have been placed on the NSW Food Authority’s Name and Shame register. Woolworths at Newington in Sydney has been fined $1540 for advertising lemons for sale as being the “Product... ...Read more »

A group of food importers and retailers has been investigated by the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS) for importing and selling Korean food illegally. Mr Tim Chapman, General Manager of AQIS Quarantine Operations, said AQIS officers intercepted a shipment of prohibited food from Korea which it says did not meet Australian food safety standards. “On further investigation, AQIS identified a number of importers who had routinely imported food containing meat and dairy products that... ...Read more »

In its most recent assessment of the situation in Japan, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) noted that the Japanese Government had moved to place new restrictions on certain foods sourced from areas of Japan where radiation contamination has occurred. As a precautionary measure, and consistent with approaches internationally, FSANZ said that on March 23, it asked AQIS (the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service) to institute testing of some foods originating from four Japanese prefectures... ...Read more »

The US has joined a growing list of countries who have imposed restrictions on the import of Japanese food over fears of nuclear contamination. The Food and Drink Administration (FDA) has restricted the import of dairy, vegetable and fruit products into the US from the four northern prefectures of Japan affected by radiation leaks from the stricken Fukushima nuclear plant. Imports from the Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi and Gunma prefectures “will be detained upon entry into the United States”... ...Read more »

Australia’s food standards regulator, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), has made a statement that it considers the risk of Australian consumers being exposed to radionuclides in food imported from Japan to be negligible. “Australia does not import fresh produce from Japan.  In fact Australia imports very little food from Japan. Imports are limited to a small range of specialty products, for example seaweed-based products, sauces etc,” said FSANZ in the statement. “Any... ...Read more »