The proposal by the Australian Greens Party to make amendments to Australian Country of Origin (COO) labelling laws has been met with mixed reactions by the food industry. The legislation from the Greens would simplify COO labelling to three claims: Product of or Grown in Australia, Manufactured in Australia, and Packaged in Australia. Australian vegetable and potato growers’ representative body AusVeg said it is backing the Bill, which was introduced into the Senate on 16 May 2013 by Greens’... ...Read more »

The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) has hit back at new Greens’ initiated legislation regarding Country of Origin labelling regulations, examined by the Senate Committee this week. According to the AFGC, the Greens reform of the regulations will “mislead consumers”, “negatively impact export opportunities”, and “threaten 300,000 Australian jobs.” The new Bill from the Greens aims to distinguish between products made from Australian ingredients and products made from Australian... ...Read more »

Following the gazettal of new Country of Origin labelling requirements for unpackaged meat this month and the October 2012 launch of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) guide to interpreting country-of-origin claims, consumer group CHOICE has proposed further reforms “to simplify origin claims”. Angela McDougall, CHOICE’s food policy advisor, claims that the current origin labelling provisions are still “confusing with a proliferation of vague and muddy claims”. Under... ...Read more »

Businesses exporting to China have a reason to celebrate this week with the Australian Made, Australian Grown (AMAG) logo being formally trademarked in China. The logo, which can be listed on seven classes of goods including pharmaceuticals, food, furniture and beverages, has been legally protected under Chinese law and officially establishes products as being genuinely Australian. Australian Made chief executive Ian Harrison said, “Historically, China has been a challenging environment for the... ...Read more »

Australian Greens Deputy Leader, Senator Christine Milne has foreshadowed a new Country of Origin Labelling (CoOL) Bill to be introduced into Federal Parliament by the Greens. The proposed Accurate Country of Origin Labelling for Food (Competition and Consumer Act Amendment) Bill 2012 will be introduced with a view to changing the Food Standards Code and Part 5-3 of the Competition and Consumer Act to create “a new, clear food-specific” country of origin labelling framework. The labels will be... ...Read more »

A Bill introduced to the Senate yesterday by Independent Senator Nick Xenophon to alter Australia’s food labelling laws could make it harder for Australian Made products to compete, according to the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC). The proposed legislation seeks to change laws to only allow the word “Australian” to be used on products if they are 100 per cent produced in Australia. Senator Xenophon has previously labelled current laws as a “sad joke”. “Right... ...Read more »

The Greens and Senator Xenophon will introduce a bill for ‘truth in food labelling’ when Parliament resumes next month. The bill seeks changes to eligibility requirements for using the Made in Australia label. “The ‘Made in Australia’ label is currently being given to some foods that only incur half of their total manufacturing costs in Australia,” Greens Leader Bob Brown remarked. “Most consumers want to do what they can to support Australian workers and... ...Read more »

Independent Senator Nick Xenophon is calling for changes to food labelling laws, bemoaning the current laws as a “sad joke”. “Right now, you can label a fruit juice as ‘made in Australia’ even if half the juice comes from overseas – as long as the box and label are locally made,” Senator Xenophon said in a statement. “Our current labelling laws make it so hard for consumers to find real Australian products, it’s virtually impossible to be sure... ...Read more »