Aussie produce body praises food labeling decision
Support from state ministers now means Australia's proposed country of origin labeling laws are moving closer to a more clear and robust system.
Vegetable industry body Ausveg welcomed the news a final decision on the reforms - proposed by the Federal Government in July last year - was made during the Legislative and Governance Forum on Consumer Affairs held on Wednesday.
The Federal Government consulted extensively with industry and consumers to develop the new rules, whereby each food label will need an indication of the proportion of Australian ingredients by weight, displayed in a statement and a bar graph that is easier for consumers to read.
"Market research has shown that Australian consumers are desperate for a clearer indication of where the food they are buying comes from, as confusing statements such as ‘Made from local and imported ingredients’ left them none the wiser about a product’s real origin," Ausveg CEO Richard Mulcahy said in a release.
"Although the proposed system does not offer a complete solution to these issues, AUSVEG recognises that it is an encouraging step forward to provide consumers with more transparent, informative labelling on the foods they buy."
Mulcahy highlighted how Ausveg had been campaigning for many years for effective reforms to eliminate "ambiguous and deceptive labelling terminology".
"This will undoubtedly open the door for a country of origin labelling system that operates on a unified, federal platform that is enforced by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which will make for stronger regulation of Australia’s food labelling systems," Mulcahy said.
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