New country of origin food labels will begin to appear soon

Member for Robertson, Ms Lucy Wicks MP said new country of origin food labels will begin to appear on supermarket shelves on the Central Coast later this year.

“It is important to ensure consumers have the information they need to make informed choices about the products they buy,” Ms Wicks said. “The mandatory rollout will commence in 2016, providing manufacturers with time to implement the new scheme.”

In February this year, the Government established a review of Australia’s Country of Origin Labelling laws. According to Ms Wicks, the new food labeling system will show consumers where products are made, grown or packaged.

“Foods processed locally will have a new label which includes the familiar green and gold kangaroo and triangle icon, with a chart showing what proportion of the ingredients are from Australia,” she said.

“This will include, for example, ‘Made in Australia from 100 per cent Australian ingredients, ‘Packed in Australia, Made in Canada’ and ‘Made in Australia from Australian carrots and French peas’”.

Companies will be encouraged to provide additional information on their labels such as naming the origin of a number of key ingredients. These reforms will also clarify the definition of ‘made in’ Australia.

Under the new scheme, if the product is imported into Australia and then repacked, the label will identify where the item came from.”

Media release,
21 July 2015
Tim Sowden, Office of
Lucy Wicks