The Turnbull Government has announced that Australia will change its country-of-origin labelling laws, requiring more detail about where products come from. From The Australian:
The new regime eschews vague labels such as “Made in Australia” in favour of longer, more detailed descriptions such as: “Made in Australia from at least 10 per cent Australian ingredients with Canadian pork.”
Food that is made, produced or grown in Australia will sport a kangaroo logo, while others will also feature a bar chart to inform shoppers about the proportion of Australian ingredients in each product.
Industry Minister Christopher Pyne hailed the agreement as a “big win for consumers”…
“The new food labelling system will provide Australian consumers with the clarity they deserve, without imposing an overly onerous burden on businesses.”
This is great news and long overdue.
Australia’s existing country-of-origin labelling laws are a joke, with most labels on packs – including terms like “product of” or “made from local and imported ingredients” – providing consumers with inadequate information to make an informed choice about what goods they buy. In turn, the existing labelling regime has also worked against local producers.
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
