Australian food labeling bill blocked
Last year industry demanded the current labelling laws be investigated, so the Bill was drafted and referred to the Senate inquiry into Country of Origin Labelling for food, where it met criticism from some industry groups for not offering a viable alternative to the current system.
The committee's first recommendation is that the Bill as drafted should not be passed, hoping for further safeguards to protect producers and manufacturers from cheap imports.
The second was that the Government should develop a more effective country-of-origin framework, which better balances the interests of consumers, primary producers and manufacturers.
Vegetable body AusVeg said it was disappointed by the committee's move to block the Bill, given what it said was a high level of industry and consumer support behind it.
"Obviously we are disappointed that this draft of the bill has not been endorsed, as country-of-origin labelling in its current form is incredibly difficult to understand and in vital need of an overhaul," AusVeg spokesman William Churchill said.
At the inquiry hearing in February, the Australian Made Campaign rejected the Greens Bill, but has now applauded the new recommendations.
"If implemented, these recommendations will make it easier for consumers to identify genuine Aussie products and build greater confidence back into Australia's food labelling system," Australian Made chief executive Ian Harrison said.
Australian Greens leader Christine Milne also endorsed the recommendations.
Fruit Growers Victoria general manager John Wilson said supermarkets' merchandising tactics for processed fruit had been "deceptive at best and deceitful at worst", and the only fix was strong labelling laws.
Source: weeklytimesnow.com.au