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Will your food labels be up to standard?

Posted on June 08, 2016

Country of origin labellingAfter a period of extensive consultation, a new country of origin food labelling information standard under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) (part of the Competition and Consumer Act) will commence operation on 1 July 2016. Under the new information standard, all food sold in Australia will require either a standard label or a country of origin statement.

The new country of origin food labelling requirements will be covered by the ACL and not, as is currently the case, the Food Standards Code.

The key changes require that labels for all foods sold in Australia that is grown, produced or made in Australia must include a kangaroo in a triangle symbol, bar chart and written statement showing the proportion of Australian ingredients in the food product. For food products not grown, produced or made in Australia, additional labelling requirements will be enforced to make it easy for the consumer to identify the Country of Origin.

While businesses will have a two year transition period to allow retailers to move current stock in trade, any new food products will need to comply with the new information standard.

Who do the changes apply to?

At this stage, the information standard will apply to all food offered for retail sale in stores, markets, online or from vending machines.

The new requirements will not apply to cafes, restaurants, take away shops, schools or caterers.

While the new information standard covers all food for retail sale in Australia, there are different requirements for priority and non-priority foods.

Non-priority foods include:

  • seasonings;
  • confectionary;
  • biscuits and snack foods;
  • bottled water;
  • soft drinks and sports drinks;
  • tea and coffee; and
  • alcoholic beverages.

Priority foods are all other food products.

Non-priority foods will only require a text statement on their labels by way of a text box which shows the country of origin; including additional information is optional.

Priority foods require the kangaroo in a triangle symbol to enable the consumer to easily identify the product as Australian in origin, a statement saying whether the food was grown, produced or made in Australia and a bar chart which shows the percentage, by ingoing weight, of Australian ingredients. All three of these components are required. One cannot be used without the other.

What does the terminology mean?

Under the new information standard it will be important to understand the terminology being used in relation to the food because this will determine the labelling requirements.

  • ‘Grown in’ or ‘produced in’ labels will be considered to be ‘premium claims’ which mean that all of the ingredients in the food are Australian and major processing took place in Australia.
  • ‘Made in’ means the food underwent its last substantial transformation in that country. This means that a minimum of 50% of the production costs for the product must be incurred by the country identified and relates to production, not content. For example, the food does not contain Australian ingredients but it underwent major processing in Australia.

The ‘made in’ claim cannot apply where imported ingredients are only part of a minor process such as freezing, slicing, canning, bottling, crumbing, reconstituting or packaging.

  • ‘Substantial transformation’ means a food whose end product is fundamentally different from its imported ingredient components.
  • ‘Packed in Australia’ means a food product that does not meet the ‘grown, produced or made in’ requirements. Food ‘packed in Australia’ must not include the kangaroo symbol because the food is not of Australian origin. The bar chart and statement on the food would however be required to show the proportion of Australian ingredients. If there are no Australian ingredients, the table must show an empty bar chart.

Australian food that is exported for processing overseas without substantial transformation and reimported for sale would need to show, in brackets, that processing took place overseas.

Where sources of ingredients vary, the label will be required to show the average proportion of ingredients calculated on a one, two or three year period that concluded within the last two years. However, the label must provide a method for the consumer to obtain information about the proportion of Australian ingredients in the actual food either online or by telephone. The origin of specific ingredients can also be ‘called out’ on the new labels.

Imported foods

Imported foods will still need to display a label clearly showing the country of origin and will also require additional information in relation to the ‘made in’ and ‘packed in’ statements. For priority foods, a box on the label should show the country of production. The Kangaroo symbol is not allowed but a bar chart can be used to show the percentage of Australian food in the product (this is optional).

Wholly imported foods required a ‘packed in’ label if the food cannot claim to have been grown, produced or made in a single overseas country. For example, packed in Poland from imported ingredients’.

What you need to do

The Government has developed a style guide to detail the specifications for standard labels and an online self-assessment tool and country of origin labelling library to assist businesses with the new labelling.

A country of origin label will be required when you do not need or cannot use a standard mark label on your product. The label will need to be placed on each individual product, anywhere on the product. Labels such as ‘made in Australia from local and imported ingredients’ will no longer be sufficient.

The labels:

  • Cannot be distorted;
  • Cannot be split, for example symbol on one site and bar chart on another;
  • Must meet the guidelines and cannot be incorrect;
  • All three components for grown, made or produced in Australia products must be used together;
  • The type face should be bold;
  • There is no minimum size requirements but the text must be legible; and
  • There must be clear space (recommended 3mm) in the area surrounding the label.

If your labelling does not meet the new standards, you will be breaching the ACL and you could be engaging in misleading and deceptive conduct.

If you require assistance with your labelling requirements, please contact one of our Agribusiness team members.

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