Unlabelled China vegetable imports entering Australia via New Zealand have irritated a key farming organization in Queensland, and strongly pressed New Zealand nationals to strictly comply with the Australian Country of Origin Labelling ('CoOL') regulations, reports from Ausfoodnews.com said.

Growcom, the peak representative body for the fruit and vegetable growing industry in Queensland, alluded to reports that vegetables laced with food chemicals that are banned in other countries are gaining access to Australian markets through New Zealand.

Australia's free trade agreement with New Zealand, the Trans-Tasmanian Mutual Recognition Agreement, is sometimes the cause of the latter's rather lack of stringent check into the vegetables.

"While not perfect, Australia does have Country of Origin Labelling Laws, but in New Zealand there is no requirement for a food manufacturer to identify the source of contents of their product," Alex Livingstone, CEO of Growcom, said.

According to the Ausfoodnews.com, Mr Livingstone said the Australia and New Zealand Food Regulation Ministerial Council and Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) are the two established forums where the matter of a uniform CoOL system between the two countries could be discussed and formulated.

On the subject of providing food labeling information about the source of origin of the food, Australian Food News recently reported on the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) instituting legal proceedings against two Victorian meat retailers alleging false and misleading representations about meat claimed to originate from King Island, Tasmania, the report said.

Check out updates at the ausfoodnews.com.au