Retailers Use Loopholes to Pass Off Foreign Products as Made in Australia

Australian supermarkets are passing off foreign products as Made in Australia by using loopholes.

Under current laws, products that carry that label must show that a substantial transformation and at least half of the value of the good must have been created in Australia, including its packaging.

With the definition, a product could have imported ingredients, packed in Australia and the manufacturer could choose not to print the real place where the ingredients used in the final product came from.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports the case of two juices sold by Coles that did not mention the real country of origin, but said only that it had imported ingredients. Woolworth is similarly selling under the label Homebrand dried fruits such as apricots, sultanas and dates and juice concentrates sourced from Turkey and Brazil, but that information is excluded from the labels which state that the items were packed in Australia from imported ingredients.

Woolworths conceded that it was not possible for consumers to determine the country-of-origin of some of the items on their shelves, but stressed the labeling on the products comply with legal requirements.

In the case of Fairfax, it sells food items imported through New Zealand but actually originated from China. However, the items lacked an accurate country-of-origin label. This is due to New Zealand's voluntary country-of-original label policy, except for wine, and a 1988 free trade agreement with Australia which allows legal sales of food items without such label.

The source of the ingredients is vital to Australians based on a Datamonitor survey that found that 67 per cent of Aussies want to purchase Made in Australia goods.

"We believe it is so complicated and people are so confused about what this means that it tend to devalue the Made in Australia label," The Canberra Times quoted Australian Food and Grocery Council Chief Executive Kate Carnell.