Country of origin labelling breaches

Two of Australia's major retailers have been found by the NSW Food Authority to have falsely described the origin of fruit for sale in two Sydney stores.

It is the first time Coles and Woolworths have been fined for Country of Origin labelling breaches - labelling imported fruit as Australian produce - and both have been placed on the NSW Food Authority’s Name and Shame register.

Stores at Newington and St Mary’s were found to have labelled imported lemons and grapefruit as Australian, contrary to the rules of the Food Act (2003) and the Food Standards Code.

Katrina Hodgkinson, Minister for Primary Industries, said: “It may be seen to be of commercial advantage by some retailers to imply that their produce is of Australian origin. This is illegal and will not be tolerated.

"Our farmers produce $1.2 billion in fresh fruit and vegetables a year and deserve better than to have supermarkets trade on their clean-green reputation using products that were grown thousands of kilometres away."

Under its Food Regulation Partnership the NSW Food Authority and local councils work to ensure that food labelling is correct and does not mislead the consumer, both parties routinely audit retailers and investigate allegations relating to country of origin labelling matters and take appropriate enforcement action.

The NSW Food Authority has also developed a fact sheet to assist industry in understanding their requirements under the law. Further information about food labelling and the law can be found at www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry/food-business-issues/labelling.

The complete Name and Shame register is at www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/penalty-notices/.