Mixed reactions to Greens’ CoOL Bill

The Greens’ new Bill on country-of-origin labelling (CoOL) has drawn mixed reactions from the food industry. AUSVEG has voiced its support for the Bill, while the Australian Made Campaign has reservations about the proposed changes.

The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Country of Origin Food Labelling) Bill extends country of origin labelling to all food for retail sale and simplifies labelling to just three allowable claims:

• Product of or Grown in Australia
• Manufactured in Australia
• Packaged in Australia

AUSVEG, the national horticultural body representing Australian vegetable and potato growers, is backing the Bill, saying it will support Australian farmers and empower consumers who want to be able to identify Australian food easily.

“The present food labelling laws are a farce and Australian vegetable and potato growers would welcome any improvements aimed at making it easier for Australian consumers to confidently choose locally grown food, something which is currently very difficult to do,” said AUSVEG spokesperson Hugh Gurney.

But the Australian Made Campaign says it cannot support the Bill in its current form. The campaign said a wider range of alternative claims should be allowable for products such as, for example, pickles processed in Australia from imported ingredients.

“On the positive side, Australian Made supports the proposal that food may be labelled in a way that highlights significant ingredients, eg, ‘Manufactured in Australia from Australian milk’ for chocolate, as long as all the requirements for a ‘Made in Australia’ claim are met,” said Ian Harrison, Australian Made Chief Executive.

Senator Milne expressed her thanks to CHOICE for its input into developing the Bill.