Recall could harm Australian vegetable processors, says AUSVEG

The recall of frozen broccoli from China could impact on Australian frozen vegetable processors, AUSVEG claims.

Earlier this week, Metcash issued a recall of a batch of its Black & Gold Broccoli Florets after receiving several complaints of glass fragments in the bag.

“This sort of contamination has the potential for people to lose confidence in frozen food, and is typical of the lax standards in China,” said AUSVEG Public Affairs Manager William Churchill.

“Chinese farming practices have had a big question mark looming over them for years as these stories continually break on the world stage. There is simply a lack of trust in Chinese vegetables and the standards to which they are produced.”

According to AUSVEG, the product’s country-of-origin labelling was “poor”, which it claimed could damage the reputation of Australian frozen vegetables.

“The country-of-origin declaration on the back of the packet is hard to identify and some consumers may associate the risks of eating Chinese frozen vegetables with Australian frozen produce,” Churchill said.

AUSVEG has urged all supermarkets and retailers to source their frozen vegetable lines from Australian food processors and producers.

“Australia can’t afford to have consumers lose faith in our food supply,” Churchill said. “The best way to ensure we maintain the consumers’ trust is by using trustworthy suppliers.”

AUSVEG has also called for improvements to Australia’s country-of-origin labelling requirements. Churchill says country-of-origin declarations should be more prominent to allow consumers to make more informed decisions about the produce they purchase.