Restrict ‘substantial transformation’ definition, says Australian Made Campaign

Country of origin labelling in Australia leaves a great deal to be desired, but the Greens’ proposed Bill is not an acceptable alternative, the Australian Made Campaign has said.

“The proposed Bill is a step in the right direction, but misses the mark on some very important issues, including substantial transformation, which is all about where products are made,” said Australian Made Campaign Chief Executive Ian Harrison.

At the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs Committee hearing into the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Australian Food Labelling Bill) 2012, Harrison called for the definition of ‘substantial transformation’ to be restricted so that it is more difficult for products with high imported content and minimal processing to be passed off as Australian.

“At present, the rules for using the Australian Made, Australian Grown logo on food products are more stringent than the rules applied by the ACCC,” Harrison said.

“We are calling on the government to follow the Australian Made Campaign’s lead, to make it easier for consumers to identify genuine Aussie products and to build greater consumer confidence back into Australia’s food labelling system.”