The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week issued guidelines on country of origin claims made by the food and beverage industry.
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The guidelines will assist food and beverage manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers who wish to make country of origin claims within the provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974, according to a report by Food Ingredients Online. The report notes that consumers are increasingly aware of buying Australian products and have the right to be confident that claims made on food and beverage labels are accurate, quoting Jennifer McNeil, ACCC Commissioner.
A working party, led by ACCC, including representatives from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, and other agencies, was established to produce these guidelines. The guidelines result from extensive research, consultation and a cooperative approach between members of Government and the private sector, Food Ingredients Online says. The guide is the third in a series of six ACCC publications for industry. These guides are designed to assist different industries to ensure they comply with the Act’s country of origin rules, and more specifically, provide guidance as to the ACCC’s interpretation of defences set out in Part V, Division 1AA of the Act.
McNeil explained that Division 1AA sets out what characteristics the good must have to ensure that a claim about the country of origin does not amount to misleading and deceptive conduct under the Act. The Made in Australia defence, in Division 1AA, has two components:
- The goods must have been substantially transformed in the country claimed to be the origin;
- 50% or more of the cost of production must have been carried out in that country.
The Product of Australia defence has two rigorous criteria which must be met:
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By GlobalData- The country of the claim must be the country of origin of each significant component of the goods;
- All, or virtually all, processes involved in the production or manufacture must have happened in that country.
By Aaron Priel, just-food.com correspondent
