Australia has taken another step towards a mandatory ‘Australian content’ symbol for all locally grown fresh produce and food products.
The country’s Federal Government has announced plans to consult with stakeholders and undertake consumer research into the labelling proposal, which has been led by the not-for-profit Australian Made Campaign group.
“The Australian Made Campaign applauds the Ministery of Agriculture and industry for making country-of-origin branding a priority and looks forward to working closely with the government on the introduction of the new system,” Australian Made Campaign chief executive Ian Harrison said. “Australian Made has submitted comment to and appeared before a number of government committees on country-of-origin labelling in recent years and it is great to finally see traction in this important area of government policy.”
It is believed a formal recommendation on changes to the current labelling laws will be made to the Federal Cabinet in August, along with proposals for what the new symbol will look like.
The Australian Made Campaign administers and promotes the Australian Made, Australian Grown logo, a registered country-of-origin certification trade mark all Australian goods. Harrison said mandatory labelling would help increase understanding of country-of-origin claims and the value proposition of buying Australian products.
“A tighter system for food labelling, coupled with a better understanding of that system by consumers, will give Aussie shoppers more confidence in what they are purchasing,” Harrison explained. “There is also an obvious role for the Australian Made, Australian Grown logo. It has been helping Australian farmers and manufacturers sell genuine Aussie products to consumers all around the world for nearly three decades so it makes good sense to build on that.'
