Ian Harrison, the chief executive of Australian Grown, Australian Made, has said that it is unrealistic to expect food labelled as produced in Australia to be made up of 100 per cent domestically-grown components.
Speaking ahead of an inquiry that could see a bill put in place increasing the amount of food-origin labelling on Australian products, Mr Harrison said that while 100 per cent local food was difficult to achieve, too many local products in the country rely on imported ingredients.
'There's far too wide a range of products that require some imported components, simply because the ingredients aren't continuously available in Australia or, in some cases, not available at all in Australia,' he told ABC Rural.
The senate is currently considering a bill, proposed by independent senator Nick Xenophon, that could ask producers, manufacturers and distributors to use the word 'Australian' on food if it is wholly produced locally.
