AN advertising campaign to improve the general public’s awareness and understanding of the federal government’s new country of origin labelling (CoOL) regime has kicked-off this week.
In February, legislation passed the federal Senate to implement further changes to the nation’s food labelling system, to help improve the accuracy of country of origin claims about where products are made or packaged.
The reforms also help to identify the percentage of a food product made in Australia and were ignited by public and political reaction to the Hepatitis A outbreak on imported frozen berries that occurred in early 2015.
The changes also follow through on recommendations made from an inquiry into CoOL rules, Chaired by South Australian rural Liberal MP Rowan Ramsey in the previous parliament.
Food products like Beechworth Honey, Birdseye Country Harvest Garden Mix and Angas Park dried apples have already been displaying the new labelling arrangements on supermarket shelves, getting ahead of formal deadlines to implement the reforms.
Farm groups like the National Farmers’ Federation say the CoOL reforms will aid consumer confidence and knowledge and ultimately benefit Australian producers by helping to identify a food product’s country of origin and authenticity of contents.
Industry, Innovation and Science Minister Arthur Sinodinis said the next phase of the Turnbull government’s campaign to help consumers understand the new CoOL system for food products had commenced and was designed to make people aware of the new labelling laws and how they are being used on food products.
“Many people will have already noticed the new labels starting to appear on products in stores - now is a perfect time to let people know what they’re all about,” he said.
“Over the next five weeks, advertising showing what the new labels mean and where people can find more information will run on television and radio, in newspapers, online and in shopping centres.”
To back-up the advertising campaign, demonstrations will be held throughout May in selected supermarkets around the country, giving consumers take-home information explaining the new labels, the minister’s statement said.
Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Barnaby Joyce said the new labels were appearing on food products in Australia as a result of regulatory reforms around CoOL – but up to now CoOL information for food had been inconsistent and confusing.
But he said the government’s reforms “change that” and the Australian public would now be able to see how much of a product comes from Australia.
“We’re continuing to work with food producers, growers and manufacturers to ensure they understand the new labelling requirements and how to apply them to their products,” he said.
“It’s great to see these labels appearing on shelves already, giving shoppers clear and meaningful information about where their food comes from.”
Under the new CoOL system most food produced, grown or made in Australia will have the kangaroo logo and the percentage of Australian ingredients indicated through text and a bar chart.
The reforms commenced on July 1 last year and allow for a two-year transition period before the new rules become mandatory.
Any products that have old labels at the end of the transition period can still be sold until the end of their shelf-life - but food labelled from July 1 2018 must follow the new rules, the government says.
Assistant Trade Minister and Queensland Nationals MP Keith Pitt also welcomed the new CoOL advertising campaign starting and informing consumers of the changes.
“It’s great that the government is getting out there and letting people know what the new labels mean,” he said.
“The new food labelling system will provide Australian consumers with the clarity they deserve, without imposing an excessive burden on businesses
“I look forward to seeing more of these labels on supermarket shelves.”