NSW Farmers says this week’s Four Corners investigation should be a wake-up call for governments, regulators, supermarkets and food manufacturers after serious allegations of food fraud and misleading country-of-origin claims were uncovered across products sold on Australian supermarket shelves.
NSW Farmers President, Rebecca Reardon, said the investigation reinforced concerns the Association had raised for years about weaknesses in Country-of-Origin Labelling laws and the growing gap between the standards imposed on Australian farmers and those expected elsewhere in the food supply chain.
“The Four Corners report is absolutely damning,” said Ms Reardon.
“When Australian consumers purchase a product labelled Australian-grown, they believe that’s exactly what they’re getting but the Four Corners investigation calls that assumption into question.”
“Consumers are being asked to pay a premium to back Australian farmers and if the claims on the label are not genuine, then consumers are being deceived, and Australian growers are being undercut by products that are not what they claim to be.”
The Association has renewed its long-standing calls for stronger Country of Origin Labelling protections, improved verification of origin claims and tougher enforcement action where consumers are misled.
“Major retailers are quick to use their influence to take advantage of farmers at their gate, and shoppers at the checkout but it appears they are not so rigorous in ensuring accuracy in labelling of imported food.”
“Consumers should not need forensic scientists to tell them where their food comes from. If the claims made on a package cannot be trusted, then consumer confidence in the entire food system is at risk.”
“Australian farmers have spent generations building that trust and they should not be the ones paying the price when others fail to uphold it.”