Is your frozen fish actually made in Australia?
A frozen fish manufacturer has changed its country of origin labelling on 31 frozen fish products from ‘made in Australia’ to ‘packed in Australia’ following concerns raised by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The frozen fish products were sold under the brand names Birds Eye, I&J, Neptune and one home brand product.
Following compliance checks across a range of frozen foods, the ACCC was concerned that the products displayed a ‘Made in Australia’ mark when the imported frozen fish may not have been substantially transformed in Australia.
Under the Australian Consumer Law’s Country of Origin labelling provisions, if a food product, such as fish, is packed in Australia without being substantially transformed, it cannot display a ‘Made in Australia’ mark.
The 31 products sold by frozen fish manufacturer Simplot used fish imported from a number of countries including New Zealand, United States and South Africa.
The ACCC’s view is that only minor manufacturing processes occur in Australia and, when viewed collectively, the imported ingredients do not differ fundamentally from the manufactured goods.
Simplot was of the view that slicing, crumbing and par-frying of the frozen fish constituted substantial transformation, justifying the use of the ‘Made in Australia’ mark. However, after the ACCC raised its concerns, Simplot agreed to change its country of origin labelling on these frozen fish products.
“Processes that only change the form or appearance of imported ingredients or components no longer qualify as substantial transformation,” ACCC deputy chair Mick Keogh said.
“Country of origin labels are designed to inform consumers, some of whom may be willing to pay a premium for products they think are made in a particular country, especially Australia.
“Not only can incorrect labelling wrongly influence consumers into purchasing a certain product, it can also give a competitive advantage to those who use the ‘Made in Australia’ label in breach of the Australian Consumer Law,” Mr Keogh said.
All Simplot frozen fish products manufactured after 31 October 2020 will have the ‘Packed in Australia’ mark but products with the ‘Made in Australia’ mark may still be available in store until sold out.
Do you try to exclusively buy Australian when you shop? Why or why not? Are you in favour of country of origin labels?
Yes I always buy Aussie made owned and grown and if I am not sure I ring the company --
Made in Australia or packed in Australia mean just that -- they are imported and packed or made up here -- also NZ is allowed to import from God knows where and label it as an NZ product, why I do not know.
Also if you go to a fish shop for cooked fish and chips the fish is more likely to be IMPORTED --same as the fish in a cafe
If you saw how these imported fish are farmed in-- (almost human sewer) you would not feel happy eating it.
These new labels that came out a while ago sure tell you nothing of where the REST of the product came from --
Yes I want to know where products were grown made or packed AND WHO OWNS the company ==ie Chinese company or who