Darron CharlesworthXenophon Works to Protect Australian Consumers
April 29th 2010 23:39
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Senator Nick Xenophon’s attack on imported foods and their labelling is a positive step toward improving the consumers’ ability to make informed decisions. Making China key in this attack may not be necessarily the best marketing tactic. However, there is a substance in arguments surrounding better labelling of goods.
As this Blog has previously noted [see related link below] labelling of food in Australia is highly inadequate. The lax information given by the manufacturer tells the consumer little about the source of the ingredients used in producing the goods. The loop hole for the manufacturer is that goods packaged in Australia can be labelled Australian. That the ingredients all came from overseas is regarded as irrelevant. Irrelevant to who?
While the manufacturer is content to reap profits from goods bought from countries with few rules and regulations regarding production methods, chemicals used or handling practices, it is not the case for the Australian people. Many years of campaigning and lobbying have led to stringent rules for the food industry. These were imposed for the improvement of the health of those eating the food and to prevent long term consequences of certain chemical use.
India and China, both heavy exporters, use chemical sprays banned in Western Countries for many years. Not only are the banned chemicals used but those using them are untrained and apply the dosage well above recommended levels. More disturbingly, many of the chemicals used are supplied by corporations based in countries where the same chemicals are banned because of proven impacts on health and the environment.
If Australia allows foods to be imported from countries which do not afford their citizens the same protections as our own regulations provide, the very least that they government can demand is that these goods are labelled to give the consumer the ability to make an informed choice. This means not allowing such abstract claims as “Made from Local and Imported Ingredients”.
As this Blog has previously noted [see related link below] labelling of food in Australia is highly inadequate. The lax information given by the manufacturer tells the consumer little about the source of the ingredients used in producing the goods. The loop hole for the manufacturer is that goods packaged in Australia can be labelled Australian. That the ingredients all came from overseas is regarded as irrelevant. Irrelevant to who?
India and China, both heavy exporters, use chemical sprays banned in Western Countries for many years. Not only are the banned chemicals used but those using them are untrained and apply the dosage well above recommended levels. More disturbingly, many of the chemicals used are supplied by corporations based in countries where the same chemicals are banned because of proven impacts on health and the environment.
If Australia allows foods to be imported from countries which do not afford their citizens the same protections as our own regulations provide, the very least that they government can demand is that these goods are labelled to give the consumer the ability to make an informed choice. This means not allowing such abstract claims as “Made from Local and Imported Ingredients”.
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