The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has today issued guidelines on country of origin claims made by the food and beverage industry. The guidelines will assist food and beverage manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers who wish to make country of origin claims within the provisions of Trade Practices Act 1974.
“Consumers are increasingly aware of buying Australian products and have the right to be confident that claims made on food and beverage labels are accurate”, ACCC Commissioner, Ms Jennifer McNeill, said today.
A working party, led by the ACCC, including representatives from the Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, AFGC, ACCI/Australian Made Campaign Ltd and ANZFA, was established to produce these guidelines. The guidelines result from extensive research, consultation and a co-operative approach between members of Government and the private sector.
The guide is the third in a series of six ACCC publications for industry. These guides are designed to assist different industries to ensure they comply with the Act’s country of origin rules, and more specifically, provide guidance as to the ACCC’s interpretation of defences set out in Part V, Division 1AA of the Act.
“Division 1AA sets out what characteristics the goods must have to ensure that a claim about the country of origin does not amount to misleading and deceptive conduct under the Act”, Ms McNeill said.
The ‘Made in Australia’ defence, in Division 1AA, has two components:
- The goods must have been substantially transformed in the country claimed to be the origin
- 50 per cent or more of the cost of production must have been carried out in that country.
The ‘Product of Australia’ defence has two rigorous criteria which must be met:
- The country of the claim must be the country of origin of each significant component of the goods
- All, or virtually all, processes involved in the production or manufacture must have happened in that country.
The Food and beverage industry – Country of Origin guidelines to the Trade Practices Act can be found on the ACCC website or by contacting the ACCC Publishing Unit on (02) 6243 1143. Hard copies of the guide will also be distributed by AFGC and ACCI to their industry members.