AUSVEG Chairman, John Brent, today has echoed the sentiments of Elders CEO, Malcolm Jackman, that legislation improvements around Country of Origin Labelling are important for Australian food producers, and will provide consumers with the ability to make more informed choices when purchasing food.

On Monday, Leader of the Australian Greens, Senator Christine Milne, and Deputy Leader of the Greens, Adam Bandt MP, introduced Bills to their respective houses of Parliament which aim to overhaul the current labelling laws regarding where food products have originated.

“Mr Jackman’s support of these Bills should carry some serious weight as he is one of the leading players in Australian agribusiness and his knowledge of the issues that affect this sector are expansive,” said AUSVEG Chairman, John Brent.

AUSVEG is the National Peak Industry Body representing Australia’s 9,000 vegetable and potato growers.

Malcolm Jackman said yesterday that knowing where produce is actually grown is very important, and that without local producers consumers will pay a hefty price if the dollar ever fell back to 55 US cents.

“Industry and consumers alike have been calling for improvements to these laws for a number of years now, so to finally see action on this issue is incredibly encouraging and AUSVEG fully supports the improvements proposed by the Greens,” said Mr Brent.

Under the proposed Bills, a new claim – ‘Made of Australian ingredients’ – will be able to be used on food products. This claim will indicate that 90 per cent or more of the contents have been grown in Australia.

“Consumers deserve the right to easily distinguish what country the food that they purchase has come from, so if endorsed by Parliament, these laws will represent a great win for Australian grocery buyers and food producers alike,” said Mr Brent.

“Mr Jackman shares the same passion as I do for the Australian agriculture sector, so his support for these proposed laws sends a resounding message to Australian policy makers that improving Country of Origin Labelling is vitally important to local industries as well as local consumers,” said Mr Brent.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics valued Australia’s agricultural production at $46 billion in the year 2011/12, a figure 16 per cent higher than the previous year.

ENDS

MEDIA CONTACT: Hugh Gurney – Senior Communications Officer – AUSVEG
Phone: (03) 9822 0388, Mobile: 0410 047 432 Email: hugh.gurney@ausveg.com.au