Friday, March 29, 2024

Committee tones down food origin proposals

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Country of Origin Labels on food in New Zealand should be limited to some fresh and frozen and minimally produced goods, the Primary Production Select Committee has recommended.
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It is vastly different to Australia’s new law that requires 10,000 products to show where foods are grown, processed, where their ingredients come from and what percentage they make up of the product.

And in NZ sellers of goods on the limited list of foods covered will be able to apply for exemptions if compliance would be unduly onerous or would not help consumers make informed decisions.

Though people have only till August 1 to provide feedback to the committee its implementation could still be years away.

The minister of commerce and consumer affairs will have 18 months after the Bill becomes law to set regulations and food companies will then have six months to comply for fresh food and two years to comply for frozen foods.

The suggested law says country or place of origin labels will be requiraed on foods that are only one type of fresh or frozen fruit, vegetable, meat, fish or seafood, whether packaged or unpackaged.

They must be no more than minimally processed such as being cut, minced, filleted or surface treated and foods such as those that have been dried, cured or pickled will not be included.

Examples of foods covered include fresh tomatoes, frozen sliced green beans and minced beef but those excluded would now include nuts, seeds and grains, tinned vegetables and fruit, mixed frozen vegetables, crumbed fish fillets, marinated meats, dried fruit and cured meats like bacon.

The requirements would apply to food sold by retailers, either in shops or online. Wholesalers, fundraisers, restaurants, cafes, takeaway shops, carterers and similar businesses where food is for immediate consumption will not have to comply.

A summary of the draft Consumers’ Right to Know (Country of Origin) Bill said the purpose of the bill as introduced on April 12 last year, was to provide a mandatory labelling system giving consumers accurate information about the country of origin of single-component foods to enable them to make informed decisions.

The requirements would have applied to fruit, vegetables, meats, seafood, bulk flour, grains, nuts, seeds and oils that might also contain water, sugar, salt or other ingredients used in preserving, colouring or flavouring.

The select committee has amended the bill to say its purpose is now to provide a a simple, mandatory system to provide consumers with accurate information about the country or place of origin of certain (rather than single-component) foods to enable them to make informed decisions.

The information could say where a food was harvested, caught or raised but would not have to say where it was packaged, made or processed.

Details such as the definitions of foods, what it means for a food to be minimally processed and requirments for how the information is given would be set out in regulations to made after the bill becomes law.

The original requirement that all packaged and unpackaged single-component foods display the country of origin has been deleted from the draft.

The draft referred to the committee said the law would apply to all fresh seafood including prawns, shrimps, crabs, shellfish, cut fish, felleted fish and seafood that has undergone any other processing including cooking , smoking, drdying, pickling, freezing, canning or coating with another food, fresh and frozen meat, whole or cut, including meat that was preserved by curing, drying, smoking, canning or by other means, all fresh whole or cut fruit and vegetables, canned, dried, or frozen fruit and vegetables and nuts, seeds, grains, oild and any other food either whole or processed.

Those requirements have also been deleted.

The provisions relating to offences and enforcement have also gone.

The original had fines of up to $50,000 for corporates and $10,000 for individuals for breaches of the law and for manking any false or misleading statement in any word, brand, picture, label or mark relating to the food.

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