Page 9 - foodservice Magazine August 2018

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Nigella Lawson leads the chef charge at Margaret River Gourmet Escape 2018. Also on the bill are culinary superstars Rick Stein, Skye Gyngell, Tetsuya Wakuda, and Ashley Palmer-Watts. @foodServiceAus
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Industry bodies call for country of origin labelling expansion to foodservice
With country of origin labelling now compulsory in Australia for food retailers, industry bodies are urging the federal government to include food sales at restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs under the new regulations.
Designed to help consumers better understand where their food comes from, country of origin labelling was made mandatory for food retail on July 1. However, industry bodies like Australian Pork Limited and Seafood Industry Australia assert that the regulations don’t go far enough as cafes and restaurants are not required to flag where the ingredients they serve come from.
All fresh pork in Australia is produced by Aussie farmers, however imported pork can be found in ham, bacon and some pre-cooked pork products.
Peter Haydon, Australian Pork general manager of marketing, says, “We support country of origin labelling in every channel. We also recognise that it’s method of execution needs to be simple enough to not place an unreasonable imposts on foodservice outlet operators.”
In comparison, some 70 per cent of seafood eaten in Australia is imported. Jane Lovell, CEO of Seafood Industry Australia,
believes that for consumers to make proper, informed choices, labelling at retail and foodservice levels should be uniform.
“What we’d like to see is Australian seafood identified on menus, simple as that,” she says. “At a minimum we’d like to see something like ‘Australian barramundi’, but businesses can be as specific as they want. For imported seafood a simple ‘i’ to denote it’s imported with a clear explanation of what it means printed somewhere on the menu.”
And with country of origin labelling already operating in many, Aussie venues with minimal cost or disruption, Lovell does not accept the argument that a compulsory introduction would impose huge costs on foodservice businesses.
“The debate has run long enough – consumers deserve to know where the seafood they eat is from, no matter where they buy it.”
Above: Seafood Industry Australia, CEO Jane Lovell.