A standard packet of Tim Tams and The Warehouse imports.
Palmerston North resident Heather recently contacted us about a packet of Tim Tam biscuits she bought at The Warehouse.
When she got home, Heather noticed the packet said the biscuits were “Not for sale in Australia or New Zealand”. So what were they doing on shop shelves?
The Warehouse spokesperson, Nick Tuck, told us the Tim Tams were parallel imported. He says the store put a wrapper around the biscuits with a statement explaining this.
Parallel importing is legal provided the goods meet all our laws and standards. These Indonesian-made biscuits didn’t: information on the packet was insufficient to comply with our food-labelling requirements.
Arnotts, the makers of Tim Tams, says the biscuits are not intended for sale here and it doesn’t endorse their importation. The Warehouse told us most of the product had now been sold and it had ceased purchasing the Tim Tams.
We think the company should remove any remaining packs from shelves. While we’re not suggesting these biscuits pose any food safety risk, we think all food products sold here should comply with New Zealand labelling requirements.
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