Food

Country-of-origin labelling

Updated: 09 Mar 2009

Introduction

New Zealand imports more than $2.8 billion worth of food products. Why can't we find out where they come from?

Lack of country-of-origin food labelling is confusing and frustrating for many consumers. We've examined the arguments against compulsory labelling and we think Kiwis should have at least the same information as our Australian counterparts.

What's in a label?

Dr Meriel Watts, co-ordinator of the Pesticide Action Network Aotearoa New Zealand, is a long-time supporter of country-of-origin labelling. And she finds it frustrating how often this labelling is wrong, misleading or inconsistent.

Meriel has many examples of supermarket stuff-ups: Italian kiwifruit on the bag, New Zealand on the price ticket; Australian capsicums with a "Product of NZ" tag; mince that's a "Product of New Zealand or Australia". Those are just three of Meriel's examples.

She once found ginger with no country-of-origin labelling. She doesn't use Chinese ginger because it has an insecticide she chooses to avoid - so when the produce manager couldn't tell her where the ginger came from, Meriel went home ginger-less.

Andrea from New Plymouth was disappointed to find her local New World had labelled grapes and pears from the US as coming from New Zealand. Andrea is concerned that supermarkets are making a mockery of food labelling and aren't giving consumers accurate information.

True or false?

The bar code tells you where the product is made.

False - it isn't that simple. The first three numbers of a bar code typically represent a country code but this is where the code is assigned, not necessarily where the product came from.

For example, the company may have its head office in South Africa, so has the code "600". But all the products may be made in Korea. The products would still have the "600" code. There may be a fair degree of correlation but it isn't watertight.

Where's it from?

We went shopping and found many examples of confusing country-of-origin labelling. Always read labels carefully - many products aren't as they seem.

Oil miles

If you're buying extra-virgin olive oil from Italy you need to check the labels carefully. Italy can't produce enough olives to meet its own demand, let alone that of other countries - so the chances are it's not made from Italian olives at all.

Lupi says it's "Imported from Italy". This gives the impression the olives are grown in Italy but it probably only means the oil is bottled there. Rizzoli is more upfront: its label says "Bottled in Italy". If you're looking for olive oil made with Italian olives look for "Product of Italy" or "Produced and bottled in Italy".

Local icons

Wattie's tomato sauce is a Kiwi icon ... but don't assume it's always Kiwi-made. Tomato sauce in a can is made in New Zealand; but sauce in a squeeze bottle is made in Australia.

Wattie's baked beans are "Made in NZ". How is this possible when the navy beans used to make baked beans aren't grown in New Zealand? According to the Commerce Commission a place of origin can be defined as the country where the product was created in its final form.

"Made in NZ" means the product was grown or processed here from ingredients that could have come from anywhere.
"Product of NZ" means it was grown or produced and made here.

Producer boards

Consumer member Margaret Flux contacted us about Zespri-branded kiwifruit she bought in Upper Hutt. Margaret likes to buy New Zealand produce and she assumed the kiwifruit was from here because the fruit carried Zespri New Zealand stickers. When she got home she noticed there were three labels and some fruit had two stickers. Checking the internet she found one label was for Spanish kiwifruit.

The Zespri label is a quality logo and doesn't guarantee the country of origin. The same goes for ENZA-branded products. Both Zespri and ENZA grow fruit in other countries. This fruit may be imported when New Zealand-grown fruit isn't available.

Telling porkies

The Commerce Commission has in the past issued formal warnings to Goodman Fielder and Premier Bacon Company about the country-of-origin labelling for their bacon and ham products.

In the Commission's opinion, the impression created by the labelling was that Kiwi bacon and Premier bacon and ham products were made in New Zealand from home-grown pork. However, a significant amount of the pork was imported.

As a result both companies have changed either their labels or the sourcing of their product. Premier now says its bacon is made in the Wairarapa from local and imported ingredients. Kiwi Bacon now uses pork that's 100 percent New Zealand-grown.

Kiwis want origin labelling

The Chinese milk scandal, contaminated oysters from Korea, BSE in UK beef - imported food is now more scrutinised than ever. But it isn't mandatory to label the country of origin on food products (apart from wine).

A 2007 survey showed that 35 percent of Kiwis always or often considered whether a product was New Zealand made. More than 50 percent said they'd be prepared to pay more for a Kiwi-made product (provided it was as good as the overseas version).

Last year the Green Party gathered 39,000 signatures on a petition calling for the government to review its opposition to country-of-origin labelling on single-ingredient foods and fresh produce.

Why don't we have it?

The government, the New Zealand Food Safety Authority, and big export players Fonterra, and Meat & Wool New Zealand are against compulsory country-of-origin labelling. These groups believe our voluntary system, backed by the Fair Trading Act, is a better option. They have six arguments for this.

1. Not a public health and safety issue

Imported high-risk food (such as some cheeses, seafood and tahini) is checked at the border. These foods are known to have a higher risk of containing pathogens, toxins or other nasties. They are only released on to the market if they have supporting government assurances about their safety and satisfactory test results.

Our view on this:

We acknowledge that labelling isn't a public health and safety issue. But consumers have a right to labelling information, so they can make an informed choice. Product safety isn't the only issue here - supporting local producers and the local economy, avoiding certain countries for ethical reasons, and safeguarding against questionable quality control in some countries are all important.

2. Cost

Some manufacturers claim they will need systems for tracking where ingredients come from and will also have to change their labels. Regulation comes with compliance and enforcement costs. Industry says these costs will be passed on to consumers.

Our view on this:

We think most of the consumer demand for country-of-origin labelling is on whole or single-ingredient foods and manufacturers already have systems for knowing where these foods come from - or they should have. Origin labelling will be a change to the Food Standards Code, which requires a transition period for amendments to it. So any label changes wouldn't take effect immediately and companies could print new labels as their stocks ran out.
In the past, companies have been quick enough to change labels when they see a marketing advantage from the change. This is not new territory: other industries, such as clothing and footwear, have coped with mandatory labelling requirements of various kinds.

3. Multi-ingredient products are a problem

Providing detailed information on multi-ingredient products is difficult and expensive. The origin of ingredients may also change depending on the season and availability. Products labelled "Made in New Zealand from local and imported ingredients" don't help consumers make an informed choice.

Our view on this:

Multi-ingredient products do pose a problem, but the focus of a compulsory labelling regime should be on whole foods or single-ingredient products. This is where most of the concerns have been raised.

4. Industry is already playing its part

After pressure from consumers, Progressive Enterprises (which owns Countdown, Foodtown and Woolworths) and Foodstuffs (which owns Pak 'N Save, New World, Write Price, Shoprite, and Four Square stores) announced they would voluntarily label the country of origin on all fresh fruit, vegetables, meat and seafood.

Our view on this:

Voluntary labelling is a step in the right direction. But our examples earlier in this article show the need for regulation and monitoring.

5. It may affect our trade

Industry groups such as Fonterra and Meat & Wool New Zealand say we need as much flexibility as we can for marketing our food. New Zealand is also reliant on imported ingredient foods for use in processed foods. Compulsory labelling may reduce the availability of some ingredients.

Our view on this:

Several of our major trading partners require some country-of-origin labelling. So it's hard to argue that country-of-origin labelling in New Zealand will affect our trading relationships with these countries.
Last year the US introduced mandatory requirements for foods such as meat, fresh fruits and vegetables - and this was on top of its requirements for other whole foods. The European Union requires origin labelling on (for example) beef, fruit, vegetables and honey. In Canada fresh fruit and vegetables must be labelled.
For fresh produce such as fish, pork and fruit and vegetables on sale in Australia, the food display must have a label or a sign that identifies the country of origin. Australia also requires this for products that have undergone some form of processing (such as the tomatoes in a jar of sun-dried tomatoes).
New Zealand has a joint Food Standards Code with Australia. However, our government opted out of the standard for country-of-origin labelling. At the very least Kiwi consumers should have the same information as Australian consumers.
Not all industry groups oppose compulsory labelling. Horticulture New Zealand has spear-headed a country-of-origin campaign with the support of New Zealand Pork and other groups (see "CoOL NZ"). These groups believe origin labelling can be used as a marketing tool and they encourage their members to do this.

6. Consumers expect to buy produce all year round

High-tech packaging, modern transport, storage methods and clever growing practices mean we can now buy almost any fruit and vegetable all year round.

Our view on this:

Imported fruit and vegetables usually lack flavour and texture. This is because they're picked before they ripen (to allow for the extra time in transporting the product to another country); they don't get the tree ripening that allows sugar levels and flavours to develop. Non-seasonal imported produce is often expensive as well.

Our view

Knowing where a food comes from doesn't tell you whether it's safe or not. All food sold in New Zealand must comply with food safety laws - whether it's imported or locally produced.
If the label doesn't tell you where a product is from, ask the manufacturer. If you don't get a satisfactory answer, buy another product that gives you more information. The same goes for supermarkets and other food stores: if fresh produce isn't labelled complain to the manager.
Know the difference between "Made in NZ" and "Product of NZ". Made in NZ could have ingredients from anywhere. Product of NZ means it was grown or produced here.
Kiwi consumers deserve the same information as Australian consumers are getting. The government should reconsider its position on New Zealand's exemption from the origin-labelling clause in the Food Standards Code.

CoOL NZ

Country of Origin Labelling New Zealand (CoOL NZ) is a coalition of more than 35 consumer groups (including Consumer NZ), producer boards, unions, the Green Party and companies that all believe we must change our law on origin labelling.

CoOL NZ wants our regulations to at least match Australia's. You can find out more at www.cool.org.nz.

More information

Country of Origin Labelling: www.cool.org.nz
New Zealand Food Safety Authority: www.nzfsa.govt.nz

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Report by Belinda Allan