Australian farmers lobby gov't for clearer labeling of supermarket food

Tasmanian farmers are calling for greater transparency in supermarket food labeling, lobbying the Australian government to introduce clearer identification of imported goods.

The call for action on Monday comes on the back of a major hepatitis A scare in Australia, prompted by frozen berry imports from Chinese suppliers.

The Australian government has vowed to tighten regulations of labels which do not currently state a country of origin. But it has stopped short of agreeing to ban frozen imports.

Farmers have said that consumers are being left in the dark, and are often under the illusion that they are getting local products when they're actually eating imported food.

Tasmanian vegetable grower and deputy chairman of Ausveg, David Addison, told The Hobart Mercury on Monday that current regulations are "meaningless" and not strict enough, often causing confusion in supermarket aisles.

"People are increasingly wanting to know where their products are coming from," he said.

He said the current acceptable standard - "made in Australia from local and imported ingredients" - was misleading, and recommended a ban on the term. The issue will be examined by a parliamentary inquiry into foreign food sources.

Federal Agricultural Minister Barnaby Joyce announced last week that changes to labeling laws could be reviewed, but no steps have since been taken to implement any modifications.

Addison said that while eradicating imported foods would be an extreme step, clearer labeling would give Australian consumers a much better idea of what they were buying. Endi