Diluted herb packets being sold to Aussie consumers in "food fraud" claim

Keen Australian home chefs have on Wednesday discovered their packets of dried oregano leaves could contain as little as 10 percent oregano, after an investigation into herb standards found producers were "padding" their products with cheaper leaves.

The lab tests, conducted by consumer advocacy group Choice, found that of 12 Australian brands tested, seven of them used less than 50 percent oregano in their packets.

The tests found the products were padded with sumac and olive leaves, with the worst offender - Master of Spices - using just 10 percent oregano and 90 percent other leaves in their oregano packets.

Hoyt's oregano product was found to contain just 11 percent of the herb, while supermarket Aldi found that its stocked brand Stonemill packed only a quarter of its jars with oregano.

A spokesperson from the supermarket said it had begun stripping the item from its shelves, and announced it would provide full refunds for the product.

"It is unclear why the adulteration occurred, but the fact is you shouldn't require a lab test to tell you what herb you're actually buying. You should be able to trust a product labelled 'oregano', is actually oregano," the spokesperson told Fairfax Media on Wednesday.

"There is clearly a major problem in the oregano supply chain in Australia, which also raises the question about other herbs and spices entering the Australian market."

The lab tests by Choice came about on the back of a report by UK consumer group Which?, which last year found that one in four oregano products sold in the UK was mixed in with other leaves.

In a relief for Australian consumers, popular brand Masterfoods, along with supermarket home brands at Coles and Woolworths were found to stock products containing 100 percent oregano leaves. Endit