Note:

Under Annex D of the Agreement Between the Government of Australia and the Government of New Zealand Concerning a Joint Food Standards System, New Zealand has varied from this Standard.  Accordingly, this Standard does not apply in New Zealand.

Editorial Note:

The provisions of subclause 2(1) follow the principles of the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Commonwealth) and the Fair Trading Act 1986 (New Zealand) which contain requirements concerning the place of origin of goods. 

In particular, false or misleading representations concerning the place of origin of goods are prohibited.  Country of origin statements are a sub-set of place of origin.

In complying with this Standard, manufacturers and retailers should be consistent with trade practices law.  For Australia, the provisions of sections 65AA-AN of the Trade Practices Act 1974 apply to statements as to the country of origin of goods. 

There are conditions for the safe use of ‘product of’ representations and other statements as to country of origin, such as ‘made in’ or ‘manufactured in’ or other like statements.  These statements may be used safely in the following circumstances –

(a)      ‘Product of’ is a premium claim and the country of origin claimed must be the country of origin of each significant ingredient of the food and all or virtually all the processes of production or manufacture of the goods must have happened in that country.

          ‘Product of’ includes other declarations such as ‘produce of’ and ‘produced in’.

(b)      ‘Made in’ – the goods must have been substantially transformed in the country claimed to be the origin and 50% of the costs of production must have been carried out in that country.  Under the Trade Practices provisions, substantial transformation is defined as –

          ‘a fundamental change…in form or nature such that the goods existing after the change are new and different goods from those existing before the change’.

‘Made in’ includes other declarations such as ‘manufactured in’ or ‘Australian made’ for example.

Where it is not possible for a ‘Made in’ claim to be made, either due to uncertainty around the question of substantial transformation and whether 50% costs of production is met, or to adjust to seasonal changes in availability of individual ingredients, manufacturers may make a qualified claim.  Common examples of a qualified claim are ‘Made in Australia from imported ingredients’ or ‘Packaged in Australia from local and imported ingredients’.

The provisions of this Standard should also be read in conjunction with other applicable laws such as the State and Territory Fair Trading Acts and Food Acts.  These Acts contain provisions governing misleading and deceptive conduct in the supply of food in trade and commerce and representations about food that are misleading or deceptive.

Suppliers should, therefore, exercise caution in their country of origin declarations and ensure that the representations that are made are not compromised by conflicting information.  For example, having in large type on a label a map of Australia and the words ‘Proudly Australian Owned’ and in smaller type elsewhere on the label ‘Product of’ naming a different country, while technically compliant with this Standard, may still be misleading or deceptive.

Further information on country of origin claims may be found in ‘Food and Beverage Industry – country of origin guidelines to the Trade Practices Act’ available on the ACCC website.

All labelling must comply with the requirements of Standard 1.2.9, designed to ensure that food labels are clear.  Standard 1.2.9 provides that each word, statement, expression or design prescribed to be contained, written or set out in a label must, wherever occurring, be so contained, written or set out legibly and prominently such as to afford a distinct contrast to the background, and in the English language.

Subclause 2(2), below, of this Standard provides for the Country of Origin Labelling requirements for fresh whole or cut fruit and vegetables which are displayed for retail sale in packages that do not obscure the nature or quality of the food, such as clear plastic or mesh bags.  Under Standard 1.2.1, with some exceptions, this form of packaging is generally exempt from the labelling requirements of the Code.  Country of Origin is one of those exceptions.