I am very relieved to see that finally food labelling is coming under review and as an interested consumer, I wish to register my concerns about this issue.
Recent articles in Choice magazine and a survey by the Humane Society International reinforce my belief that consumers are not able to make informed decisions about what they eat because they are unable to trust what is written on the packets. This is an unacceptable state of affairs. Last year the NSW press highlighted the fact that 100s of thousands more "free range" eggs were being sold then were actually being produced! It would appear that unscrupulous companies can write whatever they want on their product with impunity and the purchasing public are simply stuck with it. Surely consumers have a right to more stringent and dependable labelling.
I, personally, want to buy products which are produced ethically and with regard to the welfare of the animal from which they came. But for others it may be a life-and-death issue if the person is dependent on accurate labelling for allergies, illnesses etc. Either way, there is no excuse for our labelling to be so loose and our laws so slack.
I would like to see this inquiry recommend implementation of the following:
a) a comprehensive list of terms which manufacturers and producers are entitled to use on their labels, each with a precise and unambiguous definition so a consumer knows exactly what s/he is purchasing. For example, I recently picked up a packet of bacon in the supermarket (in fact I do not buy pork products because of the cruelty in the intensive pig farming industry) and it had a label "bred free-range". I would want to know exactly what that term means. If the beef I buy is labelled "grain fed" I want to know exactly what that means; I would not want to purchase it if it meant that the animal had spent months packed in a feedlot in the west of the state in the blazing sun without a leaf of shade but I would be quite happy to know that it indicated the animal in the paddock had had its natural grass feed supplemented with grain, and so on.
b) a total overhaul of the existing legislation regarding food labelling. There need to be precise and unambiguous laws regarding the use of the defined terms (which should be comprehensively advertised to the public) and manufacturers and producers who flout thse laws, mislead the public and indulge in dishonest practices must face heavy penalties and their misdemeanours made public.
C) most importantly, these laws must be, and must be seen to be, constantly enforced so consumers will once again have confidence that they are in fact getting what they pay for. Many of us are prepared to pay more for ethically produced or organic food but we must be able to have faith in the product and know that the label and the manufacturer's claims are accurate because our laws are so strict producers simply would not be game to do otherwise.
I inderstand food labelling is a huge and unwieldy issue. But, by the same token, it is a crucially important one and as citizens in a civilised society we surely have the right to expect the truth.
Jackie Fairhall