KEY POINTS:
Where do the ingredients in our packaged food come from? Shh... it's a secret, according to at least one of our major food manufacturers.
One of our biggest food companies is refusing to tell customers where imported ingredients in packaged foods come from, a Herald on Sunday investigation has found.
This is despite assurances from New Zealand's Food and Grocery Council that manufacturers are willing to give out ingredient information to those who ask.
It follows growing consumer concern and a Green Party campaign for mandatory country-of-origin food labelling on single-ingredient food.
Our survey featured 11 common products from supermarket shelves, with the label "made from local and imported ingredients". (Seven were made in New Zealand, three in Australia, and one, Signature Range Tuna, in Thailand.)
We asked the manufacturers where the imported ingredients came from. One either couldn't, or wouldn't, divulge that information, and another had to be approached twice. Of the nine that replied, ingredients came from 21 countries, including New Zealand.
When major manufacturer Cerebos Gregg's was first contacted about two of its products, the company's regulatory affairs technician Caroline Allison supplied a list of source countries, but wouldn't say which ingredients came from which countries.
"Unfortunately, this is considered proprietary information that we cannot disclose. This measure is not only to protect our own intellectual property but also to protect our suppliers and their confidentiality."
Yesterday, Cerebos Gregg's chair Trevor Kerr explained because it wasn't law, the company wasn't set up to respond to more than the occasional consumer enquiry about the source countries. "We're not trying to be evasive... we have 700 product recipes. It [would be] a massive job."
Continental Foods changed its tune between two calls. On the first call, the company was cagey about revealing the sources of ingredients in its Four Cheeses Sauce, saying the information was "confidential" and it depended on seasonal variations.
However, yesterday director Lindsay Mouat assured the Herald on Sunday that consumers could find out what a product's source countries were by calling the 0800 number on the packet. He said Continental Foods agreed with country of origin labelling "in principle".
It was also impossible to find out where imported ingredients in Diron Sweet Chilli Sauce came from as the Auckland manufacturer did not return Herald on Sunday calls.
Other companies weren't so secretive. Progressive Enterprises told us Signature Range Piccalilli contained 6 per cent imported ingredients, including garlic powder from China. Homebrand's sundried tomatoes came from Turkey, while the rest of the ingredients were Australian.
Ingredients in Maggi's Pumpkin and Sour Cream Soup in a Cup came from 13 countries, including New Zealand.
Heinz-Wattie's said corn in its creamed corn came from New Zealand, while sugar in the product came from Australia. Its spaghetti was made from wheat mostly grown here (with some imported), while again sugar came from Australia.
The company confirmed the recent public debate had caused an increase in customer queries, but stressed it sourced from outside of New Zealand only because ingredients weren't grown here, the raw material here was too small, or poor crop seasons meant it needed to look overseas.
Green Party food safety spokesperson Sue Kedgley said, "it would be easier if companies had the information readily available on their websites".
She was pleased to see major supermarket owners Foodstuffs and Progressive Enterprises voluntarily moving to label fresh produce, but argued that without regulation unscrupulous manufacturers could fudge the truth.
They must know, says grocery chief
Brenda Cutress, executive director of the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council was surprised at the secrecy the Herald on Sunday had encountered.
"They should be willing to give that information if you ask for it. There is no reason why they shouldn't tell you that. They have to know where their products come from."
She said it was "impossible" for manufacturers to list which ingredients came from which countries. Most of our flavours - spices, peppers, sugars - came from abroad, she said.
Every time there was a new manufacturing "run", countries of origin could change, depending on availability and seasonality.
She said recent publicity around Chinese safety practices, combined with the Greens' campaign, had turned country of origin food labelling into a safety issue, when it wasn't.
"It's so untrue and so wrong. Our food is among the safest in the world."
But the Green Party's Sue Kedgley said a label saying "may contain imported ingredients" was meaningless. She said consumers had a right to know where their food came from.
