Origin labelling law seen as positive move

Damien O'Connor

The passing of country-of-origin labelling legislation is not about protectionism, Horticulture NZ board member and South Canterbury grower Tony Howey says.

''It's not about closing borders; it's about giving people freedom of choice,'' he said.

''A lot of supermarkets already have it.''

He said growers had no reason to be against the new legislation.

''We live in a big world; most growers export as well as supply the local market and we send products to other producers.''

The Consumers' Right to Know (Country of Origin of Food) Bill was passed in Parliament last month.

Labelling will now be mandatory advising from what country fresh or frozen fruit, vegetables, fish, seafood and meat including cured pork products such as ham and bacon, originate.

Commerce and Consumer Affairs Minister Kris Faafoi said some members of the food industry had been asking for country-of-origin labelling, which helped them to fairly identify foods produced in New Zealand and levelled the playing field for producers.

He will be consulting further on how to implement the new requirements and whether any foods need to be added or excluded. The Bill required him to make regulations within 18 months.

''The Government wants to make sure that country-of-origin labelling provides useful information for consumers and is workable for the food industry,'' he said.

Food Safety Minister Damien O'Connor said the scheme had been designed to be easy and cheap to set up and run.

''That's why the requirements apply only to foods with one ingredient and that are fresh, frozen, unprocessed or minimally processed - for example, cut, filleted or minced meat.

''However, the Bill has to be useful for the industry into the future so it allows for the extension of country-of-origin labelling to other foods if needed at some later stage,'' Mr O'Connor said.

Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson said the law change was just a much-needed first step.

''At a minimum, all single ingredient foods should be required to display a country-of-origin label.''

The Bill was first introduced by former MP Steffan Browning in 2016, and later adopted by Green MP Gareth Hughes.

-By Chris Tobin

Central Rural Life