Food

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The Queensland Consumers Association (QCA) wants action now from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) and the Albanese government to make it much easier for consumers to manage the cost of living and grocery price inflation crises by getting better value when shopping for groceries. QCA’s spokesperson, Ian Jarratt, says the results of a…

Read More Urgent action needed to help grocery shoppers save money

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The Australian Government wants your views on a proposed model for mandatory country of origin labelling (CoOL) for seafood in hospitality settings. Under the model, businesses would need to provide information on whether their seafood is Australian, imported/international, or from mixed sources. The government is committed to improving information for consumers while minimising costs and…

Read More Country of origin labelling for seafood

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The Queensland Consumers Association has made a submission on a CSIRO Discussion Paper -Transforming Australian Food Systems – which will inform the development of an Australian Food Systems Roadmap. The submission says that: In addition to considering written submissions, additional consultation should be undertaken with consumer and public health organisations prior to the preparation of…

Read More Consumer submission on CSIRO Discussion Paper – Transforming Australian Food Systems

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The UK consumer organisation Which? has launched a campaign – Affordable Food for  All – because Which? says millions of families are skipping meals to survive the cost of living crisis and with the price of essential products soaring, supermarkets have a crucial role to play to help everyone. Which? also conducted a consumer survey…

Read More UK supermarkets asked to implement a 10 point action plan to improve food affordability

The Albanese Government will provide $1.6 million to deliver its election commitment to introduce Country of Origin Labelling in the seafood industry.  The Government will work closely with the seafood and hospitality sectors to improve seafood labelling and help consumers make informed decisions about the food they buy.  Assistant Minister for Trade and Manufacturing Tim…

Read More Clearer seafood labelling a big win for consumers

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Recently, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) published an interview with Ian Jarratt from the Queensland Consumers Association on the relevance of retail food price transparency to the FAO’s Right to Food Program. In the interview Ian says that food price transparency is extremely relevant to consumers’ right to food because it ensures that…

Read More Price transparency and consumers’ right to food

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Ian Jarratt, CFA Executive member and Queensland Consumers Association (QCA) member, was recently interviewed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations about the importance of food transparency, unit pricing, and the role that consumer associations need to play in the transformation of agri-food systems. In this interview, he talks about his experiences from…

Read More Food and Agruculture Organization interview CFA Executive Ian Jarratt

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FSANZ is a statutory authority operating under the Food Standards Australia New Zealand Act 1991. FSANZ develops standards that regulate the use of ingredients, processing aids, colourings, additives, vitamins and minerals. The Food Standards Code also covers the composition of some foods, such as dairy, meat and beverages as well as foods developed by new…

Read More CFA Seeks a Consumer Representative for the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) Consumer and Public Health Dialogue (CPHD)

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The Consumers’ Federation of Australia (CFA) has complained to the ACCC about the inadequate display of grocery unit pricing in some supermarkets operated by Woolworths and by Harris Farm Markets. CFA’s CEO Gerard Brody says “it is essential that the unit prices of grocery products are displayed so that they are easy for all consumers…

Read More Inadequate unit pricing risks higher grocery prices, says complaint to ACCC

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The latest edition of the Queensland Consumers Association’s (QCA) newsletter Unit Pricing Global Update reports that: India will require display of the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) per standardised unit of measure (i.e. the unit price) on pre-packaged commodities sold by retailers after 31 March 2022. Currently only the MRP has to be displayed. In New…

Read More Mandatory grocery unit pricing coming to India and New Zealand

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CFA has made a submission to the consultation the on how the Australian Government can regulate organic products domestically. The consultation document examines the policy problem under consideration, as well as potential regulatory and non-regulatory options for reform. In its submission CFA states: Australian consumers should be protected from misleading and misrepresentation in relation to produce and…

Read More CFA publishes submission to Domestic Organics Regulatory Impact Statement

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The Federal Government has released its evaluation of Country of Origin Labelling for Food reforms. The evaluation began 2 years after the reforms came into full effect in 2018 and took 12 months. The evaluation: found that the Country of Origin Labelling for Food reforms were well implemented, effective and met its objectives, and recommended…

Read More Country of Origin Labelling for Food evaluation released