Renowned food celebrity Maggie Beer has removed the tagline 'A Barossa Food Tradition' from the logo on her product range to satisfy the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) interpretation of provenance in food labelling.
As Maggie Beer explains in this video, almost all of her products are made in the Barossa Valley in South Australia. The ACCC's issue was with the place of origin representations on the labelling of four products: Maggie Beer-branded ice cream, aged red wine vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and rosemary and verjuice biscuits, which are manufactured by third parties in Victoria and Queensland.
These products were labelled ‘Made in Australia’ with the Maggie Beer logo and tagline, ‘A Barossa Food Tradition’ and ‘Maggie Beer Products: 2 Keith Street, Tanunda, South Australia’.
“In these four instances our labels, while fully compliant with Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) labelling laws, did not reflect the ACCC’s interpretation of provenance in labelling,” said Beer.
Beer said that all four products were originally made in South Australia but the company was unable to find South Australian suppliers for four of its product lines.
“The only reason we have ever gone interstate is when we couldn't make it here or a South Australian company couldn't make it for us. I'm proudly South Australian,” she told Food & Drink Business.
When the ACCC told Beer consumers may be misled by the labels on the four product lines, she says decided to modify all labels on all 200 products with added information on the state in which each product is made.
“I fully support the ACCC’s interpretation on provenance in food labelling,” she said. “I'll cop this because I believe in provenance so intently,” she said.
Beer said her customers can be 100 per cent sure on the provenance of the food that the company offers.
“I do believe every good company has to look at their labelling,” she said. “It is really important that consumers don't feel disengaged.”
The ACCC said the matter came to its attention independently of the recent ACCC investigation concerning Maggie Beer’s daughter Saskia Beer and her company Barossa Farm Produce.
In June, Barossa Farm Produce was found to have misled consumers by using white pig meat in its black pig small-goods range.
The ACCC said it has accepted a court enforceable undertaking from Maggie Beer Products in which the company acknowledges that its conduct was likely to have been misleading, in breach of the Australian Consumer Law.
“Consumers are often willing to pay premium prices for local products and businesses are following consumer demand by stocking local goods. Protecting the integrity of credence claims made about food products is a priority enforcement area for the ACCC," ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.
“The Barossa Valley is a nationally recognised premium food and wine destination, and businesses in that region use place of origin claims to promote or distinguish their product from others in the market.”
Sims said Maggie Beer Products had cooperated with the ACCC’s investigation and, as part of the undertaking, would amend its labelling so that the place of manufacture for products made outside of South Australia is made clear to consumers.
