On 1 July 2016, a new country of origin food labelling system will be introduced in Australia to help consumers identify Australian made foods. This law will effect all food sold in Australia, including stores or markets and online shopping. Consumers will start seeing the new labels later this year. Businesses have two years to comply with the new law before it becomes mandatory on 1 July 2018.
Under the new system, most foods that are produced, grown or made in Australia will need to display a label with:
the kangaroo in a triangle symbol so consumers can identify the food’s Australian origin
a statement that the food was grown, produced or made in Australia
the minimum proportion, by weight, of Australian ingredients, indicated by a percentage amount shown in a bar chart.
For most imported foods (food grown, produced, made or packaged in a country other than Australia), the country of origin will need to be specified on the labelling in a clearly defined box.