Australian Dairyfarmers Federation urges Australians to buy locally-made chocolate for Christmas
With a growing list of foreign-manufactured chocolate on Australian supermarket shelves, one of the country’s dairy leaders has encouraged consumers to buy local this festive season.
AUSTRALIANS should check the label on their Christmas treats this festive season, a top dairy figure says.
Australian Dairyfarmers Federation president Terry Richardson said some manufacturers had sent production of well-known chocolate names offshore in recent times, with some consumers mistakenly thinking the products were still made in Australia.
Last week, an investigation by The Weekly Times found a number of long-established treats, such as Snickers and Twix, were made abroad.
“It is in everyone’s interests to maintain a thriving Australian dairy industry,” Mr Richardson said. “That’s why we’re urging everyone this Christmas to buy chocolate for their friends and family that has been produced in Australia with Australian cream and butter.
“But manufacturers also have a responsibility to clearly mark on their packaging where the ingredients for their products are sourced. Consumers deserve to know whether the chocolate they are eating is made using local cream and butter so that they can make informed decisions.”
Both Nestle and Mars — producers of some of Australia’s best-known chocolate bars — said their treats were made with a mix of Australian and New Zealand dairy.
Cadbury said its Dairy Milk line was sourced from Tasmanian milk and made at its Hobart factory.
Smaller operators Haighs, Fyna and Robern Menz source dairy solely from Australia and maintaining production domestically.
A Haighs spokeswoman told The Weekly Times that all chocolate sold in Australia was made from solely Australian dairy produce.
“(We source our dairy component from the) Goulburn Valley but we are moving to southwest Victoria due to supply,” the spokeswoman for the Adelaide-based manufacturer said.
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