Costco pays ACCC fine over country of origin labelling

Costco has been made to pay a five-figure fine, with some allegedly mislabelled lobsters placing the discount retailer in hot water with the ACCC.

Costco Wholesale Australia has paid a $33,000 fine over the country-of-origin labelling of some of its lobsters.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued the discount retailer with two infringement notices for alleged false or misleading labelling.

The ACCC notices date back to January 2023, when Costco sold two packages of lobsters from its Casuarina warehouse in Western Australia.

The packages were labelled ‘Kirkland Signature Previously Frozen Whole Cooked WA Lobster’ and ‘Australian Lobster’ – but in fact were imported from Canada.

An ACCC statement claimed other packages were also displayed for sale with the allegedly misleading labels.

Costco supermarkets have paid an ACCC fine. Picture: Peter Wallis

The ACCC also alleged Costco used the Australian-made kangaroo logo as well as a full bar chart indicating that the lobsters were exclusively Australian, when they were not.

ACCC deputy chairman Mick Keogh said the Costco payment was a reminder to all businesses of the importance of ensuring that country-of-origin labelling was accurate

“Selling goods with an incorrect country or place of origin label is a breach of Australian Consumer Law,” Mr Keogh said.

“Many shoppers pay a premium to purchase Australian seafood rather than imported products, which makes the accuracy of the labelling a crucial part of enabling consumers to make an informed choice.”

“While a small number of consumers were impacted in this instance, this conduct involved a large and sophisticated business.”

The Weekly Times notes that payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the Australian Consumer Law.