Country-of-origin labels provide opportunity for food fraud

FOOD fraud experts say Australia’s new country-of-origin labelling make it easier for fraud to occur.

Fraud alert: The simple logo is too easy to copy, experts say.

FOOD fraud experts say Australia’s new country-of-origin labelling make it easier for fraud to occur.

With food fraud such as honey substitution, olive oil dilution and olive and sumac leaves being passed off as oregano all examples of food fraud in recent years, trust, transparency and traceability was the topic of a Porter Novelli agribusiness breakfast in Sydney last week.

Food fraud researcher Janine Curll, who recently finished her PhD at Monash University on food fraud, said she was concerned about how easy it was for fraudsters to copy the new country-of-origin labels.

The labels, introduced last year after a two-year phase-in, use the green and gold kangaroo triangle and a graphic of what percentage of the product is domestically produced compared to what is sourced from abroad.

“Food fraud is all about opportunity and you are giving someone the opportunity to misrepresent something easily,” Dr Curll said.

“They need a sophisticated identifier from the brand or product, which make them hard to counterfeit.”

While Dr Curll said she had not seen any examples of misuse personally, the labels made products vulnerable.

PwC national agribusiness leader, Craig Heraghty, who leads the company’s Food Trust Project that has been developing track and trace and anti-counterfeit technologies, said the triangle (Made in Australia label) we’ve made that we seem to love is easy to copy.

“They make it easy, there is a media kit (of how to create the country-of-origin labels) on the website,” he said.

Mr Heraghty said similar to the country-of-origin labels, something that scared him and prompted PwC to start the Food Trust Project was the talk of “Brand Australia”.

“As soon as you put that sticker on a product it becomes the lowest common denominator, and as soon as (someone) does the wrong thing we all fall down.”

A Department of Industry, Innovation and Science spokesman said the new system made country-of-origin food labels clearer for consumers, without imposing excessive cost.