South Australian restaurants and takeaway shops will now disclose whether their seafood is local or imported, with new legislation coming into effect next month.
According to Adelaide Now, Independent senator Nick Xenophon and independent MLC John Darley teamed up to introduce state and federal legislation requiring fish retailers to clarify where their produce comes from.
George Mazarakos, who owns Soto's Fish Shop at Semaphore told Adelaide Now he'll happily comply. "I've always sold local fish here anyway except for butterfish so I'm happy to add the word 'imported' to my menu," he said.
As it stands, the country of origin of raw seafood sold anywhere in Australia but be outlined, but the same rules don't apply if it's cooked for immediate consumption. At present, only the Northern Territory has such rules for cooked seafood, with South Australia's legislation taking effect next month.
Ian Harrison, chief executive at Australian Made, says such legislation should be introduced nationwide.
"It would make good business sense for fast food outlets across the country to supply Australian produce and aggressively market it as such.
“We believe in helping consumers make informed choices, and the extension of country-of-origin labelling to cooked food where practical would be another step in the right direction.”
Country of Origin labelling has been a key issue in the food and beverage manufacturing industry of late, with a CHOICE survey conducted last year finding that 55 percent of Coles’ private label products and 38 percent of Woolworths’ products were grown or manufactured locally, compared with 92 percent for market leader groceries.
Despite these statistics, consumers are keen to support the local food industry, with nearly half of all shoppers going out of their way to buy Australian-made produce, while more than one-third buy Australian wherever possible. There have even been calls from the industry for a dedicated “Australian made” aisle in supermarkets.