7. SUE KEDGLEY (Green) Link to this
to the Minister for Food Safety
Why is it not mandatory to label fresh fruit, vegetables, seafood, pork and pork products to show the country in which it was made or produced, as it is in Australia, with which we share joint labelling standards?
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL (Minister for Food Safety) Link to this
New Zealand opted out of the joint labelling standard, which goes much further than the foods identified by the member. We opted out for several reasons, including the fact that country-of-origin labelling does not serve a food safety purpose, and that such labelling requirements would have added significant costs that would be passed on to consumers for no food safety benefit.
Will the Minister respond positively to the 39,000-signature petition being presented to Parliament today calling for mandatory country-of-origin labelling of fresh and single component foods—which of course have no cost in terms of labelling—that is supported by a wide range of organisations, ranging from Horticulture New Zealand, the Pork Industry Board, Consumers Institute, Grey Power, Rural Women, the Manufacturers and Exporters Association, the Council of Trade Unions, Safe Food Campaign, Organics Aotearoa New Zealand, the Soil and Health Association, and many, many others?
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL Link to this
The issue of country-of-origin labelling does not fall within the food safety purview of my portfolio in respect of the point that is being made regarding this petition. But I do note very favourably that in respect of all of the support that has been gathered for the petition, both Foodstuffs and Progressive Enterprises have voluntarily introduced labelling on these products.
Ann HartleyHon LIANNE DALZIEL Link to this
I am glad that the member raises the question of food exports from China, because often when people ask for country-of-origin labelling there is an assumption that where the food comes from is in itself indicative of the safety of the food. A recent report that I had from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare was that Chinese exports to Japan, which is China’s biggest food export market, reached a conformity rate of 99.42 percent—a rate that was higher than that of exports from the United States and the European Union.
Is the Minister aware that despite various supermarkets claiming they are voluntarily labelling foods as to their country of origin, a survey of 10 food outlets, including supermarkets surveyed last week, found that 75 percent of the fresh foods that we sampled were not labelled as to their country of origin, and no meat products and virtually no fish products were labelled; and is this not clear evidence that voluntary efforts are not working, and that we need the same country-of-origin labelling regulations for fresh foods as already exist for footwear and clothing in this country?
Hon LIANNE DALZIEL Link to this
The point that the member raises is exactly my point. When we look at the question of labelling of footwear and clothing, we see that it is not a question of safety; it is a question of consumer affairs. That is where the issue lies, in terms of portfolio responsibility. There are no food safety issues in relation to country-of-origin labelling.