Seafood labelling petition handed to govt
SEAFOOD lovers should know if their favourite meals damage the environment, have high levels of mercury or come about from slave labour, TV chef Matthew Evans says.
"THE problem with seafood labelling in Australia at the moment - it's a lucky dip. It's a lottery," he told reporters in Canberra on Thursday.
The fresh food activist travelled from Tasmania to Parliament House to present a petition - dubbed a "love letter to the ocean" - calling for mandatory labelling of seafood served in restaurants, takeaways and cafes.
The petition, which carries more than 46,000 signatures, calls for the use of proper fish names and their country of origin.
"Restaurants in Australia can sell anything and call it fish," Evans said.
The coalition and Labor in August voted down a private bill on fish labelling changes in the Senate.
Flanked by a number of crossbenchers, Evans said the restaurant and catering industry was behind resistance to the measures.
While the fishing industry did its bit to label produce, the information was not being passed on to restaurant customers.
Voluntary labelling has failed, Evans said.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon said thousands of jobs would be created from greater support for the local fishing industry.
"There's something fishy going on about a government that won't support seafood labelling laws," he said.
Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said there was no reason restaurants could not take information an "extra 15 feet" to customers.
Independent MP Andrew Wilkie said people wanted to know they were eating Australian produce that was caught sustainably.
"They want to buy Australian seafood. It's the best seafood in the world," he said.
Source: NT News / AAP, 15th October 2015
Originally published as: Seafood labelling petition handed to govt
