Maggie Beer product labels misleading on food origin, ACCC says
Food icon Maggie Beer.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said the issue affected Maggie Beer-branded ice cream, extra virgin olive oil, red wine vinegar, and rosemary and verjuice biscuits.
It said consumers might have thought they were getting Barossa produce, but most of the affected lines were manufactured in Victoria and the red wine vinegar in Queensland.
The ACCC said since at least 2011 some product labels had put the Maggie Beer logo close to words such as "Maggie Beer: A Barossa Food Tradition" or "Maggie Beer Products: 2 Keith Street Tanunda South Australia 5352".
It said a consumer might reasonably have got the impression the products were made at Tanunda in the Barossa Valley or at least in South Australia, when that was not the case.
The consumer watchdog also said Maggie Beer Products gave the impression during a supermarket promotion in Adelaide last year that its ice cream and rosemary and verjuice biscuits were made in South Australia, or were somehow "local" products.
Two years ago, Beer was made a Member of the Order of Australia for her services to the tourism and hospitality industries, and promotion of Australian produce and cuisine.
The ACCC said the labelling issue came to its attention independently of another recent investigation into Beer's daughter Saskia and misleading advertising by her company Barossa Farm Produce.
Consumers willing to pay a premium, says ACCC
Commission chairman Rod Sims said product integrity was a vital issue.
"Consumers are often willing to pay premium prices for local products," he said.
"Businesses are following consumer demand by stocking local goods.
"Protecting the integrity of credence claims made about food products is a priority enforcement area for the ACCC."
Mr Sims said the Barossa in particular needed to ensure its food and wine reputations remained strong.
"The Barossa Valley is a nationally recognised premium food and wine destination, and businesses in that region use place of origin claims to promote or distinguish their product from others in the market," he said.
"Misleading representations about the origin of products to capitalise on this demand undermines the integrity of credence claims which are relied on by consumers.
"Equally [it] can harm competing producers whose products are made locally."
The consumer watchdog said Maggie Beer Products had cooperated with the investigation and would amend its labelling to ensure products made outside of South Australia were clearly identified as such for consumers.
Beer was apologetic for the labelling breach, saying she was shocked when the matter was drawn to her attention.
"The ACCC brought to our attention that the labels on four product lines could mislead consumers into thinking they were made in the Barossa Valley," she said.
"It has absolutely never been our intention for this to be the case."
Source: ABC - 19th August 2014
