When the mandatory date for the updated origin labelling requirements for food sold in Australia was announced on July 1 2016, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) fought to extend the legislative imposed transition period for the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016 on 1 July 2018 to ensure that retailers had substantial time to make these changes.
The ARA are proud to announce that the Assistant Minister to the Treasurer has confirmed that although the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) cannot extend this period they understand that some businesses will find it difficult to reach full compliance by 1 July this year.
The ACCC has now confirmed that if retail businesses have made a genuine effort to comply with these new labelling standards then potential breaches can be dealt with administratively. Therefore food labelled on or before 30 June 2018 with old country of origin labels can see out their shelf-life and do not need to be removed or re-labelled before 1 July 2018.
To view the full letter from the Assistant Minister please click here. To download the Food labelling guide click here.
