MEDIA RELEASE 27
February 2015
Australian farmers must
lead with labelling
Australian
farmers should be driving the country of origin labelling discussion for
consumers, to ensure full household confidence in our food, according to
Queensland’s 2015 Rural Women’s Award recipient, Sherrill Stivano.
Mrs
Stivano, a feedlot owner from Roma, received this award this week for her project
proposal to address food labelling based on her research of the Red Tractor
model created in the United Kingdom – long before the recent Hep-A
contamination in frozen imported berries.
“If we are investing our time and skills
to identify our Australian food, we need to highlight the excellent production methods
underpinning our agricultural industries,” she said.
“We must ensure consumers can easily identify
Australian products, knowing they are produced with environmental stewardship
and sustainability, excellent animal welfare practices and food safety through
traceability and regulation as a daily priority undertaken by Australian
farmers.”
Mrs Stivano said acknowledgement of production
and quality accountability must return to the farmer, not the supermarkets or
processors or RSPCA.
“These organisations have assurance
programs which the farmer must seek accreditation through at a cost to enter
the supply chain,” Mrs Stivano said.
“If we show our consumers why our food
standards are so high through a specific label instead at production level,
then this will drive the demand at the supermarket shelves.”
Mrs Stivano said while Australia’s
agricultural industries have excellent assurance programs in place, some could
be enhanced to include more specific concerns.
“This specific label must also
complement those farmers who have taken the time to develop their own brands,”
she said.
“The new label should be the first thing
the consumer looks for, followed by the preferred individual brand.
“This is an opportunity to make a
positive and proactive change, firstly for the farmer and then for the
consumer, at both domestic and international levels.
“This should not be rushed through to be
a vote winner or election catch cry. It must be a carefully considered and
consultative approach with industry bodies, farmers and consumer groups,” Mrs
Stivano said.
Proposed
Country of Origin Labels – how it could work
Any Country of Origin Label must have
these three key components at its core:
- Environment
- Animal
welfare
- Food
safety
The CoOL must showcase the excellent
environmental care and sustainability; animal welfare practices and food safety
standards and regulations that already exist in our food production chain, more
particularly on the farm before the commodities even leave the farm gate.
Costs and impositions must not be heavy.
Use existing framework already in place
from industry assurance programs through to levies and Australian Made.
Mrs Stivano said this proposed labelling
should be seen as an opportunity for farmers to showcase their existing
production methods under one banner that the Australian consumer can easily
identify
“It is imperative that under any country
of origin labelling discussions, the focus must not solely be on the consumer
at the end of the food chain, but at the start of the food chain, with our
farmers,” she said.
Ends.
For
more information contact:
Sherrill Stivano at “Bellevue Feedlot”,
Roma Qld
0427 143 687 
