Queensland hospitality places would need to identify imported seafood on their menus under proposed modifications to legislation set to be disputed today.
Key points:
- Queensland MP for Traeger Robbie Katter states identifying seafood is a “reasonable thing to do clients”
- Mr Katter states dining establishment owners can put an “I” on menus to show imported seafood
- The federal government has actually shown it wishes to carry out country-of-origin labelling at a nationwide level
Queensland MP for Traeger Robbie Katter presented the seafood labelling costs to the Queensland parliament at the end of in 2015, with the costs to be discussed tomorrow.
Mr Katter informed ABC Radio Brisbane identifying the origin of seafood was a “reasonable thing to do for consumers”.
” There’s substantial capacity, especially in the aquaculture market, however we get beaten by abroad imports,” he stated.
” And, you understand, oddly, the federal government passed laws that … if you go to the grocery store, you need to have native land labelling, however they didn’t extend it, sadly, [to] hospitality.
” So if you go to the fish and chip store, the club, anywhere, you can be consuming Mekong Delta sea bass, which’s one of the most contaminated rivers on the planet and it can be called barramundi lawfully.”
Mr Katter stated informing consumers seafood was imported might be as easy as putting an “I” to signify imported on menus in the very same method “GF” was utilized to identify gluten-free products.
NT just jurisdiction to impose imported labels
The Northern Territory is the only Australian jurisdiction to need dining locations to identify seafood that is imported or with its native land.
The Albanese federal government has actually likewise flagged it means to carry out country-of-origin labelling at a nationwide level.
Similar legislation advanced by the New South Wales Labour celebration in opposition has actually formerly stopped working, while the LNP in Victoria has actually guaranteed if chosen, it will present an expense to guarantee locations define if seafood was captured in Australia or imported.
Australian Foodservice Advocacy Body director Wes Lambert stated most of little hospitality companies got seafood from their providers.
However, he stated the origin altered with every shipment, which would imply companies would continuously require to reprint menus.
” This demand might develop an unproven predisposition that imported seafood is in some way inferior to domestic seafood, and definitely at a time when the hospitality market is simply recuperating from COVID, more bureaucracy is bad for the market,” Mr Lambert stated.
Mr Lambert warned that identifying the native land for seafood would result in other items requiring to be identified on menus.
” Will dining establishment menus have [to label] each and every single product, each and every single active ingredient on every menu product, [with] native land needed … as other markets desire their in your area grown produce to get prominence?” he stated.
Mr Lambert stated the hospitality market would be responsive to a requirement where menus, comparable to food labels, kept in mind the items consisted of both domestic or imported components.
Posted , upgraded