Truth in food labelling: ACCC investigates Country-of-Origin Claims

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced an inquiry into the accuracy of country-of-origin food labelling, following recent media reports regarding potentially misleading food origin claims made on various staple foods. In late July 2026, a leading Australian media outlet reported that independent forensic laboratory testing of certain tomato and seafood products had cast doubt on the country-of-origin labelling of those products. For food businesses, this is not simply a technical labelling issue: origin claims can affect price positioning, consumer trust, retailer relationships and brand reputation, particularly where Australian origin, local provenance or premium sourcing is part of the product's value proposition.

This media investigation into so-called "food dupes" follows heightened regulation of country-of-origin requirements under the Australian Consumer Law. While country-of-origin labelling has been mandatory for many foods for almost a decade, from 1 July 2026, a new standard (Seafood Standard) was introduced requiring businesses that sell seafood dishes for immediate consumption to disclose clearly whether the seafood is from Australia, is imported, or is of mixed origin.

Food-origin claims are no longer low-risk labelling details. For many food businesses, they are part of the product's brand story and price positioning, which means inaccurate claims can quickly become a consumer law, reputation and customer trust issue. Given increased regulator, media, competitor and consumer scrutiny, food businesses should ensure that country-of-origin labels are accurate and that any "made in", "grown in" or "product of" claims can be substantiated before they are used.

 

Background: Key Country of Origin Food Labelling Requirements

Country of origin food labelling was introduced in Australia in July 2016 under the Australian Consumer Law, under the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016 (COO Standard). Under the COO Standard, most food offered for retail sale in Australia must include information on the country where food was grown, produced or made. 

However, whether foods require COO labelling and labelling requirements, depends on whether the food is grown, produced, made or packed in Australia or another country, and whether the food is considered a non-priority food (such as seasoning, confectionery) or priority food (being all non-priority foods). All packaged food must state whether the food was made from imported, or local produce, or a mixture of both. Some unpackaged food (such as fresh and processed fish, pork, beef and chicken mince, fruit and vegetables) must also display COO labelling.

The ACCC's guidance on the COO Standard clarifies which words and graphics are acceptable under the COO Standard, and the type of substantiation required to support certain claims. The distinction between these claims matters commercially because consumers may attach different value to a product that is "grown in Australia" compared with one that is merely "packed in Australia" or "made in Australia" from imported ingredients. Businesses should therefore check not only whether the technical label is correct, but whether the overall impression created by words, graphics, packaging and marketing materials is accurate. For example:

• For food products grown, produced or made in Australia, the green and gold kangaroo logo is used along with a bar chart (to indicate the percentage of ingredients that are Australian), and a statement identifying whether the food was grown, produced or made in Australia.
• "Grown in": means the food was grown in, materially increased in size, germinated, harvested or derived from an organism, in that country. Only food containing exclusively Australian ingredients can carry a "Grown in Australia" label.
• "Produced in" / "Product Of": means that each of a food's significant ingredients were grown or wholly obtained in that country. A food may only carry a ‘Produced in Australia’ standard mark label if it contains exclusively Australian ingredients.
• "Made In": refers to the country that the good underwent its last substantial transformation. A food will be substantially transformed in a country if it was grown or produced in that country, or is (as a result of one or more processes in that country) fundamentally different in identity, nature or essential character from all of its ingredients or components that were imported into that country.
• "Packed In": refers to the place where a food was packed. This claim can be made where one of the other claims (such as "Made In" or "Grown In") cannot be made.

 

ACCC enforcement action

The ACCC's enforcement approach to COO food labelling reflects the increased risk of consumer harm where COO labels are inaccurate. Food products from certain countries will often attract a price premium, and consumer purchasing decisions can be strongly influenced by food-origin claims.

Following the introduction of the COO Standard, the ACCC has conducted regular audits of COO food labelling, often resulting in enforcement action for non-compliance. For example:

• In 2023, a major food retailer paid AUD33,000 in penalties to the ACCC following infringement notices for alleged false and misleading COO labelling on lobster products.
• In 2020, a frozen-food manufacturer agreed to amend labelling for 31 frozen fish products, after ACCC investigations indicated that imported fish products labelled as "Made in Australia" had only undergone minor transformations in Australia.

In addition to the COO Standard, product labelling or advertising which misrepresents a food product's origin may also attract regulator or competitor attention for contravening the ACL's prohibitions against misleading or deceptive conduct, or false or misleading representations. Contravening the ACL's prohibitions against false or misleading representations can attract significant penalties; for corporations, this can be the greater of AUD 100 million, three times the value of the benefit obtained from the contravening conduct, or 30% of the corporation's adjusted turnover during the breach period. Beyond penalties, enforcement action can also result in label changes, product withdrawals, supplier investigations, customer communications and corrective messaging, all of which can create operational disruption and reputational cost.

Claims are likely to be higher risk where origin is used to support a premium price, differentiate the product from imported alternatives, appeal to consumer preferences for Australian-made or locally sourced goods, or address categories where substitution and supply chain complexity are common, such as seafood, tomatoes, honey, olive oil and meat products.

 

Navigating compliance: what do food businesses need to do?

Compliance with the COO Standard requires food businesses to have a comprehensive understanding of the country of origin of its food products, including food ingredients, supply chain, and point of sale. Failure to interrogate the origin of food products and ingredients risk regulatory scrutiny and enforcement action, and/or potential negative media attention for so-called "food dupes".

A practical compliance program should allocate responsibility across the relevant business functions:

• Marketing teams should audit origin claims across all consumer-facing materials, including packaging, labelling, advertising and social media.
• Procurement and supply chain teams should verify where key ingredients are grown, produced, processed and packed, and ensure suppliers are required to notify changes in origin, formulation, processing location or sourcing that could affect labelling or marketing claims.
• Legal and compliance teams should confirm that terms such as "grown in", "product of", "made in" and "packed in" are used consistently with the COO Standard and ACCC guidance, and that the overall impression created by the claim is not misleading.
• Product and quality teams should maintain substantiation records, including supplier declarations, ingredient specifications, manufacturing records, import documents and processing information that support the origin claim.
• Commercial teams should identify premium or high-risk claims, especially where Australian origin, local sourcing or a specific country of origin is likely to influence consumer choice or justify a price premium.
• Hospitality and food service operators should embed Seafood Standard processes into menus, menu boards, online ordering platforms and delivery channels, ensure seafood origin information is available before customers order, and train staff on how the AIM system applies (A for Australian, I for imported or M for mixed origin).