The draft law on food labeling should be adopted

A bill that will provide consumers with better information on where their food comes from should be passed third reading tonight with almost unanimous support.

The bill on the right of consumers to know (country of origin of food), which obliges foodstuffs to bear the label of the country of origin, should be supported by all parties, except for the law.

The bill is named after Green Party MP Gareth Hughes, who took over the bill from former Green MP Steffan Browning when he resigned in the last election.

The foods covered by the bill are those containing a single ingredient that are not processed or whose treatment is minimal.

They include fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, seafood and meat, including pork products such as ham and bacon.

Hughes said the bill contained powers conferred on the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Kris Faafoi, under the Fair Trade Act, allowing him to add more food later.

"I would invite the minister to include as much food as possible," he said.

The amendment to the act was originally for all single-ingredient foods, but the parliamentary committee that reported on the bill said it was better to start with a simple approach.

Types of products that will not require labeling indicating the country of origin include canned fruits and vegetables and frozen mixed vegetables.

The bill disliked the fact that processed pork products were not included, but Hughes said that the special committee process provided for inclusion at the 11th hour, which made the bill more acceptable.

"We added bacon and pork products in addition, we introduced bacon, literally at the eleventh hour," Hughes said.

"It was a big problem because 85% of bacon and ham came out overseas and 95% of those from countries where animal welfare standards are the worst," he said. said Hughes.

National Food Security spokesman Nathan Guy said the committee had made changes to the bill so that the national project could be supported.

"We are aware that consumers want to make informed decisions about the country of origin of their food – National is now able to support it because of concrete changes to the bill," he said. he said in a statement.

Chief of the Law, David Seymour, said the law would act as a new tax on consumers.

"The new bureaucracy is putting additional costs on companies that will be passed on to prices, companies already face enough paperwork, they do not need it anymore," he said in a statement.

Hughes said the companies said it would not be the case.

"Many retailers have told us that the costs will be minimal and that many companies and food suppliers will change labels regularly anyway, which will be normal."

Some of New Zealand's largest corporations and lobby groups, including Fonterra and Federated Farmers, have opposed the bill.

Once the law is passed, Faafoi will have 18 months to put in place regulations. The new labels will then be introduced progressively over six months for fresh products and two years for frozen products.

A survey of Consumer New Zealand / Horticulture New Zealand last year found that 71% of people wanted mandatory country of origin labeling for fruits and vegetables. Only 9% were not in favor of mandatory labeling.

Sixty-five percent of buyers reported looking for labeling information when buying fresh fruit, but only 32% said they had always found it. With fresh vegetables, 29% said they always found information on labeling.