By Joe Lederman and Alexandra Jannetto
Almost a year ago, FoodLegal Bulletin published an article questioning the dubious qualities of some olive oils being sold in Australia. The ACCC has since investigated and extracted undertakings from three Australian vendors of products described as ‘extra virgin olive oil'. This article tells the story about the enforcement of laws against misleading conduct by olive oil vendors and the impact of action taken by Australia's fair trading and consumer protection enforcement agency against olive oil misrepresentations. Unlike many countries around the world, Australia has not had any official mandatory food standard or testing regime for olive oil. Due to the absence of such standards or testing regimes, Australia appears to have become a ‘dumping ground' for cheaper imported olive oils claiming compositional or other qualities that have not necessarily been present in the products. In FoodLegal's article entitled "When the real oil ain't real oil" in the November 2008 issue of FoodLegal Bulletin, we reported on possible edible oil frauds in Australia which involved misleading consumers as to the true nature, substance or quality of the edible oil demanded. Consumers are especially vulnerable when premium prices are shown for products claiming to be ‘olive oil' or ‘extra virgin olive oil', as consumers would be under the impression that these products are healthier, tastier or better quality than other oils. In Australia, imported products claiming to be high quality olive oils have been found by industry participants to be refined, old, low-grade oil or not olive oil at all. More recently, the Australia Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched an investigation on products claiming to be ‘extra virgin olive oil'. Tests were undertaken on a selection of imported and locally produced oils labelled as ‘extra virgin olive oil'. Results were matched against the International Olive Council's olive oil standard which defines and sets criteria for extra virgin olive oil. This Standard (the IOC Standard) is not mandatory, but is recognised internationally as a guide for establishing genuine olive oil. Three samples were found not to be extra virgin olive oil: The ACCC therefore by using an international standard was able to reach the view that IGA Distribution, Calcorp and Basfoods were likely to have engaged in false, misleading and deceptive conduct in breach of the Trade Practices Act 1974 by representing the products as extra virgin olive oil when the products were not. The ACCC accepted court enforceable undertakings from the three companies. Calcorp and Basfoods have been required to obtain a certificate of analysis from their suppliers demonstrating the products comply with the IOC Standard, and then verify this with independent testing before supplying a batch of oil labelled olive oil for the next three years. IGA Distribution is also now legally obligated by its undertaking to the ACCC to require its suppliers to provide an annual test report that shows compliance of the extra virgin olive oil with specified criteria for the next three years. As a warning to companies, Mr Graeme Samuel, the Chairman of the ACCC, stated in a news release dated 2 October 2009: ""On this occasion the ACCC has scrutinised importers and distributors in particular in an effort to thwart the supply of falsely labelled oils to retailers and onto customers. However each company in the supply chain can be held to account for false, misleading and deceptive conduct so I suggest all Australian suppliers of extra virgin olive oil have in place adequate processes so they can be certain that the claims they make about products they sell are accurate and truthful."
FoodLegal believes that these ACCC interventions demonstrate that the ACCC is able to use food industry standards as a measure for enforcement of objective criteria understood by consumers of food products. FoodLegal also believes that it is time for the ACCC to accept likewise that it could and ought to be trained to enforce the food labelling Standards that already exist in the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code in coordinated action with other enforcement agencies and in conformity with its other powers. This would remove the high degree of subjectivity present in current ACCC enforcement policies in relation to food labelling and food product non-compliance issues. Copies of the 3 undertakings to the ACCC are available respectively at:
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