A family-owned South Australian smallgoods company has been fined $10,200 over Product of Australia claims on its breakfast bacon.
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Conroy's labelled the 1kg bacon pack as a ‘Product of Australia’ when it was actually produced using imported pig meat.
The ACCC says it issued the infringement notice because it had reasonable grounds to believe that Conroy's made a false or misleading representation about the place of origin of the product.
The bacon product was supplied in a one-off shipment to a WA wholesaler earlier this year.
In addition to the penalty, Conroy's has also provided a court enforceable undertaking to the ACCC that it will not represent that any of its products are the produce of Australia, unless Australia was the country of origin of each significant ingredient or significant component of the product, and all, or virtually all, processes involved in its production or manufacture happened in Australia.
Conroys has also undertaken to publish a corrective notice on its website and establish a competition and consumer compliance program.
ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said: “Many consumers have a preference for products that contain locally sourced ingredients and are often prepared to pay a premium for these products.”
“As it is often difficult for consumers to determine where products come from, it is crucial that businesses provide accurate information about the place of origin of the goods that they supply.”
“False claims of this kind not only mislead consumers but can also disadvantage competing suppliers, particularly those who source local ingredients for their products,” Sims said.
