Is the bacon at the supermarket from Carterton or Copenhagen?
Photo: 123rf.com
A bill aimed at giving consumers more information about where food comes from has passed into law.
Certains foods, including fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables, meat and fish, will soon be required to label its country of origin.
Cured pork such as ham and bacon is also covered, while tinned vegetables and frozen mixed vegetables would not require labelling.
Greens' Gareth Hughes, who adopted the bill from former MP Steffan Browning, told Morning Report the new law gives New Zealanders the right to know.
"As a vegetarian I found myself in the odd situations, spending a lot of time in supermarkets, chillers going through the package of bacon, looking at the labels," he said.
"You can't work out if it has come from Mexico, Sweden or New Zealand."
Green MP Gareth Hughes Photo: VNP / Phil Smith
Mr Hughes said he doubted the new law would lead to increased prices for consumers, saying retailers changed their labels all the time.
If prices do increase, it would be "absolutely miniscule," he said.
"I wanted to find something that was workable, cheap for retailers... and that could get cross party support, so I was incredibly proud that we got a uninanimous vote in Parliament last night," he said.
The law allows the government to exclude certain foods if they find the labelling unduly onerous, or to extend labelling to other foods if needed at a later stage.
Consumer NZ head of research Jessica Wilson said the law change was a much-needed first step.
"Our research has found strong support for mandatory labelling with seven out of 10 consumers backing it," she said.
She said Consumer NZ would be pushing for more foods to be included.
"At a minimum, all single-ingredient foods should be required to display a country-of-origin label."
The Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs is required to make regulations within 18 months.
