LawsThe Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code states that food labels must include:
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LawsLabels may be incorrect because:
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Pyraclostrobin Smoothie anyone?Raspberries are a cancer-fighting food, filled with heath benefitting antioxidants, but tests have shown that banned chemicals in imported frozen raspberries eliminate any health benefits they previously posed.
In the last year more than 5000 tonnes of both frozen and processed raspberries have been imported into Australia from overseas. Richard Clark runs the Westerway Raspberry Farm near Hobart in Tasmania. He can't compete with the cheap imports in comparison to the high living costs of running his Tasmanian farm, coming into Australia, and points out that most of the raspberries in jams and juices are imported. In the two biggest supermarkets (Coles and Woolworths) every frozen raspberry packet picked up was imported (from Chile or China). The countries from which these berries, jams and spreads were imported don't have strict chemical regulations or testing on their berry products. Once the products arrive in Australia, only five per cent of frozen foods are then tested by customs. In the tests conducted by Today Tonight, six bags of frozen raspberries were sent to a NATA (an accredited lab) to be tested for 230 different chemicals. Of the six, two recorded serious violations of our countries food regulations, neither of these products had the detected chemicals labelled or documented on their packaging. In the Woolworths Select Mixed Berries the chemical pyraclostrobin was found, while in the Coles Raspberries traces of difenoconazole were found. These chemicals are illegal fungicides used on the berries overseas by the manufacturers (also not documented on the packaging). The coordinator for the National Toxics Network says "if the chemicals are coming in on imported raspberries we should be concerned... why do we have berries coming into the country with fungicides that are we don't use in Australia on those same products?" "These are chemicals that can have impacts on the body in the parts per billion. And the carbaryl is a likely carcinogen - these are not the sorts of chemicals we want to be eating every time we sit down to a bowl of berries," Immig said. The Australian public feel deceived and rightly so, people should know what they are consuming when they buy a “well known” product and this is currently not the case. It’s a health risk to all and regulations should be put more firmly in place for the sale of the Australian public |
Response Statement to report:From Woolworths
From Coles
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Become a label detective when you buy food for your family. Be sure you:
By Natasha Castellino, Sarah Kelland and Lizzie Corbett |