Australian manufacturers could be banned from using common food names such as “feta”, “balsamic”, or “scotch” following a demand from the European Union (EU).
The union claims certain names of food and beverage products are associated with specific European regions and should be protected as part of its proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Australia.
Tanya Barden, CEO of the Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC), said local food and grocery manufacturers support free trade agreements but not at the cost of forfeiting product names that have been already used for years.
The AFGC says the EU’s demand could strip up to $2.9 billion from the Australian food industry and impact an estimated 3700 locally-made products, including dairy, smallgoods, oils, and confectionery.
“The Federal Government must ensure the future of the Australian food manufacturing industry is not crippled by allowing the EU to claim ownership over these widely used terms and the precedent it sets for other FTA negotiations,” Barden said. “Enforcement of EU Geographic Indications (GIs) would cripple many businesses as they struggle to rebuild from the COVID-19 pandemic and jeopardise regional jobs.”
GIs are names used on a product with a specific geographical origin and qualities that attribute to that particular location. EU negotiators have created a list of 168 GIs for use only by European manufacturers – the central point of the FTA negotiations.
The AFGC says there is a “lack of clarity” over how translations of names in the list would be interpreted. For example, the word “Parmigiano” is on the list, meaning “parmesan”, a name widely used by food manufacturers as an ingredient and product worldwide.
Barden added that if said GIs were enforced, Australian food manufacturers would not be compensated, and urged the federal government to refrain from giving ground on the issue.
“Trading away the rights of Australian manufacturers to use these everyday names would mean a Free Trade Agreement that risks hammering regional Australian communities, where 40 per cent of food manufacturers are based, and disadvantaging Australian consumers, with no perceived benefit for a vital domestic industry,” Barden concluded.
This story first appeared on our sister publication Inside FMCG
