The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union has called for better food labelling laws and an inquiry into the behaviour of the two large supermarkets in promoting their own home brands, many of which contain imported product, after 150 workers at SPC in the Goulburn Valley lost their jobs yesterday.

AMWU Food and Confectionery Division Secretary, Jennifer Dowell, said that the practices of Coles and Woolworths sourcing cheap imported product for home brands were driving local producers out of business and the lack of clear food-labelling meant consumers could not make an informed choice.

“Yesterday 150 workers paid the price from the aggressive behaviour of the supermarkets in promoting their home brands, and their refusal to make it clearer when they are replacing Australian made fruit, vegetables and other food products with imported products under their own labels.”

SPCA cited the increased use of imported products in homebrands in its announcement today.

“People should have the right to know where their food comes from so they can choose what they want their family to eat and support Australian jobs if they wish,” said Ms Dowell.

“The supermarkets are now required to place prominent signs on their fruit and vegetables stating which country they come from, so why should other processed products be different? It is often difficult to find or understand information on labels about the country of origin of products.”

“In many cases, the homebrands began by using Australian products, which consumers may have checked before they switched brands. But now that the homebrands have picked up market share, in many cases they’ve switched to cheaper imported products under the same label without making that very clear to the public.”

Ms Dowell said that the current food labelling laws were not strict enough, and allowed companies to use labels which were hard to read and interpret.

Ms Dowell also said that the union was concerned about the flow on effect on the jobs of seasonal and casual workers, and those who pick the produce that supplies SPC.