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ABC Radio
SA Country Hour Summary
Friday 18/10/2002

Misleading labels claim against olive oil - Fleur Bainger

Australia’s largest olive oil producer will defend its labels in court
after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued
proceedings against it. Viva Olive Oils will go to South Australia’s
Federal Court for allegedly labelling products as containing all
Australian produce, when up to 20 per cent was imported olive oil. Even
though the labels have long been changed. Viva Olive Oils has denied
the allegations.

But ACCC Regional Director Bob Weymouth says the action is justified.
"One of the important things here is, this is the only Australian, or
it’s promoted as the only Australian, brand olive oil that is in the
supermarket range, in other words it’s not a small niche olive oil, and
as part of the promotion the company has established this image as being
Australian, being the only Australian brand and highlighting the
benefits of Australian oil. It is our concern that consumers aren’t
going to read the fine print on the label now after having bought the
product for several years in the belief that it’s Australian."

As Bob Wehmouth says Viva Olive Oils has denied the allegations saying
their interpretation of the ACCCs labelling rules was correct at the
time. And Mark Troy who’s the director of the parent company the SA
Olive Corporation says they would’ve been able to explain this to the
ACCC had the consumer watchdog agreed to meet with them. "We had
solicitors advice and we felt we were entitled to call the product
Australian because of its high Australian content so we certainly at no
stage made a deliberate misrepresentation. The President of the
Australian Olive Association became aware that we had a proportion of
imported oil and discussed with me the desirability of acknowledging
that on the label and I freely agreed to do it."

Bob Weymouth: South Australia’s Regional Director, ACCC
Mark Troy: Director, South Australian Olive Corporation

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