COLES and Woolworths are selling imported food under their private labels without disclosing where it comes from, while still being able to boast it is "Made in Australia".
The big supermarkets are using labelling loopholes that avoid disclosing where imports come from, despite laws stating shoppers should be told the country of origin of their food.
The Herald has also established another loophole allows food from countries such as China to be imported through New Zealand and sold to shoppers without an accurate "country-of-origin" label.
When the supermarkets were asked about examples of imported food sold under their private labels without showing a country of origin, Coles did not disclose the original source of two fruit juices.
Woolworths revealed Homebrand dried apricots, sultanas and dates were sourced from Turkey, and 90 per cent of Homebrand orange juice concentrate was from Brazil.
The Woolworths labels do not mention these countries, only describing the dried fruits as "Packed in Australia from imported ingredients".
A spokeswoman for Woolworths agreed it was impossible for customers to determine the country of origin of these products "but we would also make the point that this labelling complies with what we are required to do".
There is widespread disaffection with the labelling system. Coles, the Australian Food and Grocery Council and Choice want a better approach.
Only one in 100 Australians can explain what ''Made in Australia'' actually means under the complicated formula in the law, according to research by the labelling lobby group Australian Made, Australian Grown.
"We believe it is so complicated and people are so confused about what this means that it tends to devalue the Made in Australia label," the chief executive of the grocery council, Kate Carnell, said.
In one example at Coles, its Smartbuy three-litre apple and blackcurrant juice is sold under the label "Made in Australia from imported ingredients".
To use "Made in Australia" without further qualification, manufacturers must meet a test that shows a substantial transformation and at least 50 per cent of the value of the good being created in Australia, including the packaging.
Despite the confusion, Australian consumers place considerable value on knowing where their food comes from.
Research by the consultancy group Datamonitor shows 67 per cent of Australians believe it is important to choose groceries from Australia and 69 per cent are concerned about the safety of foreign or imported food.
The federal government took no action this month on reforms to clarify country-of-origin labels proposed in the Blewett report into food labelling.
Loopholes in the laws include food that is imported into New Zealand, repackaged and sent to Australia, with no need for a label about where the food originally came from.
In Australia, foods must be labelled with their country of origin under the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
However, a loophole exists as New Zealand has a domestic policy of voluntary country-of-origin labels. The food can then be sold without country-of-origin labels in Australia under a free trade agreement.
Both Coles and Woolworths say all their New Zealand-sourced food is labelled under the higher Australian standards.
But the loophole is being exploited. David McKinna, a food industry consultant, said one example involved frozen squid processed in China that was sent to New Zealand for repackaging then exported to Australia. It was being sold with the label ''Product of Australia and New Zealand''.
"At the moment, even if they [consumers] have a strong preference of buying Australian, they really can't be assured of the origin of it," Dr McKinna said.
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