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Maggie Beer apologises for using misleading labels

TV favourite Maggie Beer has apologised for labels that claimed some produce was made in the Barossa when they were made interstate.

2014-08-19_1234TV favourite Maggie Beer has apologised for misleading labels on her self-titled produce range, following an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The ACCC found four produce labelled as being made in South Australia’s Barossa Valley were manufactured in other states.

Maggie Beer-branded ice-cream, extra virgin olive oil, and rosemary and verjuice biscuits are made by third parties in Victoria, and the company’s aged red wine vinegar is produced in Queensland, Fairfax reports.

ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said, “The Barossa Valley is a nationally recognised premium food and wine destination, and businesses in that region use place of origin claims to promote or distinguish their product from others in the market.

“Misleading representations about the origin of products to capitalise on this demand undermines the integrity of credence claims which are relied on by consumers and, equally important, can harm competing producers whose products are made locally.”

In a statement, Beer said the four product lines were originally made in South Australia, but that the company changed suppliers as it expanded.

“Maggie Beer customers can be 100 per cent sure on the provenance of the food that we offer,” she said. “I apologise to anyone who may in the past have been misled in any way. It’s the last thing I would want to do.”

Beer’s ABC series The Cook and the Chef ended in 2009 but she remains a popular guest on such shows as MasterChef Australia.

0 Responses

  1. “Beer said the four product lines were originally made in South Australia, but that the company changed suppliers as it expanded.” Sounds like she’s become too big for her own goodness. If you promote yourself closely with a region (e.g. the Barossa Valley) and the natural produce it delivers, then it’s very disingenuous to make it some place else without even a small notification on the label. Some of these interstate made products even had the Barossa on the label! Her daughter got into trouble earlier this year when Saskia Beer’s Barossa Farm Produce made false claims about sources of its pork between December 2010 and May 2013. Seems like a mix of systemic clever market trickery and/or two women who either should know better or have no idea about what is going on. People don’t get this famous without a good deal of know-how, so it sounds to me that two strikes calls them for…

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