Federal Victorian MP, Sharman Stone, has raised concerns that the lack of federal government funding for fruit processors SPC Ardmona in her seat of Murray will also increase food safety risks and is demanding that imported foods be subjected to the same standards as Australian produce.
"In the case of this fruit processing sector, this is the last Australian fruit processor left standing. It's been going 100 years. Once the fruit trees are bulldozed, they're gone. It takes about five years to get them back bearing again if they're planted and it's about $40-$50,000 per hectare to re-plant - so no, once this industry is shut down for a period it's gone and we're going to be depending on imported preserved fruits from China, South Africa."
"Some people might say it's terrific because it's dirt cheap. Well, yes it is because a lot of it is dumped, we've proved that with the anti-dumping authority especially with tomatoes, but we've also proved with the samples of tinned peaches from China the other day (that) a lot of it is seriously contaminated, in that case it was lead, a very toxic substance for humans to ingest,"
Dr Sharman Stone is an economist with a PhD in economics and business, "I studied food trade, my thesis was about food trade." Trade agreements between Australia and other countries are incredibly complex and the pros and cons of such agreements flow both ways.
"Take streptomycin. We do not allow it to be used in Australia, we know it builds up as a residue in humans and causes you real immunity problems. New Zealand uses streptomycin on its apples. They are allowed to export their apples into Australia still using that chemical but Australia is not allowed to touch it. Go figure. That's not fair and it's not right for Australian health, either."
This perhaps illustrates the complexity of not just trade agreements, but the lack of consumer understanding of these agreements. Australians might assume that imported food is already subject to exactly the same standard of food safety and testing as our own produce is, and the confusion that can accompany understanding food labels.
