by Oliver » Wednesday Dec 12, 2007 12:27 pm
Hello all,
I made the following inquiry with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission via its website today.
The letter was prompted by the inclusion on a restaurant wine and beer list of Stella Artois and Heineken under the heading "Imported Beers". My tip is that they would have been brewed in Australia by Foster's and Lion Nathan, respectively.
I hope you are as incensed as I am about this fraud being perpetrated on unwitting Australian consumers.
I'll let you know about the response.
In the meantime, let me know what you think about this issue, and please provide any examples of this fraud. Goodness knows there are enough examples out there.
Cheers,
Oliver
"Imported" beer actually brewed locally
As you may be aware, many beers that have traditionally been brewed overseas and imported into Australia are now brewed in Australia. Examples include Stella Artois, Heineken and Beck's. While the brewers of these beers do not claim these beers to be "imported", retailers, including restaurants and bottleshops, often advertise them as so in menus and in catalogues. This would appear analogous to saying an Australian-made Ford Falcon is an imported car because Ford is an internationally recognised brand.
Making the claim that these beers are "imported", whether in advertisements or on menus, would, at first glance, seem to contravene several sections of the Trade Practices Act, including that which deals with country of origin claims.
Placing internationally recognised but locally brewed beers under a heading such as "Overseas brands" would, perhaps, avoid contraventions of the Act.
Could you please advise me whether my reasoning is, in fact, correct: that claiming that a brand of beer (or any other product for that matter) that is made in Australia can be sold as "imported" simply because it is an internationally recognised brand.
Many thanks in advance for your time.
Oliver