New Rules: Seafood Labelling

The labelling applies to all seafood or if you market the dish as containing seafood, such as fish and chips, surf and turf (steak with seafood), ceviche and includes oysters, jellyfish, sea urchins and caviar or roe whether from salt water or fresh water.

There are 3 ways to label the origin of your seafood ingredients:

• Single letter AIM labels
• Detailed AIM labels
• Single statement for your whole business.

You can choose the type of label that works best for your business, but the labels must be clear, accurate and in English.

As the name suggests, you can use a single letter to show where the seafood in a dish comes from:

• A if the seafood is from Australia
• I if the seafood is imported
• M if the seafood has mixed origins (the dish includes both Australian and imported seafood). For mixed dishes, you can choose to label each individual seafood ingredient with an A or I instead.

To comply you need to put the label after each dish containing seafood on your menu and include a legend on the menu to show what each letter stands for example – Grilled barramundi (A), Steamed New Zealand mussels with garlic and white wine (I), Pad Thai noodles with prawns and squid (M) or Pad Thai noodles with prawns (A) and squid (I)

Here you don’t need a legend and can use more detailed text such as ‘Australian’, ‘imported’ or ‘mixed’ for example “contains seafood of mixed origin” after the name of each dish or include it in the name of the dish such as Grilled barramundi (Australian), Steamed New Zealand mussels, garlic & wine (contains imported seafood), Pad Thai noodles with prawns and squid (mixed origin).

If your business only uses Australian seafood or only imported seafood, you can provide a single origin statement instead of labelling individual menu items on your menus or on a sign in your business for example “We only serve Australian seafood” or “All fish is imported”.

But you cannot use a single statement if your business uses both Australian and imported seafood.

The rules apply to virtually all businesses such as restaurants, cafes, pubs and clubs, takeaways and fast-food venues, food trucks, market stalls selling ready-to-eat food, hotels and motels serving food (including room service), casinos, amusement parks.

The rules don’t apply to canteens, schools, prisons, hospitals or medical institutions nor to food products sold in shops who need to follow different country of origin labelling rules.

A pizza bar that markets a ‘supreme pizza’ which includes anchovies or seafood in liquid or powder form like fish sauce, prawn oil or shelf-stable food such as tinned tuna and chopped, diced, minced, pureed or shaved seafood does not need to be labelled.

Nor do you need to label seafood served more than 24 hours after it is ordered, for example, a special Valentine’s Day set menu that customers must book in advance.

You don’t need to label reptiles, amphibians, mammals, artificially created seafood (such as lab-grown fish) or food with a special medical purpose.

However, serving a prawn and chorizo pizza or spaghetti marinara needs labelling as to the source of the prawns as the dish is marketed as containing seafood ready for immediate consumption when served to the customer.

A restaurant selling ‘spicy fried rice’ that contains a small number of chopped prawns is not required to label the dish as the name doesn’t refer to seafood and isn’t generally associated with containing seafood. Likewise serving stir-fried Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce there is no need to label as the seafood ingredient is a liquid.

Selling seafood at a fundraising event for example fish tacos does not need to label the country of origin of the fish.

A temporary shortage or change in your usual seafood supplier may change your seafood country of origin. You do not need to reprint all your physical menus and can use a separate sign, removable sticker or general notice to customers about the temporary change in origin but you will need to update digital menus.

Businesses must keep records and produce them on request to consumer affairs to prove the origin of your seafood for 3 months from the date they were last offered to customers, which include invoices or receipts, emails from suppliers or photos of packaging that show
the country of origin.

Businesses must ask their seafood suppliers for country-of-origin information, and they must provide it in writing.

Are you subject to the new law?

Do you sell or market dishes that contain seafood intended for immediate consumption or within 24 hours of the customer placing an order.

Identify the source of the supply

Country of origin information might be on a receipt, invoice or packaging for the seafood you buy, and you must keep those records for at least 3 months.

Labelling method

Decide whether to label your seafood dishes using the letters A, I or M (plus a legend) or the full words: Australian, imported or mixed. If all your seafood is either Australian or imported, you can use a single statement rather than labelling each dish (for example, ‘All the seafood we serve is Australian’).

Ensure your signage and menus and messaging is clear

Put origin labels on all menus or signs that refer to your seafood dishes, and they are clearly visible, easy to read and written in English and add origin information to any menus on your website and food ordering apps.

Consider supply shortage and changes

Decide how you’ll handle temporary changes in seafood origin and be ready for unexpected changes by buying removable stickers, preparing a printable template or temporary signs or getting any other materials you need.

Staff training

Make sure your employees know how to label seafood dishes correctly and can explain the labels to customers. Download and print the ACL posters to use in business.

Keep records

Ensure you retain all receipts, supplier emails or other records showing where your seafood comes from digitally or on paper for at least 3 months after you last offer it to customers.

For more information, contact our Liquor Licensing and Hospitality Law Team:

Terence O’Brien (Special Counsel)

Grace Madafferi (Solicitor)

Robert Toth (Special Counsel)