Present & future jurisprudence of consumer protection and food law in Australia

Abstract

In this chapter, I explore how the new Australian Consumer Law ("the ACL") embedded in the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) is intended to protect consumers from misleading, deceptive and false credence claims associated with food products made by large corporate food producers and distributors. By "credence claims" I mean representations made by corporations in marketing food products that convey to consumers an impression that the product possesses some added quality that similar products may not possess. Credence claims are often associated with values-choices made by consumers such as "gluten free", "not tested on animals" or "free range". The differentiating quality may also appeal to the consumer's ethical or religious values associated with food production and consumption. Show more