Costco Australia has paid thousands in penalties over multiple lobster products which falsely claimed to be caught locally, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) said.
The mislabelled seafood products were actually imported from Canada, the ACCC said.
The products labelled “Kirkland Signature PREVIOUSLY FROZEN WHOLE COOKED WA LOBSTER,” and “Australian Lobster,” were sold in the wholesaler’s Casuarina warehouse in WA in January.
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“It (also) used the Australian-made kangaroo logo as well as a full bar chart indicating that the lobsters were exclusively Australian when they were not,” the ACCC alleged.
“Other packages were also displayed for sale with the allegedly misleading labels,” the ACCC said.
Costco Australia has been fined thousands for mislabelling lobster products with claims the seafood was caught in Australia. Credit: AAP/Getty Images
Costco Australia was issued with two infringement notices for alleged false or misleading labelling of the country and place of origin, and failing to comply with the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard.
Only two packages were actually sold, according to the watchdog, but while the impact was minimal, ACCC Deputy Chair Mick Keogh said the company should have known better.
“Many shoppers pay a premium to purchase Australian seafood rather than imported products, which makes the accuracy of the labelling a crucial part of enabling consumers to make an informed choice,” Keogh said.
“Selling goods with an incorrect country or place of origin label is a breach of Australian Consumer Law.
“While a small number of consumers were impacted in this instance, this conduct involved a large and sophisticated business.”
Costco is one of the world’s largest retailers and operates in 13 different countries, with 15 warehouses in Australia.
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