Now, that risk assessment will be undertaken in the next six months. We should have it completed within six months because of the urgency of the situation. The Australian dairy industry is reassuring consumers over the safety of diary products. John McQueen, chief executive of the Australian Dairy Farmers Federation, admits public perception is difficult to manage. But he's confident in the authority's approach.
Perception is always a difficult issue to deal with.
And the reality is that Australia is free of BSE and therefore it is not an issue for our consumers in any way, shape or form. But it is reasonable to expect that responsible authorities will continue to look at some of these things. As medical authorities scramble to step up research to reassure consumers and retailers remove and destroy European meat products on supermarket shelves, consumer groups are calling for more. The Australian Consumers' Associations' Rebecca Smith says Australians are still confused about what's safe, and better 'country of origin' labelling is needed to protect both consumers and the reputations of Australian producers. Country of origin' labelling at the moment means that 'Made in Australia' means as less as 50 per cent of Australian ingredients can be in a product.