Western Star butter, pictured left, which was made in Western Victoria and Hillview butter made in the United States, pictured right.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Woolworths has defended selling United States-imported butter with green and gold packaging, despite pushback from Australian Dairy Farmers.
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Woolworths exclusive brand Hillview is packaged with a green background and yellow hills, leading consumers to believe it was an Australian-made product.
Hillview butter, imported from the United States, sitting on the shelves at the Archer St, Shepparton Woolworths.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
ADF president Ben Bennett said the fact Woolworths has packaged the American butter in green and gold is a further insult to Australian dairy products.
“We’ve had consumers across the country tell us this is an inferior product,” Mr Bennett said.
“It’s cheapening Australian dairy and making a mockery of Woolworths’ claim to be the ‘fresh food people’. In this time of emissions reduction, we’ve got to ask how these food miles stack up.
“Dairy is a staple of our diets, and you’d be hard-pressed to find a product that delivers better nutritional bang for your buck.
“Consumers are getting tired of having to triple check if the big supermarkets are being honest with them at the checkout.
“We call on Woolworths to stop ripping off Australian consumers and dairy farmers through imports and misleading packaging, and give them the opportunity to clearly assess quality and provenance of what they’re buying.”
One of the main consumer complaints is the clear difference in colour. Western Star, a Victorian brand, is pictured top and has a more yellow colour to it than the US-made Hillview, pictured bottom.
Photo by
Rechelle Zammit
Country News reached out to Woolworths for comment.
“We’re a strong and proud supporter of our Australian dairy industry, while we also work hard to ensure our customers have access to a range of great value and quality dairy products,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.
“All our fresh milk comes from Australian farmers, and the vast majority of our other dairy products, including butter and cheese, are sourced here too.
“Complementing our traditional Australian and New Zealand suppliers, we have diversified our sourcing to include US butter for our value Hillview offering. We’re now again incorporating Australian-made butter into our value brands.
“As always, country of origin is clearly labelled on all our dairy products to help customers make informed choices.
“It’s not uncommon for imagery related to green pastures to be used in the marketing of dairy products.”
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