As households all over Australia checked their freezers and threw out Nanna’s brand frozen berries from China in the wake of the hepatitis A scare, Mr Joyce said if consumers wanted to be confident their foods were not tainted by poor regulation of hygiene and processing procedures, the answer was as simple as buying Australian.

But the trick, as many households discovered as they went through the contents of the kitchen freezer, was identifying where the ingredients were grown and packaged.

The contaminated frozen berries are a good example of why this is not as simple as it should be. The imported berries were predominately grown and packed in China, but there was also concern that berries from Chile exported in bulk and repackaged elsewhere could be a problem.

Then there is the problem of finding and being able to read and understand the consumer information on the packet, which should tell the consumer exactly what is inside and how it got into the supermarket freezer.

This is where Australian producers part company with the food processors and manufacturers. Australian growers would like nothing less than clear, unambiguous labelling in big print which tells consumers where a product was grown, processed and packaged and whether the product is Australian owned.

Many food manufacturers, and particularly multinationals, would like nothing more than the continuation of a labelling system which seems almost deliberately confusing.

Australia’s free trade agreements, including its most recent treaty with China, mean tariffs and quotas will not protect Australian producers.

Their best protection would be labelling laws which allow shoppers to easily choose products knowing the origin of the products and the processing chain – as well as the price.