Government flags app for food labelling

The federal government is looking at developing a new app for consumers to test whether food products are really Australian made.

The idea is part of a review of country-of-origin labelling prompted after the frozen berries hepatitis scare.

Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane, who has been charged with bringing labelling reforms to cabinet by the end of March, has been investigating app technologies as part of the new system.

Consumers could scan bar codes on their smartphones to see where products were made and the extent of any Australian content, he told parliament on Wednesday.

The information would give an extensive story about the product's origins that would never fit on physical labels.

However, the idea is not new.

Several existing apps allow shoppers to variously check a company's environmental background, animal welfare policy or whether its products are genetically modified.

The new labelling system is also expected to involve a simple graphic clearly indicating the percentages of Australian and imported content.