Labelling seafood in your hospitality business

You must label the origin of your seafood in a way that is obvious to the customer before they order. For example:

• on your printed and online menus
• on a menu board
• on a clear sign in your business.

There are 3 ways to label the origin of your seafood ingredients:

• single letter AIM labels
• detailed AIM labels
• a single statement for your whole business.

You can choose the type of label that works best for your business.

The labels you use must be clear, accurate and truthful. They must also be written in English.

Single letter AIM labels

This labelling method uses a single letter to show where the seafood in a dish comes from:

• A if the seafood is from Australia
• I if the seafood is imported
• M if the seafood has mixed origins (the dish includes both Australian and imported seafood). For mixed dishes, you can choose to label each individual seafood ingredient with an A or I instead.

Write these letter labels on your menu after each dish containing seafood. You also need to include a legend to show what each letter stands for.

If you prefer, you can use more detailed text instead of a single letter. You don’t need to include a legend if you do this. The text must include the word ‘Australian’, ‘imported’ or ‘mixed’. For example:

• Australian
• imported seafood
• contains seafood of mixed origin.

You can either:

• write this text after the name of the dish
• include it in the name of the dish.

If your business uses only Australian seafood or only imported seafood, you can provide a single origin statement instead of labelling individual menu items.

The statement must clearly show your seafood’s origin. It can appear on your menus or on a sign in your business.

For example:

• We only serve Australian seafood
• All fish is imported

You can’t use a single statement if your business uses both Australian and imported seafood.

You need to follow the labelling rules if your business serves seafood for immediate consumption in Australia. Immediate consumption means the food is ready to eat as soon as you give it to a customer. It doesn’t matter if they eat it in your business, take it away or get it home delivered.

Hospitality businesses that must follow the rules include:

• restaurants
• cafes
• pubs and clubs
• takeaways and fast-food venues
• food trucks
• market stalls selling ready-to-eat food
• hotels and motels serving food (including room service)
• casinos
• amusement parks.

These rules don’t apply to canteens, schools, prisons, hospitals or medical institutions.

Food products sold in shops and other retail settings need to follow different country of origin labelling rules.

You need to label seafood dishes that you market as being or containing seafood. This usually means the name or description of the dish on your menu either:

• refers to seafood. For example, fish and chips, chilli prawns or salt-and-pepper squid
• is commonly associated with containing seafood. For example, surf and turf (steak topped with seafood) or ceviche (fish marinated in citrus juice).

You must state the origin of seafood ingredients in these dishes, including:

• fish and eels
• crustaceans, such as prawns, shrimp, lobster and crab
• molluscs, such as oysters, mussels, scallops and clams
• other aquatic animals, such as jellyfish, sea urchins and sea cucumbers
• the eggs or larvae of aquatic animals, such as caviar or roe.

It doesn’t matter if the seafood is from salt water or fresh water.

When you don’t need a label

You don’t need to tell customers the origin of:

• dishes that you do not market as being or containing seafood. For example, a ‘supreme pizza’ that includes a small amount of anchovies
• seafood in liquid or powder form. For example, fish sauce, prawn oil or shellfish stock
• shelf-stable food (food that doesn’t need to be kept in the fridge) made of chopped, diced, minced, pureed or shaved seafood. For example, shrimp paste, canned tuna or bonito flakes
• seafood served at a fundraising event
• seafood you serve more than 24 hours after the customer orders it. For example, a special Valentine’s Day set menu that customers must book in advance.

You also don’t need to label reptiles, amphibians, mammals, artificially created seafood (such as lab-grown fish) or food with a special medical purpose.

If you need help working out if you need to label a particular dish, contact the consumer protection agency in your state or territory.

A temporary shortage or change in your usual seafood supply might change your seafood’s country of origin.

When this happens, you don’t need to reprint all your physical menus. Instead, you can use a separate sign, removable stickers or another written method to tell customers about the temporary change in origin. You need to update any digital menus as well.

You must keep records proving the origin of your seafood for 3 months from the date you last offered it to customers. For example:

• invoices or receipts
• emails from suppliers
• photos of packaging that shows the country of origin.

You must show these records to the consumer protection agency in your state or territory if they ask.

If your seafood suppliers haven’t provided country of origin information, ask them for it. If you ask them for this information, they must provide it in writing.

Follow these steps to label seafood correctly in your hospitality business.

1. Work out if you need to comply

You only need to label dishes that:

• contain seafood
• are marketed as being or containing seafood
• are intended for immediate consumption once you give it to the customer
• you supply within 24 hours of the customer placing an order.

If your business doesn’t serve any dishes that meet all these criteria, you don’t need to do anything.

2. Know where your seafood comes from

Country of origin information might be on a receipt, invoice or packaging for the seafood you buy.

If it’s not, ask your suppliers to tell you in writing where the seafood comes from.

3. Choose a labelling method

Decide whether to label your seafood dishes using the letters A, I or M (plus a legend) or the full words: Australian, imported or mixed.

If all your seafood is either Australian or imported, you can use a single statement rather than labelling each dish (for example, ‘All the seafood we serve is Australian’).

4. Update your physical menus or signs

Put origin labels on all menus or signs that refer to your seafood dishes. For example:

• printed menus (including takeaway menus if you have them)
• physical and digital menu boards
• a separate sign in your business.

Make sure your labels are clearly visible, easy to read and written in English.

5. Update your online menus

Don’t forget to add origin information to any menus on your website and food ordering apps.

6. Plan for short-term supply changes

Decide how you’ll handle temporary changes in seafood origin.

Be ready for unexpected changes by buying removable stickers, preparing a printable template for temporary signs or getting any other materials you need.

7. Educate your staff

Make sure your employees:

• know how to label seafood dishes correctly
• can explain the labels to customers.

You might like to download and print our posters to use in your business.

8. Keep good records

Work out how and where you’ll store receipts, supplier emails or other records showing where your seafood comes from. You can store this information digitally or on paper.

Remember that you need to keep records of your seafood’s origin for 3 months after you last offer it to customers.

If you have any questions about these seafood labelling rules, contact the consumer protection agency in your state or territory:

• Australian Capital Territory: Access Canberra
• New South Wales: NSW Fair Trading
• Northern Territory: NT Consumer Affairs
• Queensland: Office of Fair Trading
• South Australia: Consumer and Business Services
• Tasmania: Consumer, Building and Occupational Services
• Victoria: Consumer Affairs Victoria
• Western Australia: WA Consumer Protection

Help in other languages

If you need to talk to these agencies in your own language, contact TIS National on 131 450.