One of Australia’s biggest tomato brands and two major supermarkets are selling products that independent scientific testing shows do not match the country of origin stated on their labels.
A forensic audit carried out for Four Corners has revealed dozens of tomato paste and passata products said to have been produced in Australia or Italy were in fact produced in China.
About half of them come from Xinjiang, a region known around the world for its use of forced labor.
Most tested Leggo tomato paste products in cans, jars and bottles were found to have misleading labeling. The company, owned by US food giant Simplot, is making strong claims about its packaging, which it sources from Australian farms.
All of the tomatoes in these Leggo products were found to be from China, despite being labeled as “Grown in Australia”. (Four Corners: Jack Fisher)
Italian tomato paste Coles also failed, as did Aldi’s own brand Remano paste.
The findings are part of Four Corners’ extensive eight-month investigation into what’s really in the food you buy.
Testing has revealed that Coles’ “Italian” tomato paste is made from Chinese tomatoes. (Four Corners: Jack Fisher)
The testing was carried out by leading forensic laboratory Source Sure, which collaborates with the FBI, Scotland Yard, Interpol and the Australian Federal Police.
It analyzed 221 processed tomato products from 39 brands, including pasta, passata and diced tomatoes.
Twenty-two percent of products failed testing in their country of origin, and a further 6 percent were flagged for further testing.
All tomato products not tested were produced in China. Of these, the laboratory found 53 percent in Xinjiang. The rest were confirmed to be Chinese, but the exact region could not be determined.
The failed Leggo product clearly stated on its packaging that it was “grown in Australia”. (Four Corners: Jack Fisher)
Xinjiang is a major tomato-growing region in the world and has long been criticized over allegations of forced labor among Uyghurs.
In 2021, the United States banned imports of tomato products from Xinjiang due to forced labor issues, which China denies.
The lab findings come at a sensitive time in Australia, where there is no ban on products made with forced labor.
Last week, the Trump administration imposed a 12.5% tariff on Australian goods, citing Australia’s failure to effectively ban forced labor imports.
Albana’s government rejected the demand and called the tariff “completely unjustified.”
Products that did not pass and did not pass
Source Some tested 33 Leggo tomato paste products purchased from supermarkets at several stores in different states. Of these, 27, about 80 percent, failed.
Two-thirds of Leggo pasta failures were linked to Xinjiang. Six of the seven failed Coles products were also found in the region.
Two-thirds of Leggo’s failed products were related to Xinjiang. (Four Corners: Jack Fisher)
Another unsuccessful product was the Rosso Gargano passata, available at Coles. Even though it was labeled as Italian, its forensic profile was consistent with tomatoes grown in China.
Red Gargano Pass. (Four Corners: Jack Fisher)
Well-known tomato brands tested in the country of origin include Mutti, SPC, Woolworths, Providore D’Italia and Annalisa. Cans of diced tomatoes and passata from Leggo’s and Coles also made the cut.
Source Certain has spent years developing forensic techniques to verify where products such as food, timber and cotton are grown.
It analyzes the unique chemical properties of food left behind by the soil, water and climate in which it was grown.
“We measure almost the entire periodic table of elements, that is, trace elements, and build this fingerprint. We also measure the ratio of some stable isotopes: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,” says Cameron Scadding, forensic scientist and chief technology officer at Source Sure.
Cameron Scadding says there is a high chance of food being misrepresented in supermarkets. (Four Corners: Rob Hill)
The laboratory compares this fingerprint to verified reference samples to determine a match of origin. In forensic science, absolute certainty is impossible, but the laboratory only reports a finding of origin when it has sufficient confidence in the evidence.
The Secret source said he was more than 98 percent confident that the failed tomatoes were brought from China.
See what other everyday products Four Corners has tested, tonight from 8.30 on ABC TV and ABC iview.
Food supply chains are complex; Problems can arise at any stage of the process.
Leggo’s owner, Simplot, declined to be interviewed but said in a statement that it rejected the test results and said it has a reliable supplier and conducts regular due diligence.
“Simplot provides end-to-end traceability, supplier verification, and internal and external independent audits… throughout our supply chain,” Simplot said.
The company said it had supply chain documentation to trace the defective produce back to the Australian farms where the tomatoes were grown. But they said they did not conduct a forensic examination.
Coles and Aldi rejected the trial results. Coles said there was no evidence its home brand of tomato paste came from China.
“Because we take food integrity seriously and to confirm the origin of our own brand of tomato paste, we will carry out independent testing,” Coles said.
Aldi said it works with reputable suppliers who have assured them the products are where they say they are.
Importer Rosso Gargano also rejected the findings and said it had access to detailed tracking data.
“I’m very concerned”
The results have implications beyond misleading labels.
They raise concerns that Australian consumers may be paying more for food they perceive to be locally grown. They also mean Australian tomato growers can compete with cheaper imported products posing as local.
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For those tomato products that Source Sure says originate in Xinjiang, the implications are even more significant.
Nirola Elima is part of the Uyghur community and left Xinjiang in 2011. She now lives in Sweden and works to expose forced labor in global supply chains after a family member was jailed.
Nirola Elima left Xinjiang in 2011 and now lives in Sweden. (Four corners)
Ms Elima said she was surprised to learn products marketed as Australian originated in China and was shocked to learn Australia had not followed the US lead in taking steps to exclude Xinjiang tomato products from its supply chains.
She said China is masterful at hiding its atrocities, using state propaganda to portray forced labor as an opportunity for Uighurs.
One example, she said, is a promotional video created by the Mingfeng County government. It features the company’s Hetian Latitude 38.8 tomato processing plant in southern Xinjiang, where more than 95 percent of the population is Uighur.
The video shows Uyghur workers praising their work and the company boasting that its tomato paste is exported to 60 countries, including Australia.
A still from a promotional video showing a tomato processing plant in southern Xinjiang. (Delivered)
Ms Elima says Hetian Latitude is ultimately controlled by the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (XPCC), a state paramilitary organization that dominates much of Xinjiang’s agricultural and industrial economy.
“This company openly advertises the tomatoes they export to 60 countries including Australia… what they don’t tell you is how Uyghurs are recruited into these factories and are these Uyghurs paid fairly? Are these Uyghurs allowed to leave?”
Former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman Allan Fels said the findings were deeply concerning and called for stronger action to combat food fraud.
“I’m not entirely surprised, but I’m very concerned about it,” Professor Fels said.
Allan Fels says the findings are deeply troubling. (Four Corners: Rob Hill)
He said regulators must do more to investigate food fraud and use existing laws to hold companies accountable.
“If the laboratory tests are correct, the ACCC should take punitive action against Leggo in court.”
Mr Scadding said consumers should not assume the problem was limited to tomatoes.
“I think probably the best way to look at it is if you go into a supermarket, there could be thousands of products and in every one of those aisles there is potential for confusion,” Mr Scadding said.
How the testing went
- Sure tested more than 900 samples of 221 tomato products from 39 brands.
- The laboratory uses scientific methods called trace element analysis (TEA) and stable isotope ratio analysis (SIRA) to test the chemical composition of food and determine its origin. As the plant grows, it absorbs tiny amounts of elements and isotopes from its environment, including soil, water and local geology. These measurements are used to create a kind of chemical “fingerprint” that reflects the environment in which it was raised. Scientists can then compare the product’s “fingerprint” to a database of known fingerprints from different regions to see where it actually matches.
- The testing was blinded, meaning the scientists interpreting the data did not know which sample of which product was obtained.
- Although 22 percent of the samples failed, 6 percent of the samples were flagged as requiring further testing. These are samples that clearly did not match their claimed origins, but scientists were unable to pinpoint where they came from.
- As part of its investigation, Source Some tested products labeled as Chinese origin and all were confirmed to be made from Chinese tomatoes.
Additional research by Dylan Welch
The full Four Corners investigation, Deception: Food Exposed, can be watched tonight at 8.30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
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