Family business slammed for free range eggs label; Fresh faces appointed to tax board: Midday roundup

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched court proceedings against a family-owned egg producer for allegedly breaching Australian Consumer Law.

The ACCC alleges Darling Downs Fresh Eggs, which is based in Queensland, labelled their products as “free range” between 31 December 2013 and 6 October 2014 when the hens had in fact never had access to the outdoors.

Darling Downs Fresh Eggs is just latest in a string of egg producers to come under the ACCC’s microscope for misleading claims.

ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a statement consumers deserved to know if what they are buying is in fact free range.

“The ACCC considers ‘free range’ eggs to mean that the laying hens can and do go outside and move around freely on an open range on most days,” Sims said.

“The ACCC considers that the alleged misrepresentations in this case are particularly serious, because it is the ACCC’s case that he Darling Downs Fresh Eggs hens were never given outdoor access.”

SmartCompany contacted Darling Downs Eggs for comment but did not receive a response prior to publication.

Fresh faces appointed to tax board

The federal government has appointed some fresh faces to the Board of Taxation to improve tax laws and regulation.

Michael Andrews, former chief executive of KPMG International, has been appointed as the board’s chair. Peggy Lau Flux, Mark Pizzacalla and Craig Yaxley have also been appointed as board members.

The tax board is an advisory body with ten members. All appointments are for three years.

Shares down on open

The Aussie share market opened down this morning on the back of crude oil prices continuing to slide.

The S&P/ASX200 benchmark was down 8.8 points to 5222.2 points at 11:59am AEDT. On Thursday, the Dow Jones closed up 63.19 points, rising 0.36% to 17,596.34 points.