Green and gold kangaroo labels will show consumers how much of their food contains local ingredients and whether it was made in Australia, but the changes have been criticised by a consumer advocate for not requiring the origin of non-local ingredients.

The new labelling system, which is expected to make food slightly more expensive, followed demands for clearer information on the origin of food products following an outbreak of hepatitis A caused by frozen berries imported from China earlier this year. 

Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce unveiled the new food labels on Tuesday, saying some businesses would start using them on a voluntary basis before the end of the year.

“If a product has got the green and gold kangaroo triangle, it is made or processed in Australia,” Mr Abbott said. “If the product has the gold bar, the product is Australian.”

The gold bar will display the proportion of local ingredients used in the food product.

From next year, Australian manufacturers will be required to carry the labels, which, are the result of a four-month senate inquiry into country-of-origin food labelling laws. The review was called after 28 people were infected with hepatitis A from frozen berries imported from China in February.

Asked how the labels would help prevent similar future outbreaks, Mr Abbott was quick to distinguish the labels from food safety standards. “Different people might have different views about where you are most likely to be confident in the quality of your food. 

“But they are two separate issues. We are dealing with one. Obviously it is up to the various levels of government to deal with the other.”

Tom Godfrey, a spokesman for consumer group Choice, said manufacturers should make it clear where all their ingredients are sourced from “and take on board the option to list the main ingredients of their products”.