Product certification is used for a number of purposes. These are often through third parties which have specific requirements or criteria at allow a recognisable logo to used on a particular product. These purposes include for:
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Food Safety (such as HACCP, etc)
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Health (such as the Heart Foundation Tick, Food Health Star Rating, Gluten Free (esp. for Celiacs), Food Allergens, etc)
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Ethical or lifestyle choices (such as Organic Foods), Biodynamic Foods, Free Range Eggs, Fair Trade, Child Labour Free, etc)
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Environment (such as Energy and Water Ratings, ISO14001, Carbon, Forest Stewardship Council, Rainforest Alliance, EcoBIZ, Dolphin Safe, Planet Ark, etc)
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Quality (such as Australian Standards, ISO, etc)
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Industry (such as Cotton Australia, Avocardos, etc)
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Beliefs, Values and personal choices (such as Kosher, Halal, Christian, Vegan, Vegetarian, etc)
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Provenance (such as Made in Australia, etc)
Note: the above examples are not an exhaustive list of potential certifications available to the product producers/manufacturers.
If one spends time, there are dozens of certification or labelling programs available to producers/manufacturers to differentiate their products or to allow them to open new consumer markets.
It is also worth noting that some of the industry associations also charge levies (some allow use of their labels on products) which are used to support the industry. Support may come in the form of research, marketing, export advice etc. Governments also charge levies on some products to recover costs associated with their administration. An example is those charged by the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture and Water Resources.
Some of the costs to business are voluntary (such as organic or Kosher) or compulsory (such as some industry levies).
As outlined in posts above, many businesses chose to participate in a voluntary certification program as it can enable their products to be exposed to new markets. New markets usually means higher product demand, which potentially improves the income of the producer/manufacturer and also particularly allows Australia’s food excesses to be exported to countries where there may be local food product deficits (or the food is not grown locally).
A business would not usually chose to participate in a voluntary program unless there is a net increase in profits (namely, increase in the producer/manufacturing business profits after any costs associated with participating in the program is considered).
Choice also has information on some of the certification/labelling programs here.