Florists and growers say buy local blooms for Mother’s Day to avoid giving mum a chemical surprise

Source: Cosmos Magazine / Petra Stock

May 10, 2023

Would you buy flowers for Mother’s Day if you knew they had been dipped in weed killer?

Florists and flower growers are encouraging consumers to choose locally grown blooms this Sunday to avoid the chemicals associated with imports.

Anna Jabour is the CEO of Flower Industry Australia, which represents florists and local growers. She says flowers and foliage grown in other countries aren’t subject to the same strict use of chemicals as those grown in Australia, and imports are also fumigated and treated with herbicide to meet biosecurity requirements.

“Imported flowers don’t have to have a chemical manifest attached to them. So we don’t know how they’re grown. We don’t know what chemicals are used. […] And not only that, but all the flowers that are imported are dipped in [glyphosate] for 20 minutes and fumigated in methyl bromide, both of which are toxic substances and shouldn’t be touched.”

As florists and flower farmers approach their biggest day of the year – Mother’s Day – they are renewing calls for the Federal Government to extend the Country of Origin Labelling to for cut flowers and foliage to help consumers make an informed choice. A Morrison Government review rejected the idea. 

Read more at this link.