In the 1940s and 1950s, Australian producers exported tropical fruit salad to Italy, pineapple to Germany and Holland, canned pawpaw to Canada, and fruit mince for an English favourite – fruit mince pies. One department had responsibility for ensuring that the labels for these tins conformed to Australian food description standards and those of their destination. It also ensured that manufacturers maintained a high standard for food labels and used the correct measures for the intended country. The Department of Commerce and Agriculture in Perth kept the labels on file, and they have become part of the archival records of the nation.

The department's Chief Fruit Inspector was keen to ensure that overseas consumers knew where their fruit was coming from. On several occasions he instructed companies to make the word 'Australia' more prominent on the label. Some companies, like Clemens, sold the virtues of their Australian origin: 'Clemens cherries are grown on the sunny hills overlooking the garden city of Adelaide.'

The labels give insight into past culinary habits and tastes. Clemens offered a serving suggestion for its dark plums: 'If served either in or with jellies they make a very attractive and appealing dish.' QTF tropical fruit salad was a 'tropical combination' of pineapple, pawpaw, banana, passionfruit and orange. Sounds healthy… except for the 45 per cent sugar syrup these fruits were packed in. Perhaps they were 97 per cent fat free? The 2006 Queensland banana shortage was bad, but would you have tucked into a tin of Golden Treat bananas?

These records also attest to the versatility of tinned pineapple. The label for Enchanted Isle brand pineapple slices claimed they were 'Delicious chilled and served as a dessert, in pineapple upside-down cake, in pineapple and cottage cheese salads, thrilling as a garnish for corned beef hash patties, baked ham or other meats.' The sweetened crushed pineapple promised a 'taste-thrill in pineapple pies, salads, home-made sherbet, and ice cream.'

For some, these labels might evoke nostalgia for the desserts mum or grandma used to make. Others may be thankful they have the choice of fresh fruit at their local markets. However, these bright and sometimes beautiful labels serve as a lasting record of how Australia sold its fruits to the world.

This story was originally published in the National Archives magazine Memento, Issue 34, January 2008.