Page 9 - Australian Pork Newspaper

Australian pork producers push for labelling clarity
SINCE 1986 Australian food retailers have in- cluded information about the origin of in- gredients of a product on packaging, with varying degrees of clarity and success.
the product is ‘manufac- tured’ in Australia, can lead consumers to believe the product is actually made using Australian- grown produce.
other agricultural groups and Federal Agriculture Minister David Little- proud, will continue to encourage other fast food outlets to embrace greater labelling transparency for their customers.”
produced and what has been imported because producers are extremely proud of their industry.
vice menus, we should have clear, visible label- ling, which enables con- sumers to make informed decisions about whether to support Australian
farmers or opt for an im- ported product.”
enance transparency and the opportunity to make a fully informed choice, support for Australian farmers will always be stronger.”
“It’s all about choice,” Ms Andrae said.
In July 2018, the Aus- tralian government made the decision to mandate a consistent labelling scheme, which has been welcomed by both con- sumers and Australian pork producers.
In a recent submission by APL to the Depart- ment of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources, a need for an awareness and education campaign to assist Australians iden- tify foods made from im- ported products was out- lined – similar to the APL CoOL advertising cam- paign launched in South Australia earlier this year.
“Stronger CoOL stand- ards would enable con- sumers to more readily identify the difference between Australian pork and the 4000 tonnes of imported, processed pig- meat which arrives on our shores each week.”
The regime brought about by the Country of Origin Food Labelling In- formation Standard 2016 was a progressive step to ensure products were clearly labelled, whether the food was raw, partially or wholly processed.
Imported pigmeat is heat-treated, processed and sold in competition with 100 percent Aus- tralian ham, bacon and other smallgoods, made with Australian pork reared by Australian pro- ducers.
The CoOL policy was a welcome decision for Australian pork pro- ducers, being an industry that faces significant im- port competition.
APL also recommended mandating the use of CoOL in fast food chains with more than 100 out- lets nationwide.
Ms Andrae said Aus- tralian pig farmers want consumers to identify what has been locally
APL firmly believes that with this important mech- anism in place, additional steps should be taken to build the awareness of CoOL among Australians and help them interpret the labelling system ac- curately.
“Across supermarket shelves or on foodser-
“We believe if con- sumers are afforded prov-
The application of the CoOL regime provided a consistent messaging de- vice for food packaging and, for consumers aware of how to use it, clear information that not all ham, bacon and small- goods are made using Australian pork.
APL’s third recommen- dation was that the claim ‘Made in’ be replaced with ‘Manufactured in’, to make it clear the CoOL logo refers to the pro- cessing of a product and not that the substantial in- gredients in the product are Australian.
can now be used to protect your pregnant and lactating sows
Whole herd protection against Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae. Now for your piglets and sows.
For more information, please contact your Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Territory Manager.
Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health Australia Pty. Ltd. Level 1, 78 Waterloo Road, North Ryde NSW 2113. ABN 53 071 187 285. Ingelvac MycoFLEX® is a registered trademark of Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH. All rights reserved. AUS/MFX-191028
However, Australian Pork Limited research since that time has shown consumers are con- fused as to how to read product labels, and that the country of origin la- bels are not easy to un- derstand.
A PL welcomed recent news that some fast food outlets such as McDon- alds and Dominos have decided to voluntarily adopt CoOL.
APL research has also shown the green and gold kangaroo, which indicates
Australian Pork Lim- ited chief executive of- ficer Margo Andrae said, “APL, together with
Australian Pork Limited CEO Margo Andrae.
www.porknews.com.au
Australian Pork Newspaper, October 2020 – Page 9