Australian pork industry response to substitution allegations
20 February 2008
The Australian pork industry’s peak industry body, Australian Pork Limited (APL) is aware there have been a number of allegations, made in the Sydney Morning Herald today, surrounding imported pork being labelled “Product of Australia.”
APL Chief Executive Officer Andrew Spencer said the labelling claim “Product of Australia” should be only used to identify pork that is 100 per cent Australian grown.
“Other labelling such as “Made in Australia” or “Made from local and imported ingredients” is mainly used to identify pork that is imported and then processed in Australia. Currently nearly 70 per cent of the manufactured pork market in Australia, which is your hams, bacon and smallgoods, is now made up of product sourced from highly subsidised countries such as Denmark and to a lesser degree Canada and the US.
“It is important for all consumers not to confuse the fresh chilled pork market with the processed market. It is illegal to import and sell fresh pork in Australia. All fresh pork is Australian grown. This is to ensure exotic diseases cannot enter the country. All imported pork is imported boneless and frozen and then cooked to minimise disease risks.”
Mr Spencer said APL was aware that the NSW Food Authority was investigating allegations surrounding substitution and mislabelling of processed pork products.
“Given these investigations are still underway it would be inappropriate to comment on them. However, we fully support the work the Authority is currently doing in getting to the bottom of these allegations.
“Allegations of this nature are viewed very seriously by APL, the industry, governments and appropriate food, health and consumer regulatory authorities. If substantiated there are rightly serious ramifications for those involved.“
Further information: General Manager, Communication: Emily Mackintosh, 02 6285 2200 or mobile: 0418 697 595 Media Assistant, Sophie Drew, 02 6285 2200
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