Government acknowledges some pork labels may be misleading, refuses law change

The Government is refusing to make any law changes surrounding pork branding but acknowledges some labels may be misleading.This follows the pork industry calling for 'country of origin' information to be clearer as some shoppers think they are buying bacon or ham from New Zealand pigs - but it's not.NZPork's chief executive said some supermarkets' pork products had extremely small labelling hidden on the back saying where the pig was bred overseas - but it's marketed as being local.Brent Kleiss said it's infurating and he's not happy that no changes were being made.He says a parliament committee recommended the government look at clearer labelling of pork products three years ago and has had no response since then.However in a statement the Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs said the regulations ensured that information about the origin of regulated products - such as pork - was available to consumers in a way that was clear and informative.Minister of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Cameron Brewer.VNP / Phil SmithCameron Brewer said the complaint upheld by the parliament committee related to how certain pork products were branded, rather than the origin information they were required to disclose."Although it might be possible for an imported meat product that complies with the regulations to be branded in a way that misleads consumers about the product's origin, I am not aware of evidence that this is occurring on a scale that would justify further regulatory change."Brewer added that his Fair Trading Amendment Bill proposed to increase penalties for any misleading conduct that could affect consumers."I acknowledge your concern that some branding practices may give consumers a misleading impression about whether pork was raised in New Zealand."He suggested PorkNZ complain to the Commerce Commission if it had issues with the way any pork products were labelled.But Kleiss said farmers were not impressed - and they would be making a big noise about it. "Our fear is that the minister may have been mislead or made a desision to get it off his plate rather than actually tackle the issue head on."Brent Kleiss, chief executive of NZ Pork.SuppliedHe said an issue was animal welfare - some countries were breeding and killing pigs unethically and local consumers didn't realise how badly the pig had been treated before being made into bacon.He was also frustrated with some supermarkets - saying he visited a PAK'nSAVE in Christchurch last week that didn't have any New Zealand bred and processed pork products - such as ham and bacon - at all.In response Foodstuff said it supported customers having clear and accurate information about the products they bought, including country-of-origin information, in line with the labelling requirements.In a statement it said availability of New Zealand pork could vary between stores depending on customer demand, supplier availability and the range of products stocked."When sourcing pork and other meat products, we consider a range of factors including food safety, quality, animal welfare, supply reliability and value for customers."