BUY LOCAL: NZPork chief executive David Baines says New Zealanders expect and prefer the meat they buy to have been grown in NZ.
KIWI consumers are being urged to look out for labels showing pork is 100% New Zealand born and raised, with the introduction of new food labelling regulations.
The Commerce Commission has issued guidance to support compliance with long-awaited country of origin for food regulations, which comes into force on February 12.
Under the new regulations, fresh pork and cured pork for retail sale must be labelled with the country or countries where the animal was raised.
Cured pork includes bacon and ham, including prosciutto, and other preserved pork products containing at least 66% of whole pieces of pork, such as pickled pork.
However, imported pork processed into other products in NZ, including marinated pork and sausages, are not covered by the regulations because they fall outside the cured pork definition. They will only be required to be labelled with the name of the NZ manufacturer or retailer.
NZPork chief executive David Baines said the organisation’s research has shown that Kiwis expect and prefer the meat they buy to have been grown in NZ.
“Although we ultimately want labelling where imported pork is being used to be far more prominent, we welcome the introduction of these new requirements. This will give consumers more clarity about the origin of pork in at least some of the further processed products,” Baines said.
“We will be encouraging those using born and raised New Zealand pork in their products to emphasise and promote New Zealand origin far more prominently than the regulations require because that is what Kiwis want.
“Kiwis should look for the ‘100% NZ’ pork labelling or NZPork’s PigCare label on pork packaging.
“This will help provide consumers with the confidence that they are ‘buying local’, knowing they are supporting Kiwi farmers and purchasing pork raised to high levels of animal welfare.”
