[Snoopy]

The following statement is taken from the BPA Website News Page...

"Labelling guidelines from Trading Standards have been tightened to prevent supermarkets selling pork from crossbred pigs masquerading as pedigree pork from traditional or native breeds.
In future if they want to use the name of the breed on the packaging - the pork will have to come from pedigree parents."

This is a great step forward. 
The hard work that has gone into educating customers and the marketing of meat from Pedigree Pigs that are endangered, by several small breeders is now protected by the Trading Standards - therefore keeping Pedigree herds on the increase.

I wish we could do the same to stop factory outlets putting log cabins in their car parks and suddenly becoming "Farm Shops". This has happened in Ireland in more than one place

Surely a farm shop is run by a farmer, not a factory block with offices and lots of staff!!

Its a bit like Heinz promoting their Farmers Market soups - the numbers just dont add up - theres not enough farmers markets to produce tomatoes for heinz soups in the world 

These big boys have seen that people want good produce and are using the words that get these products a good name i.e. pedigree, farm shop and farmers market - help us smallholders stop them getting away with it

[dixie]

The following statement is taken from the BPA Website News Page...

"Labelling guidelines from Trading Standards have been tightened to prevent supermarkets selling pork from crossbred pigs masquerading as pedigree pork from traditional or native breeds.
In future if they want to use the name of the breed on the packaging - the pork will have to come from pedigree parents."

This is a great step forward. 
The hard work that has gone into educating customers and the marketing of meat from Pedigree Pigs that are endangered, by several small breeders is now protected by the Trading Standards - therefore keeping Pedigree herds on the increase.

I think this came from Waitrose being challenged over their Gloucestershire Old Spot bacon, it was only the boars that was the GOS and not the sows! But the labelling stated 'from our herd of GOS'! it went on and on until the ruling was introduced!

[ukag0972]

Does the BPA not allow their members to produce certificates stating that their pork is from pedigree herds?

[Hilarysmum]

IMHO the most important part of the labelling should refer to the method of raising.  Free range should be just that ... not born outside lived outside until weaned at 3 weeks then shut indoors until slaughter. 

[ukag0972]

There's so any interpretations of labelling
Outdoor bred could only mean sow and boar were outdoors at conception!
Outdoor reared could mean "was with mother till weaning!"
Free range could only mean they were outside all their life yet kept in small paddocks with little room to "range"

It's such a grey area!

[dixie]

Free range and organic are equally important but a different issue. The problem here was that Waitrose were labelling their GOS bacon as coming from pedigree herds, when in fact it was only the boar that was a pedigree, I'm not sure if the sows were even GOS? So the resulting product is not true to the breed, the consumer should not be led to believe that half bred bacon is as good as full bred bacon (hope I'm making sense) as that is not good for the breed! If it is cross bred then the packaging should say, and of course the price!
heres the link from the GOS site,;
http://www.oldspots.org.uk/labelling.asp

[sausagesandcash]

The canny marketing person will always try and make a silk purse out of (forgive me saying it) a sows ear. No more lies, no more photos of rolling hills on produce that only sees the light of day on its way to slaughter. All foodstuffs should carry labeling that shows the animals living conditions, that'd fairly shake up the consumer!

Morgan

[Eagledance]

The canny marketing person will always try and make a silk purse out of (forgive me saying it) a sows ear. No more lies, no more photos of rolling hills on produce that only sees the light of day on its way to slaughter. All foodstuffs should carry labeling that shows the animals living conditions, that'd fairly shake up the consumer!

Morgan

Absolutely agree!

I often want to run up to people buying ASDA smart price batteryt eggs and ask them if they actually know about the conditions the hens live in!!  Grrrrr


Ed

[doganjo]

Absolutely agree!

I often want to run up to people buying ASDA smart price batteryt eggs and ask them if they actually know about the conditions the hens live in!!  Grrrrr


Ed

Not only do I WANT to - I actually hover over the eggs and if anyone picks a box up I tell them about the conditions!  Haven't been thrown out of Morrisons yet!  But I do get some odd looks.

[Hilarysmum]

Most consumers dont give a damn as long as its cheap, otherwise after all those tv programmes and scares no one would use supermarkets for food.

[Snoopy]

Thats true HM
If we all voted with our money and vetoed bad practices, then things WOULD change -

If money is what there all into - hit them in the money department, suddenly they might
have to think about things - or go bust!

I admire Dan and Rosemary for cancelling their Egypt holiday after they mass-slaughtered the pigs due to swine flu.

Thats called voting with your wallet in my mind - but we all have to do it for it to have an  affect - power to the people and all that

[sausagesandcash]

What I can't figure is beef is expensive, lamb is expensive etc.  and they graze, primarily. Pigs eat twice a day and pork is dirt cheap. It doesn't take long to do the math, and work out what they're being fed. I agree though, people buy whats cheap......the fools, the fools!

[Hilarysmum]

1.  (at least here) good subsidies on pigs
2.  Pigs locked into a colditz environment dont take much looking after, no feed waste all mechanised, so less people employed.
3.  Pigs in above dont take up much space per pig.
5.  Here its common practice if a piglet does not make a certain weight by 4 weeks its left to die.

[sausagesandcash]

love of farming V's love of money

[Mr Pig]

There are a number of reasons why pork is so much cheaper than beef or lamb.

1. Pigs have multiple births 2 - 2 1/2 times a year; sheep and cattle only once.

2. Pigs can have 12-16 in each litter, cattle 2, sheep maybe 4. The capital cost of maintaining breeding stock is thus much lower.

3. Pig farming can be done on low overheads on relatively small farms.

4. It takes 3kg grain to produce 1kg of pork. It takes 10kgs grain to produce 1 kg of lamb or beef.

5. On commercial farms, pigs grow from birth to 80kg l/w in 16-18 weeks. Beef cattle in similar situations will grow to a finishing weight in 14-16 months; sheep to 40kg in 24-26 weeks.

6. You can use all the pig bar his squeal.