Free-range porkies

Free-range pork has been under the spotlight, with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) finding that claims such as ‘free range’, ‘bred free range’ and ‘bred outdoors’ used in the pork industry did not always accurately reflect the living conditions of the animals.

The ACCC considered that the reference to either ‘free range’ or ‘bred free range’ was likely to give consumers the impression that the pigs were farmed according to free-range methods. These methods include that, at a minimum, pigs are able to move about freely in an outdoor paddock on most ordinary days. In fact, this was not the case.

From December 2009 to the present, Primo Smallgoods supplied pork products labelled as ‘free range’ when in fact the pigs, sourced from Denmark, had been confined to areas that were roofed or partially roofed and had solid or partially slatted floors.

Between July 2000 and December 2014, Otway Pork promoted products as ‘bred free range’, while KR Castlemaine commenced the same practice in 2008. The pigs used in both instances were born outdoors but raised indoors in straw-based shelters from the age of approximately 21 days.

“Marketing material must use words that consumers can understand, irrespective of whether the words have some special industry meaning,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

Sims said the producers had undertaken not to use the same descriptions unless their farming practices permit the pigs to move about freely in an outdoor paddock on most ordinary days.

Separately, Australian Pork Limited has agreed to change the title and logo of one of its pork production standards from ‘Outdoor Bred’ to ‘Outdoor Bred. Raised indoors on straw’. The ACCC considers that the inclusion of the words ‘Raised indoors on straw’ makes it clearer to consumers that the pigs are born outdoors but raised indoors from weaning until slaughter.

The ACCC discovered that some producers were using ‘Outdoor Bred’ and ‘Bred Free Range’ statements to describe the living conditions of the sow, rather than the pigs that are raised and slaughtered. This practice was also found to be potentially misleading.

“When claims such as ‘free range’ or ‘bred free range’ are misused, consumers may be misled into paying more for a product feature that doesn’t exist,” Sims said.

“Competitors are also harmed as legitimate free-range producers unfairly lose their competitive advantage. Innovation suffers when consumers and business lose trust in the integrity of claims.”

The ACCC said it has actively focused on credence claims in primary industries, particularly those with potential to adversely impact the competitive process and small businesses. Credence claims are those that refer to premium attributes a product may enjoy over others and are difficult for consumers to test on their face. The ACCC identified practices in the pork industry that were at risk of becoming industry-wide. Individual producers and the peak representative industry body, Australian Pork Limited, have cooperated to address the ACCC’s concerns.