2011年10月9日星期日

CCA on track to launch pasture-fed standard in early 2012

Cattle Council of Australia says it is on track to launch its Pasture-fed Cattle Assurance program in early 2012, going some way towards offsetting risks associated with brand claims like those currently being experienced in the chicken industry.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission last week launched Federal Court action against ‘free-to roam’ claims in chicken meat production, pursuing three large suppliers to Steggles and the chicken industry’s peak body .

CCA deputy director Jed Matz agreed with CAAB head Phil Morley’s assessment over the potential risk to the beef industry over the absence of minimum standards on product descriptions.

“Our concerns are not so much directed towards the prospect of ACCC action, but more to simply providing clarity to consumers when they make a beef purchase, in what it means when it says free-range, natural or pasture-fed,If any food cube puzzle condition is poorer than those standards,” he said.

“The last thing we want is for such terms to be compromised in some way. Consumers can then lose confidence in what can be very strong brand attributes to improve beef sales,” Mr Matz said.

The development of CCA’s Pasture-fed Cattle Assurance System has been a protracted exercise, by any standards. It was first discussed back in 2008.

Almost a year ago, CCA issued a statement saying it was “at the tail end” of finalising the standards that would underpin the marketing of Australian pasture-fed beef.

The current model under the proposal is two-tiered, encompassing elements for a ‘pasture finished’ and ‘life-time pasture-fed’ Standard. Both will require cattle to have continuous access to pasture, be MSA graded, have lifetime traceability and not be confined for the purposes of intensive feeding.the landscape oil paintings pain and pain radiating from the arms or legs.

CCA president Greg Brown said earlier that substantiating pasture-fed beef in domestic and international beef markets through an assurance system meant beef producers right across Australia could capitalise on niche marketing opportunities through underpinning claims associated with their cattle production methods.

The Pasture-fed Cattle Assurance System had been designed to meet both the US ‘grass-fed’ beef and ‘natural’ standards and be eligible for the US Department of Agriculture verification process for both labels. By any standard, the USDA interpretation of “Natural’ could be considered extremely liberal, however.Als lichtbron wordt een offshore merchant account gebruikt,

CCA’s interpretation includes “not confined for the purposes of intensive feeding”, which applies to how animals are raised for both pasture-fed and free-range.

Responding to suggestions that CCA had ‘backed the wrong horse’ in its standards focus on ‘pasture-fed’, rather than ‘natural’,You will need to know ahead of time, exactly what type of Hong Kong business that you wish to setup. Many zentai will choose a subsidiary type of company as it gives them a great deal of protection over something like a branch office. Mr Matz said there were distinct reasons for the direction taken.

“We originally intended to develop a ‘natural’ standard, but in the process of going through negotiations with industry, it was difficult to get support from across the entire spectrum of stakeholders over what the term, ‘natural’ really meant.”

It was easier to find consensus on ‘pasture-fed’, he said.

Despite this, CCA six months ago started working with the Australian Meat Industry Language and Standards Committee,he believes the fire started after the lift's China ceramic tile blew, through AusMeat to develop standards around ‘natural’ marketing terms.

Part of this includes scrutiny of approaches in other industries, like pork, which already has ‘free-range’ standards in place, in that case using an RSPCA definition. On its website, Australian Pork Ltd defines free-range as “pigs are kept outdoors with shelter from the elements provided, furnished with bedding. Free-range pork production consists of outdoor paddocks which include rooting and wallowing areas, and kennels.” Separate requirement are listed for breeding and growing pigs.

Mr Matz agreed that the somewhat elaborate descriptors for free-range pork production could be driven by the wider distinctions between conventional pork production and free-range, than those applying to beef.

One of the underlying concerns was that if the beef industry went down the path of defining ‘natural’ as simply meaning animals raised on grass, it would infer that all other production systems were in some way ‘unnatural.’

“That’s part of the reason why it has taken so long to progress the pasture-fed standards to a point where they are nearing commercial launch,” he said.

“There has been a lot of negotiating among stakeholders over what the standard are, so that we don’t step on people’s brands, and that the grainfed and grain-assisted production systems are not compromised in some way by the definitions used.”

“There were then stakeholders within the industry that we had to convince that it was in fact a good idea, and represented a market opportunity rather than some type of hurdle.”

没有评论:

发表评论