The RSPCA is today launching a campaign for better labelling of pork products. It wants to see consistency in tems such as outdoor bred and free range as there is no agreed definition at the moment. It is likely to be a week of pigs - tomorrow the environment, food and rural affairs select committee publishes a report on the state of the English pig industry.

http://www.rspca.org.uk/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RSPCA/RSPCARedirect&pg=pigs

Here's the story with some more details: http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2009/01/12/113754/campaign-calls-for-better-pig-welfare-and-labelling.html

I noticed there are full-page adverts for the campaign in all the national press this morning: http://is.gd/fuWq 

Personally I'm not sure about the way the RSPCA has gone about this. Yes, I think it's good to call for clearer labelling, but nowhere on the advert does it encourage people to buy British pork, nor does it say anything about the high welfare standards the UK has in comparison with the rest of the EU.

Does anyone else think the wording on the ads is a bit odd too - who are they aiming them at?!

Bearing in mind the higher welfare standards in the UK compared with just about everywhere else, shouldn't the RSPCA first concentrate on accurate labelling of country of origin of the meat that pork products are based on? Then we can get on to the details of indoor/outdoor and "free range"/housed. Mind you, I suspect those among the Great British Public who care are still convinced - or want to be convinced - that we use stalls and tethers in this country.

Honest John:

shouldn't the RSPCA first concentrate on accurate labelling of country of origin

I agree. I think the RSPCA has got itself a bit muddled over what its message is. The press release says they first thing it wants to concentrate on is the labelling aspect, but it says "later in the year the RSPCA will call for a proper review of welfare issues".

But by mentioning the welfare aspect (in both the press release and in one line of the advert) and not explaining that side of things properly, I think the RSPCA runs the risk of suggesting welfare is a big issue within the UK's pig industry.

The advert seems to raise more questions than answers but is typical of the muddled thinking behind many RSPCA policies. We produce a few pigs a year and now have to complete a food chain information form for the govt via the abattoir.

We need to state whether the pigs have been born and reared under controlled housing, born outdoors and reared under controlled housing after weaning, born and reared outdoors or any other system. We generally tick born and reared outdoors as the small sty were they are born could not be called controlled housing by any stretch of the imagination. Presumably the information is stored away in defra's vaults until a new tax is proposed on keeping or moving pigs.

It is too bad that the British government does not do a better job of educating the British public about how much more stringent the rules are for those who farm in the UK versus those of us in the rest of the world.  You are already doing so much extra.  I was thinking yesterday as I was taking care of my own stock that if I was under the rules you have, I would need a full time hired man so I could deal with the paper work, and extra other things that would come up.  I also wish I could bring 100 American farmers over every month to see what our future looks like under Obama, I think they would be very concerned.

Seems as if they're jumping on a band waggon to me.  2009 is obviously the year of the pig as far as the usual run of TV foodie programmes are concerned.  If you follow through the RSPCA links you will discover that one of their concerns is the confusion over phrases such as Outdoor Bred.

Mrs J bought a joint of Outdoor Bred pork at Sainsbury's on Saturday.  She usually buys Outdoor Reared and didn't notice the difference until she got to the checkout, but was reassured by the RSPCA Freedom Food sticker.  She said afterwards that she supposed that it was not the same as Outdoor Reared.  The RSPCA site confirms this - in fact it says it will have been born outdoors and but only lived outdoors for a mere three weeks before being housed.

If the RSPCA is concerned over these types of confusion, why does it allow such products to qualify as Freedom Foods?  The first place it could instantly end such confusion is by cleaning up its own Freedom Foods standards.

 IMHO it'd be a good idea to have a unified set of descriptions for all edible animal products, covering rearing methods, comfort/welfare, hygiene standards and country of origin... but just imagine the difficulty of getting all the producer organisations, processors and retailers to agree to one - and that's just in the UK.

Jacobus, your outdoor bred piglet probably never set foot on grass or soil. It would have been born in an arc, contained in the arc by a barrier to stop wandering off and being eaten by a fox, then weaned at 3-4 weeks before being delivered to the likes of me to finish on straw. Outdoor reared pigs start off the same then move into tents to finish on straw. Quite what the difference is between a tent in a field and my shed is hard to quantify. There are very , very few pigs finished on a free range system.

 As far as the Freedom Foods scheme for pigs goes it is being undermined by the supermarkets desire to out-do each other in petty standards. I was recently assessed on whether the approach road to my pig unit had neatly trimmed hedges and verges and was free of pot holes. This clearly sets my pigs on a much better welfare standard. Sadly this is not a joke.

caroline stocks:

the wording on the ads is a bit odd too - who are they aiming them at?!

Caroline you are well on the way to becoming an investigative journalist. The RSPCA are of course aiming ads, as they invariable do, at those people who will send them money!

The subject of the campaign is irrelevant, what is important however is the object of the campaign which is to raise donations.

The RSPCA along with many other campaigning organisations has long since passed the stage when their concern for the subject is greater than concern for the object. They have advanced so far down the route of moral decay that they have become more concerned with raising money and pursuing careers than they are in fullfilling their original role, which subject was the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Their object now is the Promotion of Rights for Animals.

They somewhat remind me of the Politicians whose chief mantra is now to say, "We must have power to change things," and in so doing make the object of their work the pursuit of power rather than representation of the people.

Power, to such people, has become the object of their lives rather than people being its subject.

Hone your skills for scepticism Caroline however, take counsel from an old fogey, and be alert for cynicism. Doubt their motives but do not ever assurme the worst. Even Hitler, Stalin, Pol pot, Mao, Mugabe and the RSPCA can have a good moment now and again.

Oh Mark, You're destroying my faith in labelling!

We have a few outdoor pig units in the area but I'm ashamed to say I do not know where their meat goes.  I suppose I should find out and patronise the butchers concerned.  A nearish neighbour started keeping a handful of Old Spots and I was talking to him about selling the pork.  I know that if I could find reliable, local, traditionally reared pork, beef or poultry our lamb customers would be a ready marketing starting point.  Unfortunately after one crop of piglets he gave up, but the arcs are still in the field.  Every now and then I think I should have a go, but I would struggle to find the time until I can retire from the day job! 

Country of origin labels are more important than method of production though both allow the consumer to choose. It ought to be illegal to put Yorkshire Ham or Wiltshire bacon on the front and in very small print on the back processed in the UK from EU pork.Both processors were Yorkshire based and take many pigs from local farmers so must also import dead pigs. I recently saw both in a local supermarket mixed in with genuine UK product. The main reason to advertise and make an announcement now is the Jamie Oliver program.  Some detalis of this program were in the Sunday Times yesterday but some  information given was wrong. Joanna Lumley was not in a FARROWING STALL she was in A DRY SOW STALL. Only two words wrong but still a vast difference . In countries where they are used sows spend nearly all their lives in  dry sow stalls but only a very short time in  farrowing crates to protect  newborn piglets. The UK is the only country in the world where sow stalls are illegal. Until something can be prooved better the farrowing stall is best for the total welfare of sows and piglets and also for the safety of the pigman.

Another day of pig stuff today. The environment, food and rural affairs select commitee has published a report on the state of the English pig industry. Here's our story:

http://www.fwi.co.uk/Articles/2009/01/13/113768/defra-must-help-pig-industry-halt-decline.html

Foggy:

It ought to be illegal to put Yorkshire Ham or Wiltshire bacon on the front and in very small print on the back processed in the UK from EU pork.Both processors were Yorkshire based and take many pigs from local farmers so must also import dead pigs. I recently saw both in a local supermarket mixed in with genuine UK product.

Unfortunately, unlike many EU countries, France in particular, which had been very careful to ensure that foods produced in a particular region or locality were protected in law before any such protection existed in EU law, we in Britain found that, with few exceptions, our produce had long forfeited such rights to a local name by having been made outside it's original area for many years.  Hence, Cheddar cheese may be made as far afield as Canada and York Ham refers merely to the method of curing it and likewise may be made anywhere in the world from any pork.

Wiltshire cure bacon, usually described as 'traditional' Wiltshire cure refers to the method of curing in brine rather than dry salt which was perfected by Harris's of Calne, Wiltshire in the 1840's.  Compared with the real traditional dry curing methods, in this 'traditional' cure the bacon does not lose weight by drying out, but adds weight by absorbing water.

If you are a sausage connoisseur you will know that Cumberland, Lincolnshire and other variations refer to the herbs and seasonings traditionally associated with those counties, not with the area of production.  With pork pies, there are ongoing attempts to get protected status for Melton Mowbray pies and Stilton cheese may only be made by seven dairies in Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire.

Interestingly, although Double Gloucester cheese may be made anywhere from any milk, Single Gloucester obtained Protected Origin Status in 1997 and may only be made from milk from Pedigree Gloucester cattle in Gloucestershire.

It would be an interesting thought if we only allowed Barnsley chops to be cut from Yorkshire lambs, or Lancashire Hotpot to be made from lambs from the red rose side of the Pennines.  Perhaps Yorkshire puddings should be illegal in the rest of the country and Bakewell tarts confined to Derbyshire.

Jacobus:

we in Britain found that, with few exceptions, our produce had long forfeited such rights to a local name by having been made outside it's original area for many years.

I went to a press briefing a couple of years ago which talked about protecting food names which described where the produce came from (there's some info about it here). I remember being shown a list of all the protected foods in the EU and being really surprised how few there were in the UK in comparison with the rest of Europe.

I guess getting protected status for things like Wiltshire ham could help with labelling uncertainties, but, as you said, because things have been made outside their original area for years, it'd perhaps do more harm than good.

caroline stocks:

I guess getting protected status for things like Wiltshire ham could help with labelling uncertainties

It would be hard to argue that pork from Wiltshire would taste any different to pork from Hampshire or Dorset.  Similarly could there be any real argument that unless a Cornish Pasty was made in Cornwall from Cornish beef, potato, swede and flour it would have to be called something else?  How many hot-dogs use Frankfurters from Frankfurt; how much Spaghetti Bolognese comes from Bologna; how many jeans from Nimes, how much curry from Madras?

I'm afraid that for most British local foods of any real commercial consequence, our early adoption of the railways and the industrialisation of food processing in the Victorian era, including the export to the former colonies of the manufacture of some products, has meant that most of the names merely indicate a style, recipe or process which has been demonstrated over more than 100 years to be capable of replication anywhere.