RED meat leaders are urging the new government to act on food labelling rules for vegan beef copycat products, eager to see the wheels start turning on recommendations from last year's senate inquiry on meat definitions.
Red Meat Advisory Council chair John McKillop said the Albanese Government had a clear mandate to deliver on its election commitment to ensure accurate and clear labelling rules for the manufactured products and the industry had full confidence the new government would deliver on the promise.
Beef and sheep meat producers, and the wider supply chain, have been fighting against the use of animal protein descriptors such as the words beef and bull and images of livestock on plant-based packaged food.
An inquiry run by the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport legislation Committee recommended, among other things, new laws forbidding the use of animal terms.
Mr McKillop said the red meat and livestock industry was eager to engage and work with ministers as they start their new roles, to implement the recommendations of the comprehensive senate Inquiry report and deliver clearer meat labelling rules.
"In particular, the red meat and livestock industry is keen to understand the proposed time frames to deliver a mandatory regulatory framework for the labelling of plant-based protein products as it's our strong view that we must move quickly to secure the best outcomes for both meat and plant industries, and consumers who deserve truth in labelling at their local supermarket," he said.
Speaking earlier at a Rural Press Club of Queensland event, Mr McKillop explained the government agency Food Standards Australia and New Zealand was responsible for setting the rules around food labelling.
FNANZ defines meat very clearly as the flesh of a carcase of a slaughtered animal, he said.
However, under pressure from plant-based food makers, it added an additional clause that meant that, provided additional context was added, labels could use words describing foods from other origins.
"So as long as you say it's plant-based, you can say it's beef," Mr McKillop said.
"This is their get-out-of-jail-free card, even if it's in size 7 font."
He used plant-based vegan Wagyu as an example of one of the more extreme cases of inappropriate use of animal protein terms.
"At what point did the IMF (intramuscular fat) on the lentils become high enough to make it Wagyu," Mr McKillop said.
"This goes to the ridiculous point."
The senate inquiry recommendations included reversing this clause, but Mr McKillop said it would not be an easy road, given all states plus NZ will need to sign off.
The NZ government had indicated it had no appetite for the change, he said.
"We ended up with a good outcome from the senate inquiry but this is just the start. We have to keep up the fight," he said.
"We are not opposed to the existence of plant-based proteins, but if it's not beef, don't call it that.
"When margarine came into Australia it wasn't called plant-based butter. It had a different name.
"The plant-based sector should be able to market itself and grow its market without piggybacking off the reputation of the red meat sector."
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Shan Goodwin
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
Shan Goodwin steers ACM’s national coverage of the beef industry. Shan has worked as a journalist for 30 years, the majority of that with agricultural publications. She spent many years as The Land’s North Coast reporter and has visited beef properties and stations throughout the country and overseas. She treats all breeds equally. Contact 0427686187. E: s.goodwin@austcommunitymedia.com.au
