The Food Amendment (Beef Labelling) Act was passed in the NSW Parliament in 2009.
Cattle Council supports truth in labelling. However, concerns remain with the Bill.
One of the key concerns of the Council is the inclusion of words such as “budget”, “low grade”, “low quality” and the impact that the words would have on consumer purchasing decisions.
Cattle Council has asked RMAC to convey industry’s concerns to the NSW Minister for Primary Industries, including to refrain from proclaiming the Food Amendment (Beef Labelling) Act 2009 until these concerns have been fully addressed. One of the requests is that ‘Budget- low grade’ and ‘Budget – Low quality’ are removed from the legislation or an assurance is given that these terms are inactivated through other legislative means.
Cattle Council believes industry should be setting the standards for the way our beef is marketed.
Over the last decade the beef industry has made improvements to beef quality, including raising retail standards, feeding regimes designed to optimise eating quality, and the adoption of the Meat Standards Australia (MSA) program. MSA guarantees eating quality and is underpinned by science. Cattle Council believes labelling should reflect eating quality not the age of an animal. Initial consumer research demonstrates that any labelling in regards to age is looked at negatively by consumers.
See CCA media release, Research shows NSW beef grading proposal is low quality
Food Amendment (Beef Labelling) Act 2009
See CCA media release, Research shows NSW beef grading proposal is low quality
