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Monday, 8 October 2007

The steaks you sizzle on the summer barbecue come from New Zealand - don't they?

By SARAH FOY - Taranaki | Monday, 8 October 2007

The steaks you sizzle on the summer barbecue come from New Zealand - don't they?

What about fruit and vegetables? We are a clean green nation of great greengrocers.

Green Party MP Sue Kedgley argues New Zealanders may wrongly assume much of their fresh food is Kiwi-made.

She wants to see labels on all meat, seafood, fruit, vegetables and other single-component foods like seeds, grains, or canned, dried and frozen fruit that tell shoppers from which country the food was derived.

In New Plymouth last week, Ms Kedgley said the issue was of overwhelming concern for consumers.

"People want to know where the food they buy, eat and feed their families comes from."

Kiwis were unaware the country imported nearly 1.5 million tonnes of food a year, including 149,462 tonnes of fruit, 32,207 tonnes of meat and 39,996 tonnes of vegetables.

The Green Party has launched a petition that will circulate the country until the end of this month.

Last year Ms Kedgley introduced a private members bill on the issue, but it was defeated. She aims to get the petition before a select committee.

Importing food is a safety issue, argues Ms Kedgley, referring to recent scandals about Chinese products such as toxic pet food and contaminated seafood.

She says 40% of our pig meat is imported, with 30% coming from Canada, where some pig herds are infected with bacteria.

Her understanding is the imported pork is made into processed small goods such as sausages. "Our food safety authority is not routinely testing imported food to see if it is safe, or whether it contains illegal pesticides or other contaminants."

Then there is the local industry fall-out. "We could wake up in five years and find we can't buy NZ garlic."

The few garlic producers that remain fear the impact of garlic planted unwittingly by NZ gardeners - Chinese garlic can contain viruses that could spread to other allium species such as onions.

While supermarkets might take consumer concern on board and label more goods, there are 1000 small grreengrocers, fish shops, or butchers who don't fall under labelling regulations, says Ms Kedgley.

But Taranaki consumers may not see the issue as significant, if supermarket feedback is anything to go by.

Pak'N Save owner Alan Melody, of New Plymouth, was unaware of any customer questions about where the store's meat, fish, produce or other products came from.

There is an element of trust among shoppers and an expectation regulations on imported goods will ensure food quality, he says.

Other supermarkets spoken to by the Taranaki Daily News said there had been only a handful of customer questions, particularly about meat.

Taranaki butchers, who are more likely to have face-to-face contact with shoppers, reported varying interest on the issue.

Peter Morrison, owner of Kiwi Butcher and president of the Taranaki Master Butchers Association, couldn't recall questions about meat's origin. Eighty percent of his store's meat came from Taranaki or Wanganui, with the rest from other parts of New Zealand.

"Meat is readily available in New Zealand at the moment. There are a few bits of frozen pork cuts around."

Between 15-20% of the store's pork products came from Levin-based NZ Meats, one of the industry's biggest wholesalers. NZ Meats managing director Gary James says the firm buys only NZ pork. The New Zealand Pork Board verifies its products by a rosette label.

Overseas pork came from Canada, Denmark and Australia, but fresh Canadian and Danish pork had to be cooked to a high temperature to kill bacteria.

He sees the food safety issue as a big deal and backs Ms Kedgley's call for compulsory labelling.

"In the last year or so, there are so many more people querying where their food comes from."

Foodstuffs NZ, the parent company of Pak'N Save and New World, will require its stores to label non-packaged food by Christmas.

"It's very clear to us that customers want to know what they are purchasing and where it's from," says spokesman George Sutherland.

Progressive Enterprises, which operates Foodtown, Woolworths and Countdown, argues it's already doing that.

Fruit and vegetables had been labelled for some time with their country of origin, says spokesperson Fiona Breen.

About 98% of the company's meat came from New Zealand, while overseas suppliers were asked to provide information on source.

Ms Breen says Kiwis were traditionally used to some imported food, because the country couldn't produce foods like tropical fruit.