FEATURE // Pork
Edwina Beveridge
Australian Story Australian pork producers are a cut above the rest when it comes to quality, environmental management and animal welfare. WORDS Madeline Woolway PORK IS A favourite for consumers and chefs alike. The versatile protein can be
processed into a number of products from
practices that make our homegrown pigs worthy of more market share.
fresh pork to ham, bacon and a plethora of
The majority of people don’t know where
In 2015–2016, the local pork industry
the level of awareness varies. There’s a 50
charcuterie and smallgoods.
contributed more than $5.2 billion to Australia’s GDP and it supports more
than 36,000 full-time equivalent jobs. All in all, it’s a valuable sector — and
that’s despite the challenges it faces from
their pork is from. According to Haydon,
28 | Hospitality
$14 per hundred grams.
The reality is more than 80 per cent of
kilograms of imported pork arrives in the
imported meat.
The lack of knowledge can be forgiven.
be produced in Australia. Vague country
General Manager Peter Haydon about the
can the prosciutto that costs upwards of
if the bacon they’re slinging is made from
been in the trade for 20-plus years knows
leading pork producers, Blantyre Farms’
Pork’s Judy Croagh, and Australian Pork’s
cafe? It can come from anywhere. So too
the ham and bacon sold in Australia is
While processed goods can be legally
Edwina Beveridge and Western Plains
with a big breakfast at the neighbourhood
per cent chance the local butcher who’s
international competition.
Hospitality talks to two of the country’s
restaurant menus. The pile of bacon served
imported. As of March 2018, 3.1 million
country each week; that’s $12.96 million worth of pork products.
Unsurprisingly, Australian producers
imported, all fresh pork sold here must
want a slice of the pie.
of origin labelling in supermarkets only
For the most part, there’s one reason
there are no mandatory labelling laws for
have come to dominate the domestic
compounds the confusion. On top of that,
imported products such as ham and bacon