Food groups pledge to boycott illegal pig stalls

In A major boost for Britain’s pig industry, a number of major food organisations have this week pledged to the government that they will not sell pork and pork products from illegal pig farms when the European partial stalls ban is introduced on 1 January, 2013.

The National Pig Association welcomed the news, which follows months of campaigning by the British pig industry to prevent pork from illegal farms appearing on British supermarket shelves, on restaurant menus or in brand-name products. The promise came after a meeting attended by UK farming and food minister Jim Paice and the British Retail Consortium, the Food and Drink Federation, the Provision Trade Federation, the British Hospitality Association, the Danish Agriculture and Food Council and the British Meat Processors Association.

NPA chairman Richard Longthorp described the promise as “great news”.

The European Commission still fears as many as a third of continental pig producers will be unable to meet the January 2013 deadline to get sows out of stalls.

In Britain, pig producers already conform to higher welfare standards with stalls having been wholly banned for 13 years.

Taking a cautious approach to the promises, Stewart Houston, chairman of the British Pig Executive, said the industry would now discuss the various pledges in more detail, to ensure they would be honoured.

ANDREW ARBUCKLE