Australian meat industry welcomes Senate Inquiry into food labelling

MEDIA RELEASE Wednesday 16 June 2021 The Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC) welcomes the announcement at parliament last night, where Queensland Senator Susan McDonald launched a Senate Inquiry into food labelling laws. This is in response to the Australian meat industry calling for action on meat category branding terms, such as “meat-free mince”, “sausage made with plants”, and “vegan bacon”. “This evening I announced that a Senate Inquiry will take place into the use by vegan food makers of terms normally reserved for the animal protein industry,” said Senator McDonald. She said it was up to makers of non-meat products to come up with their own distinct terms instead of trading off long-established names of animal proteins. “There are intellectual property issues, and in our export legislation we have clear definitions of meat being the product of an animal, but there are gaps domestically,” she said. “The industry invests hundreds of millions of dollars each year to develop and enhance the intellectual property and benefits of red meat in Australia, and it’s important that these investments are protected.” “AMIC absolutely welcomes this inquiry, which is being championed by Senator McDonald, and thank her for driving this incredibly important process,” said AMIC CEO, Patrick Hutchinson. “We are keen to ensure our interests are represented in so far as to ensure that labelling of manufactured plant proteins does not constitute a point of confusion for consumers, and that only genuine meat products are labelled as such,” he said. “Further, we are pleased that the inquiry will review in detail the health implications of heavily processed plant proteins, as well as the long-term social and economic impairments caused by these types of products on businesses, livestock producers and individuals across regional, rural and remote Australia. “We look forward to participating in the inquiry.” Click here to view Senator McDonald’s release > susanmcdonald.com.au/media-releases/vegan-meat-labelling-under-investigation/ ENDS Media contact Catharine Heffernan, General Manager, Communications AMIC E: [email protected]