PigCare label nominated for highest award in misleading advertising

SAFE is nominating New Zealand Pork’s ‘PigCare’ label for the 2018 Bad Taste Food Awards, in recognition of its deception of consumers in the name of profit.

The awards are run by Consumer NZ and recognise the country’s most misleading advertisements.

The ‘PigCare’ system purports to be “New Zealand’s only independently verified animal welfare programme” and products carrying the label claim to have high welfare standards.

But SAFE’s Head of Campaigns, Marianne Macdonald, is calling bull on the claims.

“Farms only need to adhere to the minimum animal welfare standards to receive the PigCare label  – implying it’s hard to obtain is a complete crock.”

“Under ‘PigCare’, mother pigs can be confined in cages so small they can’t turn around – but New Zealand Pork is misleading people into thinking these farms are above the lowest possible standards.”

In 2016, the Commerce Commission found that the PigCare label breaches the Fair Trading Act because it incorrectly leads people to believe products carrying the label come from farms with welfare benefits above the minimum standards.

The commission warned New Zealand Pork it was breaching the Act but two years on, New Zealand Pork continues to use the ‘PigCare’ label.

“The arrogance of New Zealand Pork in thinking it can continue to use a label which has been deemed a breach of the Fair Trading Act is astounding – and absolutely deserving of a Bad Taste award.”