Major grocer signs on to ‘Ontario pork’ labelling scheme

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Comments

The choice of word "scheme" in the title is priceless . Really makes you wonder if this is an Ontario equivalent of COOL . Also since there is an agreement with OP on the use of the label , will OP be checking or policing the use of the label ? Just how do you tell if the meat in the counter is from Ontario ? Didn't know livestock was subject to the same passport laws as people ! Will there be a difference in price ? The vast majority of consumers by on price .

This promotion of locally produced pork is truly an example of the value-chain working together in Ontario. Consumers are interested in knowing where their food comes from and it is encouraging to work with retail partners who understand the benefits of supporting the local economy. Participants to the program, including retailers, food service operators, restaurants and producers who sell at farm gate, are required to sign a brand usage agreement stating that the pork product they are selling and bears the logo is born, raised and slaughtered in the province. It also outlines appropriate usage of the logo and point of sale materials. While we rely somewhat on the integrity of the participants on the program, we also work collaboratively with the two federal packers in the province to deliver on our promise of providing local pork on products bearing the logo.
Any breach of our agreement, if not resolved, will result in the label usage being denied to the participant.
While we can’t comment on the specific pricing practices of the retailers, we can say that they operate in a highly competitive environment and expect that they keep this in mind while developing their procurement and promotional strategies.
Consumers are looking for local products and the aim of this partnership is to satisfy that need while at the same time creating value for Ontario’s hog producers.

The Ontario Pork/Loblaw agreement would appear to be, for all intents and purposes, a voluntary form of COOL - the reasons for implementing both programs are exactly the same.

This agreement would also appear to be similar to the "pledge" on most US milk cartons that the contents contain no artificial growth hormones.

The more-difficult issue continues to be how individual retailer-driven specifications about things like the use of farrowing crates, get implemented and controlled in the marketing channel.

Finally, as a sign of the fickleness of consumers, while they fall all themselves about the safety, purity and localness of some things, they care not one iota about any of these things when it comes to products like oranges, bananas and sugar.

Stephen Thompson, Clinton ON

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