While all the fresh pork you buy (roasts, chops, steaks, fillets etc) is Australian grown, the majority of ham and bacon in the supermarkets is made using imported pork.
It’s important when choosing your ham, bacon, smallgoods or even some ‘ready meals’ to check the label to make sure the pork is Australian.
By choosing ham and bacon made using Australian pork, you’re supporting our farmers. You’re also buying products made from pork raised under some of the highest welfare, safety and environmental standards in the world.
Country of Origin Labelling
Australia’s labelling laws have changed to make it easier to identify if food is imported.
This is called country of origin labelling and is overseen by our government.
The green and gold kangaroo only indicates that a product has been made in Australia. The product can contain imported pork and still use this image on the label.
With these labels, it is critical to look closely at the bar chart and number in the written statement – for ham and bacon made from Australian pork the bar chart should be almost full.
The written statement should have a percentage of over 90%. Anything that is made from less than 90% Australian ingredients most likely means the product is made with imported pork.
Unfortunately, in Australia you’ll be unlikely to find ham and bacon made from 100% Australian ingredients. That’s because the brines and salts that are used to make ham and bacon are not produced in Australia. So remember, look for an almost full bar.
For fresh and raw Australian pork, like roasts, chops, steaks, fillets etc, you’ll see the labels below. These are labels for 100% Australian grown products, with nothing added to them.
PorkMark
To make it even easier for you to choose products using Australian pork, we created the PorkMark, a registered pink square logo that guarantees the pork is 100% Australian.
Any company using this logo has signed an agreement with Australian Pork Limited to only use the logo on 100% Australian pork products.
Certified Free Range Pork and Outdoor bred
You may see some pork, ham and bacon with a Certified Free Range or a Certified Outdoor Bred logo.
The Certified Free Range logo indicates that the product has met Australian Pork Limited’s Certified Free Range requirements. In free range pig farming, all pigs are kept outdoors all the time. They have access to shelter that has suitable bedding. The logo looks like this:
You may also see a Certified Outdoor Bred, Raised Indoor on Straw logo. This certification means the adult pigs live in open spaces, with access to shelter.
Piglets are born and raised under these conditions until weaning, when they are then moved to large barns where they remain until safe. The logo looks like this:
