Coles announcement that it will phase out beef treated with hormone growth promotants (HGP) is part of the supermarket giant’s push to act on the key animal welfare concerns of its 12 million customers.
John Durkan, Coles’ merchandise director, said the company also wanted to stock only free range eggs but this couldn’t be done “overnight”.
Similarly, the company didn’t sell genetically-modified (GM) foods and would stop selling pork from farms using sow stalls by 2014.
Speaking at today’s National Farmers Federation congress in Melbourne, Mr Durkan said customers had told Coles they didn’t like growth promotants, factory farming or palm oil (which will be dropped in 2015).
He said the decision to dump HGP beef had resulted from 18 months of discussion with its suppliers.
Coles buys about 350,000 beef cattle a year.
Nick Keatinge, a NSW beef producer and senior member of the National Farmers' Federation, challenged Mr Durkan on Danish pork imports and the science behind the move to abandon HGP beef.
Mr Durkan said his company wouldn’t retreat from its decision to switch to fresh pork produced from farms that didn’t use sow stalls while HGP-free beef, which is already available at select Coles outlets and will be progressively implemented across the company’s network, performed better in the boning room and was better quality.
“We are committed to improved animal welfare,” he said.
Mr Durkan said Coles was determined to source more fresh produce direct from Australian farmers.
He said 120 of the company’s 740 stores were now receiving daily deliveries of farm produce direct from farmers.
“The more we can buy direct from farmers, the better.”
NFF president, David Crombie, said GM must surely have a role in a world facing critical food shortages in the coming decades.
Mr Durkan said the ban on GM foods by Coles was the result of consumer feedback and that policy would be reviewed if customers had a change of mind.
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