Woolies Turns Back On SA Beef
JOHANNESBURG - Woolworths is unable to get South African beef for its new free-range beef offering as there is no organised grouping that can comply with the retailer's standards.
30 April 2007
1 minute read
The company is now importing beef from Namibia for its new offering.
Namibia is Africa's largest exporter of beef to Europe and is the only African country with a structure that can provide consumers with guarantees regarding the beef's origin.
Peter Gordon, the manager responsible for meat-buying at Woolworths, says there aren't any local commercial beef-market bodies that can guarantee the same standards as those in Namibia.
"The Namibian programme guarantees that the beef comes from cattle that were reared in a natural environment, without growth hormones and regular use of antibiotics," says Gordon.
This is important for consumers who are concerned about these issues.
According to Gordon, Woolworths is the first South African retail group that sells beef which a guarantee that it does not contain any growth hormones.
"In Namibia, it's illegal to administer growth hormones to cattle; this isn't the case in South africa. The only way in which to monitor this locally is through very expensive testing methods," says Gordon.
