Ecowize MD warns of repercussions of brining regulations on price increases and job losses

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“The brine limit legislation, even by Judge Hans Fabricius’ own admission, lacks scientific support. It has been adopted based on the opinions of those outside of the industry without thorough consideration of the views of and evidence presented by the industry. Brine capping will have negative repercussions, not only for the poultry industry, but on the consumer and economy at large,” says Gareth Lloyd-Jones, MD of Ecowize, a hygiene and sanitation service provider to the food, pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

He explains, “The Industrial Development Corporation has reported that the poultry industry is the largest segment of the South African agricultural sector, contributing more than 16% of its share of gross domestic product. It provides employment, directly and indirectly, for about 108,000 people throughout its value chain and related industries. As a result of the brining cap, the price of chicken will increase and jobs will be lost, particularly amongst broiler producers – those who breed and raise chickens specifically for meat production. Within this category there are those that generate individually quick frozen chicken which is brined by injection and accounts for 63% of all poultry products consumed in South Africa.”

With the production price set to increase, Lloyd-Jones states that this will have a direct impact on the consumer. Producers will either have to reduce the weight of the packaged product and charge the same price or increase the per kilogram price of the chicken to make up for the shortfall in yield and weight lost due to reduced brining.

We could see two scenarios. Firstly, we might see an increase in uncontrolled an unregulated imports, which are essentially “off-cuts that overseas companies have no market for, which will now be on the selves cheaper than what local suppliers can price. Secondly, local producers will try and recover this loss in yield by passing the price onto the consumer, which in some instances will be unavoidable. If the price sensitive consumer decides to go with the cheaper lower quality imported product, then this spell disaster for the local industry. Consumption of imported poultry meat is set to reach 35%v of total consumption by 2020.

“While the brining regulations were ostensibly made by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries for the protection of the consumer, his Department has failed dismally to protect the consumer in any way from substandard imported chicken, illegal imports, illegal practices by importers and the like. If you want to protect the consumer, do it across the board and across all food types,” shares Lloyd-Jones.

On the topic of consumer protection, with one of the motivating factors for the ruling was the potential health implications of the salt content of brined chicken, he adds that brined chicken portions contain less than a quarter of the amount of salt than a standard loaf of bread per 100g. Furthermore, the proportions of additives are stated on the labelling of products, thereby ensuring that consumers are not misled.

“The poultry industry has for over 20 years regulated itself due to a lack of interest, competence and resources from the Department. I believe that instead of imposing unenforceable regulations on the industry, the department should actually be helping to create a domestic market whose demand is met by domestic production so that it can operate within a sustainable environment,” concludes Lloyd-Jones.