Coles supermarkets to stop selling beef containing growth hormones

By Dr. Ananya Mandal, MDSep 7 2010

Come November Coles supermarket chain will no longer accept beef from animals treated with hormone growth promotants, or HGPs. These HGPs are used by grazers and feedlots to boost cattle growth.

According to Meat general manager at Coles, Allister Watson, untreated animals produce better meat. HGP fed cattle often yield tougher beef he said. Mr Watson said studies had found hormones could make meat less tender. The treatment is approved only for cattle - not pigs, sheep or poultry. “The Meat Standards Australia grading system shows that meat quality is significantly better without the use of HGPs,” Mr Watson said.

He confirmed that 80% of what the company buys is HGP-free and that they pay more for it. He said, “We have a closed loop supply chain that we are currently paying more for to ensure that the cattle don't have HGPs in… We are aware that it's a cost that affects productivity in the farming sector and it also affects yields in the boning room.”

Coles will become the first major national food retailer to refuse beef from farmers that use the HGP. Rival Woolworths supplies HGP-free beef through its Macro Wholefoods range but does not plan to extend that policy. According to spokesman Luke Schepen, “Woolworths trusts the production expertise of the Australian beef industry and does not want to dictate how it looks after cattle.”

Cattle Council of Australia executive director David Inall accused Coles of simplifying complex meat-quality science. Mr Inall said, “There are many variables that may affect eating quality ... the way cattle is slaughtered, the breed, how far it has travelled.” According to Meat and Livestock Australia managing director David Palmer HGPs can have a “small” effect on tenderness and this could be overcome by ageing and hanging slaughtered beef slightly longer. He said that HGPs were perfectly safe and approved by regulators for decades. HGPs for cattle have been approved here since 1979. The European Union banned them in the 1980s.