*Waaaaa! *My favourite!

Baker of low-rated pies wants tests standardised
06 November 2006

Australian pie baker Mrs Mac's is trying to get standard test methods introduced for meat pies after its product failed tests in New Zealand.

Mrs Mac's choice steak pie rated the second worst of five popular brands of pie in tests commissioned for a story in The Press in June. Its meat content tested at 15 per cent, below the 25% minimum required by the food standards code and the 33% steak claimed on the wrapper.

Follow-up tests of 10 Mrs Mac's pies organised by the Commerce Commission found the fillings' meat content ranged from 24% to 34%, when the packaging claimed 31%. It urged Mrs Mac's to rectify the problem.

Mrs Mac's general manager, Murray Beros, said he was surprised by The Press's results as testing for meat content in Australia had confirmed its pies' percentage claims. As a result, the company commissioned tests of its own and competitors' pies in New Zealand and Australia.

It discovered that laboratories used different test methods, which affected the outcome. In particular, varying nitrogen factors were being used in the formulation to determine the meat content of a pie. Different nitrogen values could lead to a 4% variation in test results.

Also, Mrs Mac's said the way the meat filling was removed from the pastry case for testing could produce an 11% difference in results. "As a manufacturer bound by regulation, we need certainty in our ability to comply," said Beros.

The company has applied to Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) to introduce standard testing procedures.

Mrs Mac's already has a proposal before FSANZ to change the rules on what manufacturers can put into meat pies. It wants the minimum 25% meat content changed to "meat flesh" – defined as skeletal muscle, including the fat, connective tissues, nerves and blood vessels.

Beros said Mrs Mac's wanted to banish speculation that manufacturers put snouts, tongues and lung matter into pies.

Submissions on this proposal close on November 15.

- The Press