Free-range products come into their own.
When comedian Mike King researched - at the urging of Save Animals From Experiments - the state of factory-farmed pigs, he was shocked and appalled at what he found. At one North Island piggery he saw 50 to 60 large sows - apparently distressed - in small cages. It made headlines, not least because King had been the face of pork advertising campaigns.
The impact was immediately felt in restaurants where consumers began asking questions about just where and how pork on menus had been raised.
As a chef and consumer, my stance has always been to support New Zealand products where possible and I was aware that the country's pig farming industry had been challenged by frozen imports from North America and Australia retailing at very competitive prices. It makes for a very heated discussion - although animal welfare should remain paramount. But it can be confusing for the consumer. Where do you start if you want to be careful what you buy?
New Zealand Pork has introduced a labelling system of its products which guarantee they are New Zealand-farmed, free of added growth hormones, have been audited through an animal welfare programme and comply with stringent food safety standards.
Consumers wanting to know more about the farming conditions of their pork can read testimonials from farmers at pork.co.nz, which also outlines the different types of pig farming in New Zealand.
Patoa Farms, for example, employs 45 staff who care for 3500 sows living outdoors in the fresh air. On 24ha of hilly land in the Hakarimata Scenic Reserve, north of Hamilton, is Soggy Bottom, where traditional British outdoor breeds - tamworth, large black and wessex saddleback are farmed, grazing freely on a grass, dairy and orchard diet.
Meanwhile, in the New Zealand Bacon Awards, Christchurch's Redcliffs Butchery won the supreme award and a gold medal for their dry-cured middle bacon. Manuka-smoked, honey-cured, and tea and garlic-smoked bacon are elevating pork products it to another dimension.
In my neck of the woods, at the tip of the Kaipara Harbour near Auckland, is the Long Flat Bacon Company which I firmly believe produces the most addictive streaky bacon and delicious black pudding I have eaten in a long time.
When it comes to cooking your pork always use a temperature probe - when the internal temperature hits 71C, joints of free-range pork will be cooked to perfection.
Picatta of pork
Sumac roasted pork belly
