Clive Beddall & Mike Ingham International pigmeat suppliers have been urged not to retaliate after the Meat and Livestock Commission published an ad alleging animal cannibalism on "many farms across the world". The second ad from the MLC's new £4.6m campaign for pigmeat shows a sow and piglets under the heading "After she's fed them, she could be fed to them". But despite being publicly endorsed by food minister Nick Brown as "tough, very focused and absolutely right", the ad provoked angry responses from the Dutch and the Danes. And the multiples, which had earlier been critical about the negative impact it would generate among consumers, are known to be furious. A spokesman for the Danish Bacon and Meat Council described the ad as "deeply misconceived". He added: "A lot of people will make the assumption that what the MLC is getting at is Danish products. Some people automatically associate the word Danish' with bacon." He also hinted that the Danes might be forced to hit back and remind British shoppers that antibiotic growth promoters are banned in pig production in Denmark but are still lawful in the UK. Robert Smith, md of the Dutch Meat Board (UK), was surprised at the MLC's action, when earlier this year it was a signatory to a joint international letter to EU food safety commissioner David Byrne that pushed for action on new regulations governing pig welfare. Smith said: "This makes the MLC's current aggressive stance even more puzzling. First they line up with their European counterparts for the long-term benefit of the UK market. Then they use state aid to fund a xenophobic, inflammatory campaign that can only damage the very market they are supposed to support." Smith said he was bewildered that the MLC was continuing with its advertising campaign "despite general condemnation across all links within the food chain". He added: "From farmer to retailer, the MLC has ignored them all. I can assure British consumers that Dutch quality standards are second to none." However, MLC chairman Don Curry hit back. He said: "Consumer research following our first round of press advertising revealed that a further burst of hard-hitting advertising would ensure that consumers sit up and think about pig welfare issues. "It also revealed that consumers felt the new advertising treatment, used in tandem with the first, would most effectively achieve this." Major retailers, meanwhile, although expressing astonishment at the controversial tone of the ads, pointed out that a war of words in the media between bacon and pork producers would be disastrous, turning customers off all pork products. But one significant side-effect was emerging as The Grocer went to press. Several multiples reported an unexpected lift in poultry sales. - See Opinion, page 14 {{NEWS }}