NZ Pork is encouraging Kiwis to ham it up this Christmas by choosing New Zealand-produced ham as their dinner table centrepiece—but how do you know what you're buying is actually homegrown?

NZPork chief executive Brent Kleiss says finding an actual Kiwi ham can be challenging.

"For bacon or ham, it's difficult because somewhere in the range of 90 % of bacon and ham is imported."

The challenge doesn't end there.

NZPork advises consumers to carefully check the label on their ham, as some bacon and ham products may suggest they are New Zealand-grown but are actually from foreign shores.

"Current labelling allows prominent New Zealand branding on products made from imported pork, with the country of origin noted only in small print. This misleads shoppers who want to support local farmers by choosing New Zealand products."

New labelling rules should have put a stop to the vague claims pork products are "made from locally and imported ingredients".

Kleiss advises turning the package over and checking the product's country of origin, which should be listed on the back.

"If it's from New Zealand, it will say solely New Zealand."

Still not sure? Kliess advises looking for the official NZ Pork logo.

"Look out for the green 100 % New Zealand Pork stickers or the Pigcare sticker that guarantees the pork you buy has been grown under the pig welfare assurance programme we run here."

If unsure, Kleiss advises asking your supermarket or butcher for clarification.

Overall, 62 % of pork in our supermarkets is imported—a worrying statistic for the small group of 70-80 commercial pig farms on Kiwi soil that rely primarily on the domestic market.

Only three per cent of New Zealand pork is exported, mainly to the island nations of Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Cook Islands, Niue, Tonga, and Papua New Guinea.

One reason is our high animal welfare standards, which mean New Zealand pork producers can't compete with less stringent overseas growers.

This creates an uneven playing field for farmers to export and when competing with imported produce.

"We would like to see that if you are importing pork into New Zealand and selling it commercially, that pork has been raised under the same welfare standards as New Zealand."

Kleiss said there are plenty of certification programs in countries that export to New Zealand that overseas producers could adhere to.

"At the moment, the government seems to apply a blanket rule that broadly recognises that if pork is from France or Germany, for example, the standards are on a level with ours, but in practice, that's just not the case.

"We would like to know that if a New Zealand shopper is going into a supermarket and sees two packs of bacon  sitting next to each other on the shelf, the New Zealand one is not disadvantaged by the fact that the imported stuff is produced under cheaper and less stringent standards."

Kleiss said that NZPork wants imports to continue but with more transparent labelling and a fair marketplace.

"We are realistic that people need options in terms of affordability, and also, New Zealand wouldn't be able to keep up with demand for particular cuts."

Kleiss recommends searching the NZPork website for the New Zealand pork awards to find the best producers of New Zealand ham if you are looking for something extra special for Christmas dinner.

However, local butchers should also have quality, locally grown ham in-store.

"We are encouraging people to buy ham from New Zealand, which benefits everybody, and for them, from a taste point of view, it's a great way to celebrate Christmas in a real Kiwi way."

By Claire Inkson