Exactly what is in a meat pie has always been somewhat of a mystery, but Independent Senator Nick Xenophon says it just got a whole lot worse.
Xenophon has spoken out against a government decision allowing, from Monday, beef imports from countries affected by mad cow disease.
He wants the "mad policy" reversed, saying that with Australia's weak labelling laws, consumers could end up eating potentially risky meat without knowing it.
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Meat pies with local packaging and pastry could still be labelled Australian, even if all the meat came from overseas, he said.
"Consumers wouldn't be any the wiser," he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday.
"We shouldn't be bringing in meat from those countries in the first place (because it) affects our clean, green image.
"This is a piece of mad policy that needs to be reversed."
Nationals senator Fiona Nash, who is chairing an upper house inquiry into new protocols governing beef imports, says it is inconceivable the government would allow the imports without having done a thorough risk analysis.
She noted countries, such as the United States, did not have the same processing rules as Australia.
"(Agriculture Minister) Tony Burke should stand up today and say to the Australian people that there will be no outbreak of mad cow disease," she said.
The coalition says it will introduce private members' bills aimed at delaying the imports at least until a risk assessment is completed.
