Is it possible that the only ones left smiling after the so-called "bacon war" that hit our TV screens this week will be the bank managers of European research companies? Could it be, as the media turns to other issues, that the conflict will merely mature into a bombardment of statistics from the clipboard-carrying research teams? After all, if 2.37% of every 2.5 consumers in Wootton Bassett buy two and half more rashers of home produced bacon to eat with their fried bread, the Brits will be able to claim victory. And the Danes can go on telling us what they've always said that most UK shoppers think Danish when they think of bacon. But, sadly, I suspect we haven't heard the last of the serious sides of this issue. Given Monday was a slow news day, hungry hacks were always going to lap up the chance of reporting on a row surrounding an ad alleging "cannibalism" in the international pork trade. But just what its publication did for MLC's relationships with its most important customers, the multiples, remains to be seen. The line from most chains, while sympathetic to the general strategy behind the campaign, is they have grave doubts about its implementation. MLC, after much deliberation ­ and, we understand, weighty opposition from parts of the meat sector ­ finally went ahead with the infamous ad showing a contented sow and piglets under the strapline: "After she's fed them she could be fed to them." And that after strong hints from inside MLC that the copy was "to be amended". But it's likely many consumers who saw the ad didn't read the words, only the heading. They will probably not draw a distinction between the different nationalities of bacon and pork, so any change in purchasing behaviour could be to the detriment of all suppliers. The most worrying aspect is that overseas producers claim they have ammo that could highlight serious weaknesses in the British industry's marketing argument. If they retaliate, heavy flak will fly again. And that wouldn't benefit anyone, least of all the hard-pressed pig farmers that MLC's ad was designed to help. Clive Beddall, Editor {{OPINION }}

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