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Food watchdog urges suppliers to ditch origin labels on meat products
by Rebecca Smithers - 19/01/2010
"Companies can say sausages or pies are 'British made' if they are processed in UK, even if meat comes from abroad"
UK food manufacturers are being urged to phase out misleading "British made" labels on popular meat products.
New research published today by the government's food watchdog reveals widespread consumer confusion over what "origin" labels actually mean.
Under existing legislation, manufacturers are allowed to call products such as sausages and pies "British made" if they were processed in the UK, even if the meat was reared and slaughtered abroad.
At a time of growing consumer interest in the provenance of food and concern about "food miles", the research for the Food Standards Agency reveals that shoppers remain baffled over the difference.
Tim Smith, the chief executive of the FSA, said: "This research shows that confusion remains over what produced in the UK actually means. The issue is not about more origin labelling but the need for greater clarity on the labels on some of our most popular foods."
He said proposed new European labelling rules would require businesses that made origin claims to provide further information, so that people knew where their food actually came from, not just where it was processed.
The FSA will negotiate with other EU members to strengthen draft rules and persuade British manufacturers and retailers to adopt the new guidance voluntarily.
The Conservative party has already promised clearer country of origin food labelling through its "honest food" campaign, while major supermarkets such as Tesco and Waitrose are reviewing their labelling and their "British-sourced" food ranges.
But consumer groups said a tougher approach was needed from the FSA.
Which? chief policy adviser Sue Davies said: "While we're pleased that the FSA supports EU proposals to make origin labelling less misleading, we'd like to see them go further by pushing for an extension of origin labelling rules. Our research shows strong consumer support for country of origin labelling, especially for meat and poultry.
"It's bizarre that currently, the origin of beef has to appear on the label, but it doesn't for other meats such as pork. It's great that more food companies are now providing information on a voluntary basis, but unless this is mandatory consumers won't always get the full picture."
More Details: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jan/14/food-labelling-meat-origin-fsa
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