EU Make Clear Progress on Meat Labelling

The EU is making a push for clearer food labelling rules on meat, to allow consumers to identify exactly where the food they have purchased has come from.

The new rules, which have the support of European health ministers, stipulate that mandatory country of origin labelling should be extended to lamb, pork and poultry.

Even though this was just the first step in the legislative process that will be part of a draft regulation on food information to consumers, NFU Scotland's food policy officer, Wendy Fleming, said she was pleased with the support the proposal had received.

"Consumers deserve to know, in a clear and concise manner, the exact origin of their food. NFUS has been pressing for mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) to be extended to a far wider range of foods.

NFU Deputy President Meurig Raymond said: "Clear, accurate country of origin labelling has remained high on the public agenda and has seen comprehensive coverage by the press - and rightly so. Shopping trends tell us consumers want to Support British farmers and buy more home-grown and home-reared produce.

However the lack of transparency in labelling makes this difficult and it is clear to us that the current guidelines on food labelling simply aren't working.

"The NFU believes that labelling needs to provide accurate, clear and relevant information so consumers can make an informed choice. People buying meat and poultry products want to know where the animal was reared so they know exactly what they are eating.

Consumers also want consistency in labelling across all sectors and they deserve not to be misled. Today's political agreement is a big step in the right direction to achieving this."

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