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Campaign hope for'farm of origin'labelling
ALL food sold in the UK could be labelled with the place where the ingredients were farmed under plans to be revealed this week.
A Europe-wide consultation on the issue of food labelling showed that of the politicians, producers and consumers who were asked, around half supported the idea of the place a product was farmed being indicated on the packaging.
The research was carried out by the European Commission which will this week publish a major strategy document on the subject. UK farmers hope it will include recommendations for improved labelling.
Current loopholes in legislation mean that food produced abroad can be labelled as British if it is processed in this country, meaning the nation's farmers face an uphill battle to get consumers to buy their produce.
However, the report also showed strong opposition from European food processors, who said country of origin labelling would mean extra costs.
The report reads: "Most national authorities, regional authorities, producers and consumer groups supported the indication of the place of farming.
"About half thought 'county' labelling would be better than 'EU' and a minority insisted that only country or region would suffice.
"Processors opposed almost unanimously, citing the difficulties of traceability and costs. They also claimed the consumer was not interested in origin of raw materials for processed foods.
"A number of producers and other organisations recognised that for some sectors and for some processed products, place-of-farming labelling would be very difficult to implement.
"They recommended a product-sectoral approach. Several asked for meat to be compulsorily labelled for origin as soon as possible."
The Yorkshire Post's Clearly British campaign was set up to call for a clearer labelling system for food sold in the UK and has enjoyed the backing of a cross-party section of Yorkshire Members of the European Parliament as well as farming organisations.
Alistair Mackintosh, the NFU's livestock board chairman and an active campaigner on the issue of food labelling, told the Yorkshire Post: "If it does happen we would have to welcome it.
"We have been calling for that for some time now. It is about making sure the consumer has the right choice.
"We have always said that county of origin and knowing where your food comes from is hugely important, especially as we are trying to encourage food production and look after the environment at the same time.
"If the retailers believe there is value to be had out of that then they will be happy to take that opportunity. If they hear from consumers that that is what they want then it is in the best interests of retailers to deliver that."
Earlier this year the Conservatives launched their Honest Food campaign, maintaining that there is a case under European law to allow country of origin status to be labelled on all food, something that Labour consistently maintain is not the case, with a voluntary code among the nation's retailers their preferred way of dealing with the situation.
Dorothy Fairburn, the Country Land and Business Association's regional director for Yorkshire, urged the European Commission to bring in clearer labelling.
"Indicating where food was farmed on the packaging would be fantastic news for Britain's farmers. Consumers have the right to know where their food comes from and farmers have the right to have their produce labelled correctly.
"We would be delighted if this could be brought through sooner rather than later."
The conclusions from the consultation are expected to be published tomorrow.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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