Landmark ruling gives British meat European mark of quality

Members of the European Parliament have voted in favour of a package of measures which will extend country of origin rules to fresh meat from pigs, sheep, goats and poultry.

Currently a loophole in the law allows retailers to label meat as British even if it has only been packaged or processed here.

This has been a significant barrier to Britain’s farmers as shoppers are being mislead into buying products they think are British but in reality are cheap foreign imports. British farmers operate to far higher standards of welfare than many of their European counterparts, standards which mean an increased level of overheads.

Following the ruling, this practice will come to an end from 2015.

The European Commission is also now going to look at extending labelling rules to cover meat used as an ingredient in processed food and will, within the next three years, begin to consider whether other types of meat, as well as fresh milk, milk used as an ingredient, and foods containing more than 50 per cent meat or milk, should be covered.

Labels will have to spell out a food’s energy content as well as fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugar, protein and salt levels, in a way that makes them easy for consumers to read.

The vote marks a major step forward for the Yorkshire Post Clearly British campaign to ensure food is accurately labelled and that Britain’s farmers are given a fair deal.

Deputy president Meurig Raymond, of the National Farmers Union – which has also campaigned heavily on the issue – said it was a significant move to give consumers clear and honest information about the origins of their food.

“With mandatory country of origin labelling finally extended to lamb, pork and poultry, all British consumers will at last know where their fresh meat comes from,” said Mr Raymond.

“We have been lobbying tirelessly in the UK, Brussels and Strasbourg for this result talking to MPs, Euro-MPs, government officials, the WI, the food industry and European Commission officials.

“There is more work to be done to make sure origin labelling is extended to processed meats and dairy products. Although there has been some significant progress made by many retailers and manufacturers in the UK to improve their labelling voluntarily, it is still not universal and consumers are still being confused and misled.

“We will continue to push hard for mandatory country of origin labelling on processed meat and dairy products.”

Under the new rules, adopted yesterday following the vote in the European Parliament, the energy content and amounts of fat, saturated fat, carbohydrates, sugars, protein and salt must all be stated in a “legible tabular form” on the packaging.

All this information has to be expressed per 100g or per 100ml and may also be expressed per portion,

It will also require that all ingredients – including allergenic substances – be indicated on the labels of pre-packed foods. The new rules also state that information on allergens must be given for non-packaged foods, for example on food sold in restaurants or canteens.

In addition, it will be easy to spot “imitation foods” – foods that look similar to other foods but are made of different ingredients, such as “cheese-like” foods made with vegetable products.