UK government proposes transparent food labelling to recognize British farmers

UK – The UK government has unveiled plans to enhance food labelling transparency, aiming to ensure that British farmers receive the recognition their products deserve.

Proposed by Environment Secretary Steve Barclay and set out by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), the plans focus on fairer food labelling that empowers consumers to make informed choices aligned with their values.

According to officials, the eight-week UK-wide consultation, ending on May 7, 2024, seeks improvements in country-of-origin labelling, addressing the display of information and determining which products should be covered.

Additionally, a Defra spokesperson noted that the proposals included mandatory ‘method of production’ labelling for pork, chicken, and eggs.

“This involves a five-tier label differentiating between products that fall below, meet, or exceed baseline UK animal welfare standards.”

Environment Secretary Steve Barclay emphasized the government’s commitment to supporting British farmers and creating fairer and clearer labelling that distinguishes products made to lower standards abroad.

“British consumers want to buy their produce, but too often products made to lower standards abroad aren’t clearly labelled to tell them apart,” Barclay stated.

“That is why I want to make labelling showing where and how food is produced fairer and easier to understand.”

The National Farmers’ Union of England and Wales’ Deputy President, David Exwood, emphasized the importance of clear, simple, and accurate food labels, including the country of origin, to facilitate informed choices by consumers.

“Food labels must be clear, simple and contain accurate information, including country of origin, to give shoppers easy access to the information they want and for those that want to, select products produced by British farmers,” he said.

“Additionally, those eating out-of-home should also understand the provenance and standards with which their food is produced for are traceability, safety, animal welfare and environmental standards.”

However, he noted that labelling on its own is not the answer to safeguarding our high standards from imports that are produced under conditions that would be illegal in the UK.

UK retailer Waitrose welcomed the consultation, emphasizing the importance of knowing the origin of food and supporting efforts to improve transparency in the interest of shoppers, farmers, and animals.

“We support the government’s efforts to improve transparency and ensure shoppers aren’t misled while giving farmers recognition for their commitment to animal welfare.”

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