Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, if he will require all poultry which is intended for human consumption and which has been injected with water and/or salt, to be clearly labelled as such in a large typeface, or stated to be so at the point of sale, whether such an item is sold packaged or unpackaged, raw or cooked, to allow consumers to make an informed choice before they purchase that product.

Under UK regulations on the provision of food information to consumers, it is already the case with meat products and meat preparations which have the appearance of a cut, joint, slice, portion or carcase of meat, that an indication of the presence of added water, if the added water makes up more than 5% of the weight of the finished product, must accompany the name of the food. The presence of water, if added, will also be included in the ingredients list. As mandatory information, this indication with the name of the food as well as the information in the ingredients list must be marked in a conspicuous place in such a way as to be easily visible, clearly legible and, where appropriate, indelible. It shall not in any way be hidden, obscured, detracted from or interrupted by any other written or pictorial matter or any other intervening material.

Under the Food Information Regulations 2014 Regulation 6 (applicable in England, similar regulations are in place in the Devolved Administrations), the name of the food is required for food that is not prepacked, and therefore the indication accompanying the name of the food as related above will also appear. Additionally, under Regulation 7 of the Food Information Regulations 2014, a ‘Quantitative Indication’ of the meat ingredients must be provided which can help the consumer understand what proportion of the whole product is meat.

There is no current intention to add further to these requirements. However, the Government will be reviewing food labelling more broadly to ensure consumers continue to be provided with the information they need to make safe and informed food choices.