Food: Origin Marking

(asked on 16th July 2020) - View Source

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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with supermarkets in the UK on providing clear labelling for the consumer on the origin of food.


Answered by
Victoria Prentis Portrait
Victoria Prentis
Attorney General
This question was answered on 24th July 2020

Defra officials meet retail representatives regularly and frequently to discuss delivery of food labelling rules, including those on food origin, and this is a topic of interest for the regular F4 meetings between Defra Ministers and retailers and producers.

The UK maintains high standards of food label information, including on food origin labelling, through our legislation on the provision of food information to consumers. Consumers are now further protected by new rules applying from this year that require labels to inform consumers if the country or place of origin of the primary ingredient of a food is different to that of the origin stated, or implied, for the product as a whole. Our major retailers have been at the forefront over recent years in providing clear origin information on food to customers. Along with major manufacturers, they implemented a voluntary agreement, supported by Defra Ministers, on the origin of meat and dairy ingredients in food which has resulted in their meat and dairy products carrying accurate origin information for meat and dairy ingredients.

These rules will remain in place when the Transition Period ends on 31 December this year.

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