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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps her Department is taking to help promote sustainable palm oil labelling.

The UK maintains high standards on information provided on food labels and packaging so that consumers can have confidence in the food that they buy and is committed to supporting the sustainable production, trade, and use of palm oil.

Palm oil sustainability labelling is voluntary but when provided it must be accurate and not mislead. Third party assurance schemes help to provide UK consumers and businesses with information about the food they buy such as food provenance and sustainability, including certification schemes linked to information on sustainable palm oil origin.

Whilst these operate independently of Government, we continue to support their activities toward delivering shared policy goals. The Food Standards Agency maintains close contact with these organisations and monitors whether communications and claims made by them are accurate.