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

To ask His Majesty's Government what checks are carried out on the labelling of meat products at the time of (1) production, (2) processing, (3) distribution, and (4) retail, in England.

It is the responsibility of a food business to ensure that labelling on food is accurate, clear and complies with the relevant legislation.

Establishments producing meat products require to be approved in accordance with Retained Regulation (EC) No. 853/2004, unless a relevant exemption applies. Part of this approval requirement is to apply an ID mark to all approvable meat products leaving the establishment. Meat product manufacturers may be approved by the FSA or the local authority. Local authority approved establishments will be inspected regularly in accordance with a risk-based frequency. At the time of inspection, local authority officers will make checks to ensure the ID mark is being applied to all approvable products leaving the establishment, that it contains the approval number issued to the establishment and that it is in the format prescribed by the legislation. The ID mark provides traceability and is applied to packaging intended for the final consumer and retail sale. Retail food outlets are required to register with and be inspected by local authorities. Local authorities will inspect retailers regularly, in accordance with a risk-based frequency. As part of these checks, they will examine items displayed for sale and in the case of meat products, they will ensure an ID mark is displayed.

Meat is also subject to the overarching food labelling rules which covers all foods and which are enforceable from the moment a food is placed on the market. While food is subject to these regulations it is the responsibility of a food authority, usually the Trading Standards Office attached to a local authority, to enforce these laws. This is done through a range of enforcement activities including both proactive, risk-led inspection activity and reactive enforcement following intelligence. Effective routine sampling is an essential part of local authority activity, with the Food Law Code of Practice and the Food Safety Act 1990 providing a framework to support sampling activity in addition to any enforcement action. Food samples submitted for analysis will also have a label check carried out which involves visually checking their labels against the mandatory requirements set out in the legislation.