Robert supports Conservative campaign for honest food labelling
SUPPORT OUR EAST ANGLIAN FARMERS AND SHOPPERS WITH HONEST FOOD LABELLING, SAY CONSERVATIVE MEPS
20 January, 2010
With a new EU Directive on ‘Food Information to Consumers’ in the offing, Conservative MEPs are pushing for changes in food labelling that will ensure consumers have the necessary information to make an informed choice. Robert Sturdy and his fellow Conservative MEPs want mandatory country-of-origin labelling. They also hope this will encourage support for local produce.
Current law means that a chicken sandwich can have “produced in the UK” on the label but the chicken could have come all the way from Thailand. This is because processed food only has to indicate the “location of the last substantial change” under current rules. As long as the chicken was placed between two pieces of bread in Britain it can be labelled as produced in Britain.
Robert Sturdy said:
“This is not a protectionist measure, it is about giving the consumer the right to make clear and informed choices about the food they buy. Clear and transparent labelling should indicate which countries the food stuffs have originated in, not simply the country in which they were processed. We need to close this loophole to protect our consumers and keep them fully informed about where the food they are eating has been sourced.”
This campaign also has the full backing of Eastern Region MEPs Geoffrery Van Orden and Vicky Ford.
Geoffrey said:
“Meat labelled ‘British’ must from an animal born and bred in Britain. The East of England is a major food producing area. This is something we can take pride in and people want to know what they are buying really is from local produce. I would like to think that the industry would get ahead of the legislation and introduce changes itself.”
Vicky added: “I know that we all like to support local firms and local businesses, particularly when it comes to the food we eat. Currently people are being denied the right to make a clear and informed choice. Conservatives want to change this. We will be working in 2010 to alter to how our food is labelled.”
